Virginia’s oldest and smallest military school for boys has officially been selected to march in the Virginia Gubernatorial Inaugural Parade in Richmond.
Fishburne Military School was formally invited last week by the Northam Inaugural Committee to march in Governor-elect Ralph Northam’s inaugural parade on Saturday, January 13, 2018. Northam will become the 73rd governor of Virginia. A 1981 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Northam served for eight years as an Army Medical Officer.
This will mark the second time that the Fishburne Military School Corps of Cadets has marched in the Virginia Gubernatorial Inauguration. The Caissons appeared in the 1986 Inauguration of Fishburne Military School Alumnus Gerald Baliles, who served as Virginia’s 65th Governor.
FMS Superintendent Captain Mark Black USN(Ret) noted “Fishburne Military School is tremendously honored to accept this invitation. As an Army Junior ROTC Honor Unit with Distinction, we pride ourselves upon teaching our young men the importance of honor, citizenship and self-discipline. Being included in an historic moment such as this is something that our Cadets will proudly recall for the rest of their lives.”
In January of 2017, Fishburne Military School marched in their first Presidential Inauguration.
Since its founding in 1879, the Waynesboro, Virginia military school has also marched in review for dignitaries such as President Calvin Coolidge, Virginia Governor Harry Flood Byrd, and Secretaries of the Army Generals George C. Marshall and Eric Shinseki.