The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
The Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Veterans Committee
THE DARRELL K ROYAL-TEXAS MEMORIAL STADIUM VETERANS COMMITTEE
MISSION
The Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Veterans Committee was created to preserve the legacy of one of the nation’s largest military memorials. Texas Memorial Stadium, dedicated in 1924, honors all men and women who have bravely fought and died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The Committee works alongside the Athletics Department to recognize and honor all University of Texas at Austin individuals who have served honorably in America’s armed forces. Comprised entirely of alumni from The University of Texas at Austin who are veterans themselves, the Committee represents the many former students who have pledged to serve their country as members of the United States Armed Forces.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Veterans Committee serves as an advisory group appointed by the President of The University of Texas at Austin. It is responsible to the Athletics Department for assisting in preserving the history and heritage of the Texas Memorial Stadium. The Committee collaborates with the Athletics Department on plans to maintain, honor, and, as needed, expand the memorials in and around Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to recognize the service of men and women in the armed forces. Additionally, the Committee coordinates the University’s annual Veterans Day Wreath Laying Ceremony in partnership with the Athletics Department, University leadership, and other University stakeholders. It also supports the planning and coordination of the annual Salute-to-Service Recognition football game and other University veterans’ commemorative events.
BYLAWS
HISTORY OF DARRELL K ROYAL-TEXAS MEMORIAL STADIUM
In early 1923, a group of about 30 students met with the athletic director, Theo Bellmont, and proposed launching an effort to raise money to construct a proper football stadium. After the Board of Regents approved the project, a statewide campaign was launched, raising about $275,000, primarily through donations from students and alumni of The University of Texas. All funds were collected in the name of veterans. The original Texas Memorial Stadium was dedicated in 1924 to honor the 200,000 men and women from Texas who served in the First World War. It had a seating capacity of 27,000 and was, at the time, “the largest sports facility in the Southwest.”
Over the next 85 years, the stadium was expanded several times, and each time, it was re-dedicated to honor the men and women of all services. In 1948, it was enlarged to seat 60,000 and was re-dedicated in honor of the men and women from Texas who died in the Second World War. In 1977, the stadium was re-dedicated in memory of all former University of Texas students who had fought in America’s wars.
In 1996, The University of Texas honored legendary head football coach Darrell Royal by adding his name to the stadium, making it Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. In 2008, when the renovated stadium’s seating capacity was expanded to over 100,000, it was re-dedicated once again, this time with more inclusive language. The stadium was dedicated, as it is now, to all men and women who have fought and died in the United States military.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Thomas M. Hatfield
Dean Emeritus of Continuing Education and
Director, Military History Institute,
Briscoe Center for American History
The University of Texas at Austin Thomas M. “Tom” Hatfield is Dean Emeritus of Continuing Education and currently Director, Military History Institute in the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a pro bono advisor to researchers and donors of archival collections. As a UT Austin academic dean from 1977 to 2007, Hatfield was a prime mover in the expansion of continuing professional education, and in creating study abroad opportunities for Texas students, alumni and patrons at renowned universities in Western Europe. In Texas, Dean Hatfield partnered with high schools via emerging distance education formats to increase completion rates and facilitate college entry, especially for children from low-income families. In 1990, he co-founded and taught for the decade that followed in the University’s Normandy Scholar Program, a series of undergraduate courses focused on the Second World War. His published books include On The Way, the memoir of Frank W. Denius; and Rudder: From Leader to Legend, a biography of James Earl Rudder, a heroic figure in the Normandy Invasion and acclaimed president of Texas A&M University in the 1960s; and The Texas Drought of the 1950s. For almost forty years Hatfield has led many tours and staff rides across battlefields of World War II in Europe and on Pacific Islands. Hatfield earned a BS degree from Trinity University, and MA in history and PhD degrees from UT Austin. He is the Founding President Emeritus of the Austin Community College. He enlisted in the Army and left the service as a Captain in military intelligence. He is an honorary member of the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame and received the Award For Distinction in Patriotic Service from the National Society of the Colonial Dames in 2018. As a member of the UT president’s Stadium Veterans Committee, his principal effort has been to identify and publicly memorialize all former students of The University who have lost their lives in America’s wars, and separately those who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Lawson W. Magruder III
Chairman
Lawson Magruder, Lieutenant General, US Army Retired, is a 1969 Distinguished Military graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He has been coaching professionals, mentoring leaders, and building highly effective professional teams for more than five decades. He led soldiers in combat in Vietnam and Somalia and commanded three large Army commands to include the historic 10th Mountain Division. Retiring with over 32 years of service, Lawson transitioned from the military into the corporate culture building enduring research partnerships in the homeland security arena, publicly sharing his leadership journey at seminars and conferences, and serving as a personal coach and mentor for business and military leaders nationwide. He was the co-founder of True Growth Associates, a highly successful leader development practice. He was on the boards of the Army Air Force Exchange Service, Franciscan Foundation, and the Army Residence Community Foundation. He is a member of the US Army ROTC National Hall Fame, US Army Ranger Hall of Fame, and an Outstanding Alumnus of the US Army War College. He is the author of “A Soldier’s Journey Living His Why” and coauthor of “Of Their Own Accord: A Company of Army Ranger Changing Lives in Changing Times”.
