Army ROTC Celebrates Centennial at Rutgers with HQ Dedication Honoring Alumni, Retired Four-Star Gen. Frederick Kroesen and Medal of Honor Recipient Col. Jack Jacobs
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – As part of its centennial celebration, Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s Army ROTC Scarlet Knight Battalion will dedicate its headquarters building Wednesday, April 27, to two of its most distinguished alumni, retired four-star Gen. Frederick “Fritz” Kroesen (Rutgers College, ’44) and Medal of Honor recipient and retired Col. Jack Jacobs (Rutgers College ’66). Both are members of Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
Prior to the 10 a.m. dedication at 157 College Ave., Kroesen, Rutgers’ lone four-star general, and his family, and Jacobs will participate in a wreath-laying at Rutgers’ World War II and Vietnam memorials on Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue Campus at 9:30 a.m.
The twin ceremonies are part of a weeklong series of events marking the 1916 founding of the ROTC program at Rutgers, which now also hosts Air Force and Naval ROTC units.
Kroesen, 93, was first called to duty as an enlisted man in 1943 and went through six months of basic training before attending Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Ga., where he was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1944. Soon after, he was in Europe leading a platoon in the 63rd Division and taking part in the campaigns that led to the final defeat of the German Army. It was the first in a four-decade series of assignments that featured commands at all levels of the Army.
Kroesen was wounded in each of the four wars in which he served: World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. In the more than two decades since retiring from active duty, Kroesen continues to serve and has given speeches at both the World II Memorial and Holocaust Museum. His service frequently has been recognized by the Association of the U.S. Army.
Jacobs earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rutgers. He entered the Army in 1966 as a second lieutenant through Rutgers’ ROTC program. He served as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division, executive officer of an infantry battalion in the 7th Infantry Division and commanded the 4th Battalion 10th Infantry in Panama. He was in Vietnam twice, both times as an adviser to Vietnamese infantry battalions, earning three Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars and the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest combat decoration.
Jacobs was a member of the faculties of the U.S. Military Academy and National War College. He retired as a colonel in 1987. For his work as an on-air analyst for NBC News, Jacobs twice has been nominated for Emmy Awards and received the 2011 (Edward R.) Murrow Award for his work on NBC Nightly News.
Besides the headquarters dedication and wreath-laying, the Scarlet Knight Battalion will hold daily open houses (except Thursday and Friday, April 28-29) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Monday, April 25, cadets will take part in a 5K run that starts from their building at 7:30 a.m. The dedication of the Class of ’54 Cadet Lounge in their headquarters is scheduled 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 26, while the Army ROTC golf tournament and barbecue are on tap at 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively, at the Rutgers Golf Course on the Busch Campus Thursday, April 28. All events are open to the public.
ROTC commissioning ceremonies will be part of Rutgers-New Brunswick’s 250th anniversary commencement. The Army ceremony is scheduled 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 17, in the College Avenue Student Center’s multipurpose room. The Air Force commissioning will take place Wednesday, May 18, noon, at Kirkpatrick Chapel on the College Avenue Campus. The Naval ROTC unit, which was founded in 2012, will graduate its inaugural class Monday, May 16, at a 10:30 a.m. ceremony at Trayes Hall in the Douglass Student Center.