A Brotherhood Unlike Any Other
In 1891, General John Joseph Pershing, then a second Lieutenant in the Sixth Cavalry, became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Wishing to improve the morale of the ROTC unit, he formed a select company of men, thereafter known as Company A.
In 1892, this company won the maiden competition at the Omaha Competition. In 1893, the special drill company became a fraternal organization bearing the name of "Varsity Rifles." In 1894, the organization, in appreciation of the initiative and cooperation of Lt. Pershing, changed its name to "Pershing Rifles."
When Pershing left Nebraska, in 1895, he, at the request of a committee, gave the company a pair of his cavalry breeches. These breeches were cut into small pieces and were worn on the uniform as a sign of membership. These "ribbons" were the first service ribbons ever worn in the United States.
Pershing went on to become the most decorated war hero in the history of the United States. After serving as the Allied Expidtionary Forces Commander of World War One, Pershing was promoted to the highest rank ever attained in the history of the United States: General of the Armies. Pershing Rifles carries on his legacy at hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. "Pershing's Own" Company A-2 and the National Headquarters of Pershing Rifles lives and breathes here at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