Gabriel R. Salazar
Secretary and Treasurer
Captain Gabriel R. Salazar (Retired) attended the University of Texas in Austin, graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program and, following flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in August 1980.
Captain Salazar has served in a variety of assignments all over the world during his 30-year Navy career, accumulating over 4,000 flight hours in various naval aircraft. He commanded Patrol Squadron Nine in Barbers Point, Hawaii and Training Air Wing Four at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas. His last tour of active duty was as Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science at the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps unit at the University of Texas in Austin, the first University of Texas alumnus to have done so.
Captain Salazar has accumulated over forty-six years of Naval Aviation and government experience, most recently as an executive consultant to various senior Navy staffs. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Midshipmans Foundation, a non-profit University of Texas Naval ROTC alumni foundation which has provided over $1.6M in scholarships and other financial support to the University of Texas Naval ROTC unit.
Preston McFarren
Preston McFarren graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991 with a degree in Government from the college of Liberal Arts. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force through the ROTC program at UT’s DET 825. He entered active duty in February of 1992 and served in a variety of logistics, operational & training roles until leaving full time service in August of 2002. Additionally, he has a Master of Arts in Management degree from Webster University and has completed numerous professional leadership courses with the military.
Upon departure from active service, he joined the Air Force Reserve, where he is currently serving as a Major General on the Air Force Reserve Command staff. He’s twice deployed in support of combat operations: to Balad AB, Iraq in 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom & to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2009-10 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Preston has two daughters, Hannah McFarren Kay & Megan McFarren who are also graduates from the University of Texas. Hannah (Class of 16) was a member of the first group of graduates from the Dell Medical School in 2020 and is a pediatrician in Denver, Co. Megan (Class of 19) works for Netflix in Los Angeles, CA.
In his civilian capacity, Preston has spent the last 20 years working for a variety of companies in the pharmaceutical industry. His focus area is sales leadership and is currently the Regional Business Leader for South Texas with a mid-size company specializing in psychiatric disorders.
He’s married to Katherine (Katie) Fraser who works in the pharmaceutical industry focusing on hematology & oncology. They live in Houston Texas and are both avid Scuba Divers. Additionally, they are both active in supporting the veteran’s community through a variety of diving related organizations, helping to train people with physical limitations learn how to dive.
Raquel Cruz Bono,
MD, MBA, FACS
Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Raquel Cruz Bono, MD, MBA, FACS, is a nationally recognized healthcare executive, physician leader, and strategic advisor with extensive experience leading large-scale healthcare enterprises, innovation initiatives, public-private partnerships, and organizational transformation efforts across the healthcare, technology, and government sectors.
Dr. Bono currently serves as Managing Partner of NAVA Edge LLC, an executive advisory and strategic leadership network focused on healthcare transformation, organizational strategy, executive leadership, and innovation. Previously, she served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief of Innovation for MedicaliSight, an advanced software-as-a-medical-device company specializing in AI-enabled 3D imaging, navigational technologies, and extended reality applications for minimally invasive interventional procedures and collaborative clinical decision-making.
