Aggies everywhere can take part online in one of Texas A&M University’s most revered annual traditions on April 21 as the Muster Live website, MusterLive.AggieNetwork.com, livestreams both the Texas A&M campus Muster (7 p.m., Reed Arena) and the live Worldwide Roll Call for the Absent (6:51 a.m., Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center).
Aggie Muster is a more than century-old tradition in which Texas A&M students and former students (alumni) hold hundreds of gatherings worldwide on or near April 21 (tx.ag/WhatIsMuster).
In the Brazos Valley, there will be at least nine Musters this year, from Franklin to Brenham – see the map at tx.ag/FindAMuster.
These Musters can be casual or formal, held in backyards, restaurants, hotel ballrooms or parks (tx.ag/MusterPhotos). Most include a reading of the names of local Aggies lost in the past year. The traditional date of San Jacinto Day (April 21) honors Texas independence, and the term "muster," meaning a gathering (as of military troops), was first applied in the 1940s.
This year, Aggies in Washington, D.C., placed flowers at Aggies’ graves in Arlington National Cemetery (tx.ag/AggiesAtArlington), and the newly formed Italy A&M Club will read all names of Aggies honored in Italy’s two World War II American cemeteries (tx.ag/ItalyMuster).
For Aggies who can’t make it to a Muster in person, the Muster Live website gives the chance to watch the annual Worldwide Roll Call of over 1,200 names as well as the campus Muster, attended by thousands in College Station.
The Worldwide Roll Call begins at 6:51 a.m. The Association of Former Students and volunteers will read more than 1,200 names on the 2023 Muster roll of Aggies who have passed away since 2022's Muster and answer "Here" for each. At 7 p.m., the campus Muster livestream will begin. Both events can be replayed on the website after they conclude.
Muster Live will also allow Aggies, family and friends to upload photos and remembrances.
Order of names: During the Worldwide Roll Call, which takes some 2.5 hours, most names will be ordered with the earliest A&M Class years first. Within each Class year, names are alphabetized.
Early Class years: The beginning of 2023’s Worldwide Roll Call may include early A&M Class years such as 1917. In such cases, the death may have occurred more than a year ago, but records indicate The Association had not been notified.
The Muster Live website was created in 2020 by The Association of Former Students (A&M’s alumni organization) and Texas A&M so that Aggies could gather for Muster virtually. It has become an annual tradition. The Worldwide Roll Call reading was created in 2018 by The Association to ensure that every Aggie name would be called and answered with “Here.”
For more information, visit tx.ag/WatchMusterLive2023.
Courtesy of Aggie Network
