Caissons Win Top Honors at George Washington Birthday Paradeby Fishburne Military School
photo by Jeff Malet, as seen on Georgetowner.com
Alexandria, VA — Fishburne Military School, Virginia’s oldest and smallest military school, earned top honors Monday in Virginia’s oldest and largest George Washington Birthday Celebration. The Caissons took First Place in the Military Units and Drill Teams category and also brought home the Second Place award in the category of Youth Bands.
“This is always a tremendously enjoyable and gratifying event for the Corps,” notes Fishburne Military School’s Senior Army Instructor, LTC Robert Hunt, USA(Ret.). “This year it is particularly meaningful for us as it comes on the heels of Fishburne’s 100th year as an Army JROTC unit.”
Dating back to 1799, the George Washington Birthday Parade is the oldest community parade in Alexandria. According to Joseph S. Shumard, Chair of the Alexandria George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee, “218 years ago our citizens celebrated the birth of the Father of Our Country with the first George Washington Birthday Parade through the streets of Alexandria. During the previous two years, in 1797 and 1798, George Washington was the guest of honor at birthnight balls held at Gadsby’s Tavern. Since that time we have celebrated annually with reenactments, ceremonies, and symposia remembering with pride the contributions Washington made to our city and to our nation.”
The Cadets from Fishburne Military School left their campus in Waynesboro, VA at early on Monday morning and arrived at the staging area in Old Town, Alexandria, just before 1230.
Related story and photos at: https://georgetowner.com/articles/2020/02/18/celebrating-george-washingtons-birthday-in-alexandria-photos/
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Celebrating 100 years as a US Army JROTC unit, Fishburne Military School is the oldest and smallest of all military schools for boys in Virginia. Its college-prep curriculum is built on the structure of an Army JROTC program. FMS has been designated as a JROTC Honor Unit with Distinction and may nominate qualified candidates to the United States Service Academies. Fishburne hosts one of only four Summer JROTC programs in the nation that is accredited by US Army Cadet Command.
