Beyond Selfless Service

Thomas W. Fowler ’43

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry from Texas A&M, Thomas Fowler ’43 was drafted into the Army as a second lieutenant for the 191st Tank Battalion.

Serving near Carano, Italy, on May 23, 1944, Fowler took command of a group of infantry platoons whose officers had been struck down by enemy fire. Fowler personally removed buried mines from an enemy minefield to clear the path for the platoons and supporting tanks to advance. Upon spotting enemy troops hidden in foxholes, Fowler stealthily approached and took the Axis forces hostage. During an enemy onslaught, one tank was hit by cannon fire. Fowler dashed through the hail of bullets and mortar shells to rescue the wounded crew.

Ten days after his courageous actions, Fowler was killed by an enemy sniper while he was scouting over a hill. Fowler was posthumously awarded The Medal of Honor on Nov. 11, 1944. Fowler’s legacy continued at Texas A&M when Fowler Residence Hall was named for him in 1969, and then again when his pin-on medal, the second of the two at Texas A&M, went on display in the Sanders Corps of Cadets Center in 2009.

Horace S. Carswell Jr. ’38

Though he joined Texas A&M in 1935, Horace Carswell ’38 transferred to Texas Christian University, graduating in 1939 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. As a major in the Army Air Forces beginning in 1940, Carswell served in the 308th Bombardment Group, operating on the Pacific Theatre.

During a nighttime ocean patrol on Oct. 26, 1944, Carswell and his crew began firing at an enemy convoy but encountered heavy antiaircraft fire. Upon Carswell’s orders, eight of the crew bailed out, leaving Carswell and two others on board. The plane’s engine failed, sending the craft careening into the side of a mountain, killing Carswell and the two remaining crew members. After his death, Carswell’s remains were transferred between five different locations for various periods of time before coming to rest in Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth in 1993.

After being honored posthumously with The Medal of Honor on Feb. 4, 1946, the Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth was named after him in January 1948. Though efforts were made to locate Carswell’s medal in 2008, its current whereabouts remain unknown.

Dr. Eli L. Whiteley ’41 ’59

Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Texas A&M in 1941, Dr. Eli Whiteley ’41 ’59 began working toward his master’s degree at North Carolina State University. His studies were interrupted in April 1942 when Whitely joined the Army’s 15th Infantry, 3rd Division and was shipped to France.

While serving as a first lieutenant, Whiteley’s troops traversed France, recapturing cities from the Axis forces. During an attack near Sigolsheim on Dec. 27, 1944, Whiteley’s left arm was injured as Company L worked to clear buildings of enemies. Disregarding his pain, Whiteley continued storming houses and killing enemy forces. Before medical personnel could convince him to seek safety, Whiteley suffered eye damage from a shell fragment but continued fighting.

After his honorable discharge and medical treatment, Whiteley was awarded The Medal of Honor on Aug. 23, 1945. Returning to civilian life, he began lecturing for freshmen-level agronomy classes at Texas A&M. In 1948, he completed his master’s degree at North Carolina State, then applied for professorship at Texas A&M, where he received his doctorate in soil physics in 1959.

While on campus, Whiteley supported full integration of the university and ending required Corps membership. In 1962, he was nominated to speak at the campus Muster ceremony. Then, in 1969, Whiteley Corps Residence Hall was named in his honor.

Whiteley remained at Texas A&M until 1979. He died of a heart attack in 1986, becoming only the second person to lie in the rotunda of the Jack K. Williams Administration Building for public viewing after his death, following Gen. James Earl Rudder ’32. Whiteley’s Medal of Honor has been on display at Texas A&M the longest, though a precise date cannot be determined. It currently resides in the Sanders Corps of Cadets Center.

Clarence E. Sasser ’73

Unlike the other Medal of Honor recipients, Clarence Sasser ’73 fought in the Vietnam War and didn’t attend Texas A&M until after his service. Sasser studied chemistry part-time at the University of Houston until 1967 when he was drafted into the Army as a private first class and medic.

Amid a search and destroy mission in Vietnam on Jan. 10, 1968, 12 helicopters were attacked, forcing an emergency landing. Thirty men suffered injuries or death upon touchdown, including Sasser, who was shot in the right leg. Sasser pulled himself through the flooded paddy, helping every soldier he could until supplies ran out. Though medics were high-profile targets with distinctive bags, Sasser dragged one colleague to safety and was returning for another when a mortar shell struck nearby and peppered him with shrapnel. Sasser kept working, refusing any medical aid for himself. Eighteen hours after the assault began, backup evacuated the survivors, of which Sasser was the only living medic.

On March 7, 1969, Sasser became one of 20 African American soldiers to receive a Medal of Honor from the Vietnam War. Texas A&M President James Earl Rudder ’32 invited Sasser to attend Texas A&M in 1969, but he left after one semester to work at an oil refinery before transferring to the Department of Veterans Affairs in Houston.

Sasser was not included in the MSC Hall of Honor until 2013, when Texas A&M officially displayed his military portrait, Medal of Honor citation and a replica of his medal alongside those of the other seven. In 2014, Sasser received an honorary doctoral degree from Texas A&M—an award bestowed on only 66 individuals in university history.