The Citadel has named the first two cadets to receive honorary degrees after being killed in military action. The Military College Of South Carolina has announced that Lt. Colonel George McMillan and Medal Of Honor Recipient Christopher Celiz will be awarded honorary degrees.
The Citadel's Board voted in January to approve awarding honorary degrees to cadets who left the school in good standing for military missions. McMillan came to the Citadel in 1935 and was 6 credits from graduating , when he left to serve in the Army Air Corps. He was later the commander of a fighter squadron, when he shot down and killed in China.
Celiz was a South Carolina Native, who left the Citadel for the Army in 2007. He later became a Combat Engineer in a Ranger Regiment. He was killed during a 2018 combat mission in Afghanistan.
The degree presentation for the family of Lt. Col. McMillan is set for this Friday. The presentation to the Celiz family is slated for November 11th. The ceremonies will be the first of their kind in the Citadel's 180 year history."