Military heritage takes center stage at Clemson Ring Ceremony
Each year, more than 5,000 students and alumni receive their Clemson Ring, one of the University’s most cherished traditions that represents a lifelong connection to Clemson. Most students have their rings presented to them at the formal Ring Ceremony hosted by the Clemson Alumni Association. The event leans heavily on Clemson’s rich military heritage, and for good reason.
Clemson was originally an all-male military school when it was founded in 1889. Cadets became the first students to wear the Clemson Ring in 1896, with the first graduating class. Since then, military service has been a cornerstone of the University. The notable accomplishments and incontrovertible heroics of its graduates in every world conflict since the Spanish-American War fill a long list, beginning with the names of the 498 known alumni who have given the ultimate sacrifice and four Medal of Honor recipients.
More than 10,000 Clemson alumni have served in the U.S. armed forces. Each year, the University adds dozens of members to the armed forces through its Army and Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs and Marine/Navy Officer Candidate programs. Several dozen student veterans who have already served in the military also receive their rings. This continuously building legacy is represented at every Clemson Ring Ceremony by Pershing Rifles members, ROTC cadets, current student veterans and the University’s marquee veteran alumni group, Clemson Corps.
At the start of current ceremonies, members of Clemson Corps carry a banner that reads “How will you serve?” through the crowd, followed by a formation of the ROTC honor guard, the Pershing Rifles, who carry a tray holding the new rings and place it on the stage.
“Being a part of Ring Ceremonies is important to us because it gives us the opportunity to serve one of Clemson’s oldest traditions,” said Pershing Rifles member Tyler White ’28, a junior studying political science. “Carrying out the rings is a very unique experience. We get to walk out in front of everyone, and all eyes fall to us. Yet the moment is not about us at all, and we feel the weight of Clemson grit while carrying the rings to the podium.”
A highlight of every ceremony is a video tribute to the late World War II hero, Brig. Gen. Ben Skardon ’38. Skardon endured one of the most notorious war crimes in history, the Bataan Death March, surviving the march and more than three years as a prisoner of war despite becoming deathly ill. Two fellow Clemson alumni, Henry Leitner ’37 and Otis Morgan ’38, helped Skardon survive by trading his Clemson Ring for food, saving his life during this harrowing time.
The video tribute shares one of the most powerful stories about a class ring ever told, and the inclusion of this story and the other military elements was an intentional enhancement by the Clemson Alumni Association.
Senior Elizabeth Bedard ’27, an Air Force ROTC cadet and Pershing Rifles member, summed up the tradition in her opening speech at the Spring 2026 ceremony: “The cadets here today remind us of the unbroken connection that now spans 129 years between our University’s distinguished military heritage and our beautiful Clemson Ring.”
For information about the Fall Ring Ceremony, visit alumni.clemson.edu/ring-ceremony.
