GMS History The History of Greenbrier Military School | Page 28

philosophy clearly: “Greenbrier is a Christian School, founded and
maintained by Christian men.” Cadets had their choice of churches to attend
on Sunday morning—Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Catholic (in
Ronceverte), or Presbyterian—and every Sunday evening they marched en
masse to the Old Stone Presbyterian Church for a second Sunday service.
Greenbrier cadets lived by their motto “Truth – Duty – Honor”
(inscribed on their class rings). A cadet charged with breaching the honor
code would have to appear before the Honor Court. Led by the cadet major
and consisting of commissioned officers and first sergeants, the Honor
Court was in charge of all matters pertaining to the traditional honor system.
These cadets, with a faculty officer present, held court trials for those
suspected of breaching the honor system. The court’s findings were always
reviewed by the GMS administration before any action was taken.
The United States Army.
From 1921 until 1966, the presence of the U.S. Army was an integral
part of GMS. Army officers, soldiers, and teachers lived on campus as they
conducted the junior ROTC program. Some retired and stayed in
Lewisburg, some returned after their years of military service. Some of the
military staff, like Sgt. Chester Conyers and Col. Tom McGuire, were
beloved figures whose names were synonymous with Greenbrier. Col.
Thomas C. McGuire, U.S. Army Retired, grew up in Lewisburg and was
educated at Lewisburg High School, GMS (post graduate 1935), and West
Virginia University (B.S. 1939). In his twenty-four years of service in the
Army, he spent six years on the Army General Staff; he and his family (wife
Christine and daughter Betty) were stationed around the world, plus he
served as PMS&T at GMS from 1950-53. Upon his retirement from the
Army in 1962, Col. McGuire joined the GMS faculty (GMS catalog
1971-72). He was director of military training from 1968-1972.
The U.S. Army-guided ROTC program at GMS came to an end in
1966. The last PMS&T was Maj. Marshall Lanter; he was assisted by Capt.
Louis Longanacre and seven enlisted men. Until the spring of that year,
GMS had signed a yearly contract with the Department of Defense to
supply the PMS&T and other Army personnel. The GMS Administration
(Longanacre) chose not to renew the contract and thereby lost the small
stipend that the D \\