Army Sgt. Walter Steele Covington Jr.’s name is engraved on the memorial wall of Summerall Chapel alongside the names of more than 250 other alumni who were killed in World War II. Covington enrolled at The Citadel in 1942, but like many of his classmates, he was called to war before he could graduate.
Last spring, while most college students headed to the beach, Cadet Chase Collins, ’26, along with 20 other cadets and eight graduate students, traveled through Europe to study World War II battlefields. As part of a military history class on World War II and the Battle of the Bulge, the students followed history professor Kyle Sinisi, Ph.D., to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, where they visited cemeteries, battlefields and museums.
“It was incredible to stand in the same places where many great, young American warriors fought in grueling conditions against a dangerous and determined enemy,” said Collins, who has a contract with the South Carolina National Guard. “I had never been overseas before, and this experience was amazing.”
Each cadet was assigned a fallen Citadel graduate to research and present. Collins honored Covington at the Henri- Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium where Covington is buried. “My favorite part of the trip was honoring Citadel alumnus Walter Covington, who gave his life in Belgium,” he said. “It meant a lot to stand there and share his story.”
Sinisi also assigned each graduate student an important battle site to brief the entire class.
“It was an experience that deepened their appreciation and understanding of the complexity of the entire battle,” he said.
Sinisi took the students to 85 different sites, including the scene of the Malmedy Massacre, where 84 American prisoners of war were executed by German soldiers in 1944, and the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, the burial site of Gen. George S. Patton and several Citadel alumni.
“This trip really opened my eyes and helped me understand more about the battle and what our men went through, so we have what we do today,” said Collins. “Being able to connect The Citadel’s history, the alumni who served and the places where they fought gave me a deeper appreciation for our military heritage.