A grove of red oaks stands tall on a little patch of earth west of Williams Hall. Otherwise unremarkable compared to the campus's numerous other trees, each individual oak is actually a natural memorial to MSU students and faculty who gave their lives while fighting in World War I. Next to the trees, right off the sidewalk, is a large stone tablet with a bronze plaque engraved with the names of those soldiers.
The stone and accompanying plaque was commemorated at 5:30 p.m. on June 12, 1919. This was at a time when MSU was known as the Michigan Agricultural College. Lt. Col. Augustus Gansser delivered the dedication speech, himself personally invested because of his military time in the same division as those named on the monument.
"We gather to dedicate this grove and tablet to the memory of the graduates and students of this great state school, who gave their lives that the world might be made safe for Democracy and Democracy made safe for the world," Gansser said according to documents obtained from the MSU University Archives and Historical Collections.
All 36 names on the marker were members of the 125th Infantry, 32nd division, the famed Red Arrow Division. They were also given the nickname "Les Terribles" from the French soldiers they fought alongside, called such because of the unit's tenacity in overcoming previously impenetrable German fronts such as the Hindenburg Line.
Originally cast in a deep brown bronze, the plaque has slowly faded over time into the light turquoise coloration it now has. Rather than being a sign of neglect, it's actually an intended transformation Steve Troost, a campus planner who works specifically with commemorative benches and trees across MSU, said.
"There's some people that love that historic quality, so it tends to become an aesthetic appeal on that one," Troost said.
The memorial plaque has been relatively free of any serious damage or degradation over time, meaning Troost and the rest of his department haven't needed to do much work on it.
"That's partly why they pick that bronze material is that it's very long lasting, typically it'll be the concrete pier that's holding up the bronze that will get damaged before the bronze will," he said.
