Three Texas A&M freshmen begin their 18-mile walk on Saturday in Tyler to honor the annual March to the Brazos, a traditional walk by the Corps of Cadets. Taking part in the walk were (from left) Marty Foster of Tyler (The Brook Hill School graduate), Nathan Drain of Tyler (Tyler Lee High School graduate) and Dylan Loveless of Sachse (Wylie High School graduate). Loveless is carrying the Squadron 17 Challenger flag. According to their website, Squadron 17 Challenger “is an outfit of highly motivated campus leaders dedicated to academic success, military professionalism, and athletic achievement.”

Texas A&M is steeped in traditions — from the 12th Man to Midnight Yell to Howdy to Whoop.

Another tradition occurs in the spring by the Corps of Cadets — the March to the Brazos.

Although students are scattered due to COVID-19, the Aggies are carrying on the annual event, including two Aggie freshmen — Nathan Drain and Marty Foster, who are from Tyler. A fellow classmate, Dylan Loveless, drove down from his hometown of Sachse to walk with Drain and Foster.

The school said, “March to the Brazos is the largest student-led fundraiser for the March of Dimes in the country. It is also the most successful, raising thousands of dollars for the organization each year. Each spring semester, the Corps of Cadets march nine miles to the Brazos River from their dorms on campus. Once at the Brazos River, the cadets participate in various athletic and military competitions, have a catered barbecue, then receive awards for those units that have raised the most money for the March of Dimes that year. The day concludes with the new leadership of the Corps for next year leading the nine-mile march back to campus.”

A&M had a ceremonial walk in College Station with one senior, one junior, one sophomore and one freshman.

Drain felt he needed something to mark the end of his freshman term.

“I was talking with my family about how much fun March to the Brazos would have been,” said Drain, a former Tyler Lee tennis standout. “I was disappointed that I was going to miss one of the most memorable traditions in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M due to the quarantine. We came up with an idea of contacting my fish (freshmen) buddy class to see if there would be an interest for everyone to participate in their own individual walk in their own hometown.

“I felt like it was a great opportunity for me personally to gain some closure on my freshman year in the Corps of Cadets. And it also means a lot to me that all of my fish buddies in my outfit got to do this together despite the circumstances.”

Drain is a member of Squadron 17, and he has 15 other freshmen in that unit. He sent a message to his buddies, and all 15 continued the tradition on Saturday, albeit, a different version of the walk.

The Squadron 17 Corps of Aggies walked 18 miles in their hometowns in honor of what would have been March to the Brazos.

Drain added, “March to the Brazos dates back to 1909. However, it was discontinued in 1912. It was reinstated in 1977, and has been held annually ever since. In the years past, the Cadet Corps would conduct a march from the Quad to the Brazos River to keep cadets from playing April fools pranks. Today, March to the Brazos serves as a symbolic opportunity for cadets to assume their positions for the following year.”

Foster, a graduate of The Brook Hill School in Bullard, and Drain, a communications major, grew up together, playing in the Tyler Youth Soccer Association. Loveless is a graduate of Wylie High School.

Both Foster and Loveless wanted to join Drain in the walk.

“To me, it means closure to all the work I put into my freshman year and it will help me think toward the positive future rather than in the uncertain present,” Foster, an Aerospace Engineering major, said of “the crazy times” the nation and world are going through.

Loveless was going to take the trek by himself, but decided to come to the Rose City for the walk to join Drain and Foster.

“I love these guys so much and I’m sad to have missed out on the opportunity to partake in this tradition back in College Station, so I decided to drive down to Tyler to do it with my buddies,” said Loveless, an Agricultural Leadership major.

Others in Squadron 17 who walked in their hometowns were Matthew Chang (Cypress), Nicholas Roth (Katy), Justin Eckerman (Houston) Wyatt Spangler (Liberty Hill), Tyler Jennings (College Station), Travis McAleer (College Station), David Hebert (Tomball), Nicholas Carrion (San Antonio), Garret Hankins (Odessa), Graham Kraft (McKinney), Grant Hankins (Odessa), Duncan Williams (Dripping Springs) and Jack Rosner (Missouri City).

The Aggies have not been in a classroom or in their unit since March 6 and have continued to take classes online. The semester is scheduled to conclude in a couple of weeks.

“The whole year we learned the phrase, ‘through unity, strength,’ so it means a lot to us that our class chose to do this together,” Drain said of the opportunity to do something together once again as freshmen.

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