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GREENSBORO — Sixty years after its founding, there's plenty to celebrate about N.C. A&T's Army ROTC program.

But brass who return for this weekend's anniversary celebration may be sad to find out that the luster has somewhat faded from the gold lieutenant bars students once eagerly sought.

When the A&T program started in 1947, it created a vital pipeline for black men, and later women, to enter the Army as officers instead of privates.

"It was impossible for black students to get into the military academies, and Officer Training School programs were hard to get into," says Reginald Reeve, a retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who in 1947 was among the eight who received the first commissions in the A&T program.

A Greensboro native and now a lawyer in Idaho, Reeve will be among those returning — including five generals — for anniversary events on campus and at Koury Convention Center.

Army ROTC was once so popular at the university the cadet corps numbered 250.

That number has dropped to 93, and only about 60 percent of those attend A&T. Starting in 1981, A&T opened its ROTC program to students at Elon University, UNCG, and Bennett, Greensboro and Guilford colleges.

Now, about 20 percent of the cadets trek over from UNCG to A&T's Campbell Hall for military classes and training. Another 20 percent come from the other four schools.

Capt. Lee Washington, assistant professor of military science, cites multiple factors behind ROTC's decline.

The Iraq war has scared some from joining. Corporate America also competes with the Army for graduates.

And parents — Washington shakes his head — don't want children to join, even if their child wants to. Parents fear their son or daughter will wind up in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And some surely would.

"I know that we have a lot of our former students over there," says Washington, adding that — as best as he can determine — none from the ROTC program has been killed in combat so far.

Larry Burnett, who headed the A&T ROTC program from 1999 to 2005 and earned his commission there in 1980, says the numbers fluctuate with the economy. When he directed the program, many students decided against ROTC. Instead, students opted for internships with corporations.

Reeve says he may be the only survivor of the original eight who received their second lieutenant bars in 1947.

He remembers classes in military sciences, drilling and training on campus in places where buildings now stand. He also recalls one particular instructor, Edward Brown, the brother-in-law of famed Cleveland Indians baseball player Larry Doby — the second African American to play in the major leagues, after Jackie Robinson.

Reeve knows firsthand the difficulties black men once encountered in becoming officers.

A&T's ROTC program dates to 1919 when black World War I hero Robert Campbell started a junior program. But completion didn't lead to an officer's commission.

Before A&T's senior ROTC program was established, Reeve had been in the Army and was among 300 mostly white men selected for a special training program in Utah. Reeve was judged among the best of the group, but only whites were later sent to Officer Training School.

He says the officers in charge thought "Lee won the war." He remembers one telling him, "You are a leader but what makes you think you can be an officer?"

Even with ROTC's popularity in decline, at least for now, A&T's program has plenty to show from 60 years of training officers.

"I'm quite pleased that from the small college we have had more generals graduating ... than many mainstream white schools," Reeve says.

One of those five generals will speak at the anniversary banquet tonight at Koury Convention Center. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Clara Adams-Ender graduated from A&T in 1962, 12 years before women could join ROTC.

She gained a direct commission because she was a nursing graduate. She commanded the Army Nurse Corps from 1987 to 1991.

Make no mistake. ROTC retains enough popularity that some students fool their parents to join.

"Some parents don't know that their sons or daughters join the ROTC," Washington says.

Last year, when a cadet got into trouble, Washington was about to call her parents.

The cadet begged him not to. Her parents had no idea she was a cadet.

Contact Jim Schlosser at 373-7081 or jschlosser@news-record.com