Aggie Muster    

Muster is a time set aside to honor Aggies who have died since the muster ceremony the previous year and is one of Texas A&M University's most solemn and visible traditions. No matter where Aggies are, no matter in what state or foreign country, whether they are as few as two or as many as the thousands who gather on the Texas A&M campus, they come together each April for Muster. Many former students return to campus for Muster, among them those who graduated 50 years before and who hold a special class reunion.

Muster was first held on June 26, 1883. Former students of Texas A&M - then called ex-cadets - were called to gather so they might "…live over again our college days, the victories and defeats won and lost upon drill ground and classroom. Let every alumnus answer a roll call."

Muster was held in Europe during World War I, where groups of Aggies were serving. During World War II, Gen. George F. Moore, Texas A&M Class of 1908, was the commander of Fort Mills on Corregidor Island in the Philippines. He, along with 25 other Aggies on the island, held a Muster celebration on April 21, 1942. By May 6 the island had fallen to Japanese forces, and all of those Aggies were either captured or killed. One of the most well known Musters was held after the war in 1946. Aggies who were present among the American armed forces on Corregidor once again held Muster on the island.

"Muster is the most solemn and sacred of all Aggie traditions, but it is a time of joy and happy remembrance. Those who have gone before us are those whose lives have touched ours. May we do the same for those who come after us. May we expect no less of ourselves."
-Dr. E. Dean Gage '65

Each year Texas A&M University at Galveston holds Muster in the Aggie Special Events Center on April 21st.

Texas A&M University Muster Site