Alex Box Stadium

[zsmith]

Other than the 8 years I spent in the military, I've never lived more than 30 miles from the Louisiana State University campus. I grew up an avid LSU sports fan and continue to follow the Tigers religiously. I'm proud to say that LSU is steeped in military history and tradition. It started in 1860 when the Louisiana State University Agricultural & Mechanical College opened with Col William Tecumseh Sherman as it's superintendent. Sherman would leave the university at the onset of the Civil War. He later donated 2 cannons which were seized from Confederate forces and were used to fire the opening shots at Fort Sumter in 1861. The cannons still sit on campus displayed in front of the Military Sciences building.

 

I am an LSU baseball season ticket holder. We have a beautiful new stadium that was built opened in 2009. Before that I had attended games since I was a kid at the original stadium that was built in 1938. When the original stadium was torn down, most of it was auctioned off. I have a couple of signs and even a section of the bleachers in my collection. But there was one thing that was brought over to the new stadium... it's name.

 

When the original stadium opened in 1938 it was simply named LSU Varsity Baseball Field. In 1938 a young man named Simeon Alex Box enrolled at LSU. He played outfield in baseball and was halfback on the football team. In 1942, Lt. Box was assigned to the 1st Engineer Combat Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division and was on his way to North Africa as part of Operation Torch.

 

On November 7, the division disembarked at Oran and met with determined resistance. The 1st Engineer Combat Battalion's primary role was of road maintenance and mine warfare. It's secondary role was fighting as infantry. It was in this role on November 9, 1942, at Arcole, Algeria, that Lieutenant Box - a platoon leader - used a half-track to destroy enemy machine guns emplacements that were blocking the 1^st Infantry’s advance. For his extraordinary heroism he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross - the second highest military decoration of the US Army.

 

The following year Alex was fighting German forces in Tunisia. In February 1943, Field Marshall Rommel launched an all-out attack against the American forces at Kasserine. Alex Box was involved in laying minefields and preparing road blocks, when, on February 19, a mine was accidentally discharged. He was killed instantly, along with four other soldiers.

In May 1943 the LSU Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to name the university's baseball stadium for Box. "For the first time in the school's history," observed the student newspaper, The Reveille, "the service and memory of the military hero came to be esteemed so highly that a structure on the campus was named in his honor." The LSU Tigers baseball team continue to play at Alex Box Stadium today.

Although what you all might not consider a museum or monument, every time I step into Alex Box Stadium I am reminded of the sacrifice of Lt. Simeon Alex Box.

[DontStartMeTalkin]

thank you for sharing that story & the pics!

[zsmith]

This year at Alex Box Stadium they opened the new Wally Pontiff, Jr. Hall of Fame Museum. When you first walk through the doors there is an exhibit about Alex Box including his Purple Heart and DSC. I didn't even think to snap a photo because I was too busy walking around like a kid in a candy store looking at all the amazing memorabilia. I'll be there this weekend for the series against South Carolina and I'll try to remember to get a picture.

 

I did get a pic of my little man at his first game. I was proud of him b/c he managed to stay quiet for the entire National Anthem! He even held his little hat over his heart...