The Cadet, Corregidor and the Camera

Gerry Grogin ’47 offers a firsthand account of one of Texas A&M University’s most legendary events.

By Kara Bounds Socol

Lead photo by Arturo Olmos

September 17, 2024

Etched into the minds of thousands of Aggies are a handful of photographs spanning Texas A&M University’s 148-year history: the original Reveille, the first campus buildings perched on a desolate piece of land, the “13-0” football score branded on The University of Texas’ mascot.

But perhaps none stirs the emotions—and the patriotism—more than a 1946 photo of 137 Aggie soldiers gathered to commemorate Aggie Muster on the small Manila Bay island of Corregidor.

The famous Battle of Corregidor Aggie Muster photo featuring Gerry Grogin '47 (circled), the last living member of the famed photograph.

Four rows from the bottom and second from the left of that black-and-white picture is a handsome, grinning young soldier named Gerry Grogin doing his best “hump it Ags” pose. A member of the Class of 1947, Grogin spent World War II deciphering enemy codes as an Army cryptologist. At the time of this photo, he was spending the final days of his overseas military duty as a courier in the Philippines.

Now 98 years old, Grogin is the only surviving member of that famed photograph. That fact, though, doesn’t seem to get him down. An upbeat, captivating storyteller with uncanny recall, he lights up when talking about that scorching Easter Sunday of April 21, 1946.

1942 vs. 1946

When Aggies speak of the Corregidor Muster, they could be referring to one of two events. The first, in 1942, occurred two weeks before the island stronghold fell to Japanese forces. The story goes that on April 21, while under siege, Brig. Gen. George Moore ’08 (formerly a Commandant of the Corps of Cadets) instructed Maj. Tom Dooley ’35 to put together a list of Aggies on the island. Those 24 names were read in the form of a roll call. In the worst of circumstances, Aggie soldiers still “softly called the muster.”

Only 12 of those Aggies survived the war.

Four years later, several Aggies stationed in Manila—including photographer James “Ted” Danklefs ’43—came up with the idea of another Muster at Corregidor to honor those who had defended the island in 1942. The Manila A&M Club spread the word with the following notice: “You’d best be circling April 21 on your calendar ’cause that’s the day the Victory Muster will be held on Corregidor.”

The event began with transport from Manila aboard a high-speed rescue boat. “I can remember that crash boat ride from Manila to Corregidor like it was yesterday,” Grogin said.

“I can remember that crash boat ride from Manila to Corregidor like it was yesterday.”
-Gerry Grogin '47

The 1946 Muster took place under radically different circumstances than the one in 1942. After somberly reading the names of fallen Aggies, the soldiers enjoyed a boisterous victory celebration. Danklefs captured the mood in his famous photo. According to Grogin, there was another photo taken, too: “Everyone turned around, dropped their drawers and said, ‘This one’s for The University of Texas!’’’ he recalled with a laugh.

The Aggie soldiers continued celebrating later that night at the Santa Ana Cabaret, a prominent dance hall in Manila. When Grogin stepped out for a moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes: the theater next door was showing a movie he had last seen in Guion Hall as a freshman—the Texas A&M-based war propaganda flick, “We’ve Never Been Licked.” When word of the movie showing spread, Grogin said, “Guys ran out of the cabaret and pointed themselves out in the movie posters!

Years later, Grogin donated two items from the 1946 Corregidor Muster to Texas A&M’s Sam Houston Sanders Corps of Cadets Center: a Muster program and the Texas flag seen in the photograph.

An Uncommon Aggie Experience

Grogin was born in Bryan in 1926. His father, Joel Groginsky, attended Texas A&M for a short time, while his uncles, Philip ’14 and Ross Groginsky ’22, were both graduates. The Groginsky family left Bryan in 1935, moved to Houston and dropped the “-sky” from their surname. There, Grogin became friends with Melvin Maltz ’47. The two attended Texas A&M together and remain best friends to this day.

The Aggieland experience for the Class of 1947 was a bit surreal. The 16-year-old Grogin and fellow freshmen lived on a campus that had been transformed by the U.S. War Department into a military training base.

“The federal government nationalized Texas A&M in 1943,” Grogin explained. “They allowed the university to conduct classes for freshmen, sophomores and some juniors, but sent all the seniors to Officer Candidate School and most of the juniors straight into the military as privates. They took over the entire south campus and built their own barracks there.”

The remaining 2,200 underclassmen, Grogin said, were relegated to the northside dorms with meals in the Sbisa basement, while several thousand military personnel lived on the rest of campus and dined in Duncan and Sbisa.

Grogin in his office at Polar Air Corp. in Houston, Texas, where he continues to work every day.

Despite these hardships, Grogin remembers his college years with fondness. With his fellow cadets, he left Aggieland for World War II service following his sophomore year. He came back to campus in 1946 and, thanks to the GI Bill, earned his mechanical engineering degree.

After a short stint of active duty in California post-graduation, Grogin returned to Houston and established himself in a new engineering field: air conditioning. He has witnessed many changes in the business in the 74 years he’s run his own companies and worked for others. These days, he can be found in his office at Polar Air Corp. meeting with vendors and working up bids (with the occasional help of his slide rule).

Grogin lost his wife of 61 years, Helaine, in 2017—the same year that Hurricane Harvey destroyed their home. But he remains resilient and active in groups like the Houston A&M Club, the Rotary Club of Houston and the Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets Association. He has been honored by each of these organizations and has been formally recognized at events.

“I’ll tell you, I’m a celebrity now!” he quipped.

He also makes a point to always attend Aggie Muster.

Another Kind of Legacy

Grogin admits he can easily tear up when talking about Texas A&M. “I owe so much to Aggieland for my place in life,” he said. The school and its faculty, “gave direction to a 16-year-old kid right out of high school who didn’t know what the heck he wanted to do in life.”

“Texas A&M has always been a blessing to me. These gifts are a labor of love.”
-Gerry Grogin '47

That said, Grogin isn’t allowing the Corregidor Muster photo to be his sole legacy at Texas A&M. In 2020, he made a gift to the Texas A&M Foundation to establish the Gerald “Gerry” Grogin ’47 Endowed Excellence Fund in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering. Distributions from the endowment are helping mechanical engineering students in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers organization pay for their education.

This past summer, Grogin also modified his will to include additional funds for the endowment after his lifetime. “Texas A&M has always been a blessing to me,” he said. “These gifts are a labor of love.”

To build upon your own Aggie legacy and support the success of Texas A&M engineering, contact Adam Quisenberry below to discover how your gift can make a lasting difference!