Army ROTC students visit Steptoe Memorial

Upper right: Army ROTC students visit the Steptoe Monument in Rosalia.

At right: Jim and Diane Nebel, Rosalia residents, log a picture with WSU and U of I Army ROTC students.

Two vans of ROTC students from Washington State University and the University of Idaho arrived at the Budding Rose Art Gallery in Rosalia to tour the Steptoe Battlefield and learn about the battle. The students, who wore grey “camo” attire, viewed battlefield brochures and a photo collection including portraits of Colonel Steptoe and Native American leaders Chief Garry of the Spokane Tribe and Chief Timothy of the Nez Perce Tribe.

On display was a timeline of events from 1858, the year of the battle, to 2008, the year new interpretive panels were installed at the battlefield memorial site. They were briefed about the partnership of Washington State Parks, the Rosalia Planning and Historical Commission and Eastern Washington University’s Archaeology Department which produced the 2008 battlefield improvement.

They also enjoyed the story of the restoration of the 1923 Hall Texaco Station which at the time was envisioned as an interpretive resource for the battlefield as well as a Rosalia visitors center.

Leaving the gallery, the group of uniformed students drew attention of several local residents as they walked down the street to the Rosalia Museum at City Hall. They showed great interest in much of the farming equipment displayed and were particularly interested in the military items and the iron box, Rosalia’s jail used up to the late 1950s.

Following the museum visit, the group boarded the vans and headed for the battlefield. Several photos were taken of the army group as they stood in front of the monument and the interpretive panels. The group was shown the southern route down the hill toward Pine Creek which Steptoe and his men used as a night escape route from the knoll on which they were trapped.

One of the ROTC officers, noticing the abundant native bunch grass surrounding the battlefield, had the soldiers lay belly down on the bunch grass in a semi-circle looking southeast over the rolling Palouse fields and Pine Creek.

The students were then asked to visualize the scene during the battle on May 17, 1858, and to imagine the thoughts Steptoe and his men must have had regarding a defensive tactic.

Before leaving the battlefield, both WSU and U of I officers presented Jim and Diane Nebel with a thank you gift. Both received a WSU Army ROTC hat and a souvenir medallion identifying the Chrisman Battalion of the U of I ROTC.

The town of Rosalia received a request for a guided tour of the Steptoe Battlefield from Army Lt. Col. Christopher Heatherly, WSU professor of military science. Leading the Vandals ROTC unit was Lt. Col. Brad Martin, professor of military science at Idaho. Also representing WSU ROTC was Master Sgt. Robert Bruce, senior military instructor.