Tiger Fans get an Up Close Look at Military Vehicles and historic reminders of Clemson’s Military Heritage on Bowman Field
Static displays of military vehicles will be on Bowman Field the morning of the game from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Tiger fans will have the opportunity to view these vehicles up close and take a look inside! This year fans will get an up close look at a Chinook Helicopter and two other ground vehicles. Be sure to check the skies on Saturday morning as the Chinook is set to land between 8-9am!
Bowman Field was once considered “sacred soil” and served as the parade grounds for Clemson University cadets where they would train and drill. To this day, cadets from the Air Force and Army ROTC use Bowman Field to learn and practice drill. On display around Bowman are various memorials that serve as a reminder of Clemson University’s roots as a military college.
Military Heritage Plaza, the neatly terraced public square between Tillman Hall and Bowman Field, holds a special place in Clemson’s rich military heritage. It was originally dedicated in 1996. Cadets who complete Clemson’s Reserve Officer’s Training Corps programs and commission into the U.S. Army or Air Force receive their first salutes as officers there, known as the “Silver Dollar Salute.”
The Silver Dollar Salute is the first salute given to a newly commissioned officer by an enlisted service member. It shows the respect and admiration that officers receive from their noncommissioned and enlisted service members. An enlisted service member will salute the officer and the officer will give them a silver dollar to remember the occasion and thank them for serving the country.
Silver Dollar Salutes traditionally take place immediately after the joint commissioning ceremony on the lower level of the plaza. The new officers walk down the four terraces of the plaza, which represent each academic year, past the cement footprints of past cadets arranged in a military formation on the second level, through the two brick towers that hold each half of the mold of the statue of a cadet on the third level and receive their salute on the fourth level next to the statue of the senior cadet walking out onto Bowman Field.
“The 94 medals displayed on these walls replicate the thousands of medals that Clemson men and women have been awarded through the years for valor, merit and honorable service while members of the armed forces of the United States.” -Retired Army Lt. Col. Claude…