Virginia Tech and its
Corps of Cadets have a long tradition of providing service to the military. Seven
Medal of Honor recipients are alumni or former cadets at Virginia Tech.
LTCAntoine A.M. Gaujot, US Army (Class of 1900) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an Army
Corporal at the Battle of San Mateo during the
Philippine–American War; brother of Julien Gaujot (did not graduate)
SGTEarle D. Gregory, US Army (Class of 1923) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I; known as the "Sgt. York of Virginia"
COLJulien E. Gaujot,
US Army (Class of 1893) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on the
Mexican border in 1914, the only soldier ever awarded the Medal for actions of a peacekeeping nature; brother of Antoine Gaujot (did not graduate)
Nidal Hasan, US Army (Class of 1997) – former MAJ and Army psychiatrist; convicted in the
2009 Fort Hood shooting, subsequently dishonorably discharged[1]
SGT
Herbert J. Thomas,
USMC (Class of 1944) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on
Bougainville Island during World War II; member of Virginia Tech's Athletic Hall of Fame (did not graduate)
Markus Breitschmid (Class of 1994, M.S.) – internationally active Swiss architectural theoretician, historian, and author
Julian Ashby Burruss (Class of 1898) – first president of Normal and Industrial School for Women (now
James Madison University); eighth president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Thomas DiLorenzo – Austrian School economist and author; professor at Loyola University in Baltimore (Ph.D. in economics)
Mark Embree (Class of 1996) – Rhodes Scholar; professor of mathematics at
Virginia Tech;Leader of the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics (CMDA) department at
Virginia Tech[2]
Regina E. Dugan (1984 B.S., Class of 1985 M.S.) – former vice president of Engineering,
Facebook Inc.; former vice president of Advanced Technology and Projects at
Google also known as the "Moonshot" project; 19th Director of the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – the first woman to lead the agency
Mike Michalowicz (Class of 1993) – author of business books and former columnist for The Wall Street Journal; MSNBC television personality; co-captain of Virginia Tech men's lacrosse team 1993
Frank Sturgis, born Frank Angelo Fiorini (attended in the 1940s) – convicted for the
Watergate burglaries that ultimately led to the resignation of US President
Richard M. Nixon; served in the US Marines, Navy, and Army and as a
covert operative in Latin America
Linda Swartz Taglialatela – United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS
Rob Wittman – Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st District
Catherine Woteki (Class of 1971, M.S., Ph.D.) – Under Secretary for
USDA's Research, Education, and Economics mission area, as well as the department's chief scientist
DeAngelo Hall (Class of 2005) – defensive back for the
Washington Redskins;, 8th overall pick at the 2004 NFL Draft and played in consecutive Pro-Bowls in 2006–2007 (did not graduate)
Frank Loria – first Team All-American safety for VT (1967); first Team Academic All-American (1967); College Football Hall of Fame member (1999); was defensive backs coach for Marshall (age 23) when he and the team were killed in a plane crash (1970)
Kristi Castlin (Class of 2010) – 2016 Rio Olympics, Bronze Medal 100M hurdles[26]
Queen Harrison – three-time NCAA women's national champion in the 60 m, 100 m and 400 m hurdles; 2008 US Olympian in the 400 m hurdles; won the 2010 Bowerman, the "Heisman of track and field"
Marcel Lomnicky – 2009 NCAA men's national champion in the hammer throw
Wrestling
Jim Miller – wrestled for Virginia Tech as a freshman walk-on during the 2002–2003 season; professional
MMA fighter[27]
Virginia Tech and its
Corps of Cadets have a long tradition of providing service to the military. Seven
Medal of Honor recipients are alumni or former cadets at Virginia Tech.
LTCAntoine A.M. Gaujot, US Army (Class of 1900) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions as an Army
Corporal at the Battle of San Mateo during the
Philippine–American War; brother of Julien Gaujot (did not graduate)
SGTEarle D. Gregory, US Army (Class of 1923) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I; known as the "Sgt. York of Virginia"
COLJulien E. Gaujot,
US Army (Class of 1893) – awarded the Medal of Honor for actions on the
Mexican border in 1914, the only soldier ever awarded the Medal for actions of a peacekeeping nature; brother of Antoine Gaujot (did not graduate)
Nidal Hasan, US Army (Class of 1997) – former MAJ and Army psychiatrist; convicted in the
2009 Fort Hood shooting, subsequently dishonorably discharged[1]
SGT
Herbert J. Thomas,
USMC (Class of 1944) – awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on
Bougainville Island during World War II; member of Virginia Tech's Athletic Hall of Fame (did not graduate)
Markus Breitschmid (Class of 1994, M.S.) – internationally active Swiss architectural theoretician, historian, and author
Julian Ashby Burruss (Class of 1898) – first president of Normal and Industrial School for Women (now
James Madison University); eighth president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Thomas DiLorenzo – Austrian School economist and author; professor at Loyola University in Baltimore (Ph.D. in economics)
Mark Embree (Class of 1996) – Rhodes Scholar; professor of mathematics at
Virginia Tech;Leader of the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics (CMDA) department at
Virginia Tech[2]
Regina E. Dugan (1984 B.S., Class of 1985 M.S.) – former vice president of Engineering,
Facebook Inc.; former vice president of Advanced Technology and Projects at
Google also known as the "Moonshot" project; 19th Director of the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency – the first woman to lead the agency
Mike Michalowicz (Class of 1993) – author of business books and former columnist for The Wall Street Journal; MSNBC television personality; co-captain of Virginia Tech men's lacrosse team 1993
Frank Sturgis, born Frank Angelo Fiorini (attended in the 1940s) – convicted for the
Watergate burglaries that ultimately led to the resignation of US President
Richard M. Nixon; served in the US Marines, Navy, and Army and as a
covert operative in Latin America
Linda Swartz Taglialatela – United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS
Rob Wittman – Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st District
Catherine Woteki (Class of 1971, M.S., Ph.D.) – Under Secretary for
USDA's Research, Education, and Economics mission area, as well as the department's chief scientist
DeAngelo Hall (Class of 2005) – defensive back for the
Washington Redskins;, 8th overall pick at the 2004 NFL Draft and played in consecutive Pro-Bowls in 2006–2007 (did not graduate)
Frank Loria – first Team All-American safety for VT (1967); first Team Academic All-American (1967); College Football Hall of Fame member (1999); was defensive backs coach for Marshall (age 23) when he and the team were killed in a plane crash (1970)
Kristi Castlin (Class of 2010) – 2016 Rio Olympics, Bronze Medal 100M hurdles[26]
Queen Harrison – three-time NCAA women's national champion in the 60 m, 100 m and 400 m hurdles; 2008 US Olympian in the 400 m hurdles; won the 2010 Bowerman, the "Heisman of track and field"
Marcel Lomnicky – 2009 NCAA men's national champion in the hammer throw
Wrestling
Jim Miller – wrestled for Virginia Tech as a freshman walk-on during the 2002–2003 season; professional
MMA fighter[27]