Awards and Recognition

Cadets engaged in their classwork

     The United States' entry into World War II marked a turning point for the way military academies across the U.S. prepared Cadets for military service. Military academies began placing a stronger emphasis on military training while still retaining the importance of academic excellence.[17] Cadets who excelled in both these domains were rewarded by their academies in many ways. St. Edward's Military Academy adopted this model as their standard, which afforded cadets the opportunity to develop in this program and were subsequently rewarded for their achievements.

List of Sponsership Awards, 1944-1945

Honor Roll and Honorable Mentions

Cadets Awarded Dinners and Theatre Passes

Request Letter to The Reader's Digest

   At St. Edward’s Military Academy, medals and trophies were distributed to first-rate cadets who exceeded expectations in the academy’s training exercises. These awards were presented to Cadets at the academy's ceremonies.[18] Other Cadets who did well academically, were recognized by having their names placed on the military academy’s honorary list.[19] Honor Cadets were also given special privileges, such as free passes to movie theatres and dinners for a certain period of time, as a reward for achieving military and academic distinction.[20] When an Honor Cadet surpassed other distinguished Cadets in academic pursuits, the office of the principal would make a special request to an outside organization to reward the Cadet with something they were fond of, for example, a free annual subscription to The Reader’s Digest.[21]

Distinguished Cadets Visiting McCloskey General Hospital 

Honor School, 1944-1945

The Honor Board

     Although, most of the awards handed out at this time were reserved only for Cadets who distinguished themselves in military training and academics. The military academy itself was also rewarded for their Cadets’ outstanding performance in these fields. The St. Edward's Military Academy received the honorary title of ‘Honor School’ from 1944-1945 from the Texas State Guard’s adjuntant general’s office based on their inspectors’ reports.[22] 

     The military academy stood out because they stressed both academic and military achievement as well as laying down strict disciplinary measures for the Cadets. The military academy achieved overall success with the new program of combined academic excellence with military training, distinguishing themselves as one of the leading military academies in the state of Texas.