Dr. Bono served as Director of Washington State’s COVID-19 Health System Response Management, coordinating statewide healthcare readiness and pandemic response operations. She later served as Chief Health Officer for Viking Cruises, where she led the development and implementation of industry-leading health and operational protocols that enabled the safe resumption of global cruise operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Bono served as Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Defense Health Agency, leading a $50 billion integrated global healthcare system consisting of 50 hospitals and more than 300 clinics serving approximately 9.5 million beneficiaries worldwide.
A board-certified trauma surgeon, Dr. Bono combines clinical expertise with executive leadership experience spanning healthcare delivery, digital health innovation, crisis management, operational transformation, and strategic growth. She currently serves on the boards of Humana, Inc., The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, The Leapfrog Group, and Steampunk, Inc. She is also a Senior Fellow with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Dr. Bono earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin, her MBA from Washington State University, and her Doctor of Medicine degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She completed her surgical internship and residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and a trauma and critical care fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Her honors include the Bob Dole World War II Foundation Leadership Award; Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare”; Executive Mosaic’s “Wash100”; the University of Texas Distinguished Alumna Award; and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award.
James A. Broaddus, Ph.D., P.E.
With three degrees in civil engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, Jim Broaddus has had distinguished careers as a military officer, public servant and currently serving as Chairman and CEO of the Broaddus Companies.
1970-1990 -As a Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer and Seabee, Broaddus built facilities for the Navy throughout the world. From 1983-85 he served in the Pentagon developing construction projects to support the President’s expansion of the Navy to 600 ships. From 1985-88, he had the unique assignment as Commanding Officer of the Presidential Retreat at Camp David for President Ronald Reagan. From 1988-90 he was responsible for design and construction of the Navy’s major construction projects in the Southern US.
1990-2000 – He returned to Austin to serve as Associate Director of the UT’s Construction Industry Institute. In 1994, he became the senior official responsible for the statewide capital construction program for The University of Texas System's 15 UT institutions, completing $1.4 billion in a wide variety of health, research, academic, athletic and utility infrastructure projects. In 1998 he became the first full-time CEO of the Design-Build Institute of America.
2000-present – In 2000 he founded The Broaddus Companies, which provides planning, program/project management, construction, technology, and security readiness services. Based in Austin, the firm has offices and projects throughout Texas and the nation. In its 25th year, the firm has accomplished $17 billion in projects in healthcare, research, higher education, state and local government, infrastructure, and private commercial work. Large, complex projects are the firm’s forte, and Engineering News Record consistently ranks the Broaddus Companies among the top Program and Construction Management firms in the U.S.
Other – In 2003 Broaddus was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Presidential Appointment to the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences, serving as Chairman from 2007-2008. Since his appointment to the first Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Veterans Committee in 1996, he has also been inducted into the National Academy of Construction, the University of Texas’ Academy of Distinguished Civil Engineering Graduates and a Distinguished Alumnus of the Texas NROTC program.
Steve Stevenson
Steve was a Distinguished Graduate from UT’s Army ROTC, commissioned in the Regular Army Infantry, was a Distinguished Graduate from the Infantry Officers Basic Course (IOBC), fought in Vietnam as a paratrooper platoon leader, company commander, and Green Beret. Later, he transferred to the US Air Force and, as an Air Force fighter pilot, flew F-4s and A-10s, among seven aircraft types, including CH-53 helicopters.
He commanded troops from the Infantry platoon level to an Air Force Wing and worked at Major Command Headquarters. He served as a F-4 Flight Commander in the Middle East, as an A-10 Operations Officer, commanded an A-10 squadron as a tenant on a Luftwaffe airbase in Germany, and served as the Community Commander. He always preached “Jointness” and inter-service cooperation in his positions.
Retired, he served 10 years as an EMT in his home county. Steve now lives in Bulverde, Texas. He is still married to Claire, his wonderful bride of over 55 years, and they have two grown sons.
Dr. Patrick J. Bingham
Dr. Patrick J. Bingham graduated from Clemson University in 1981 as a distinguished military graduate and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. During his time in the military, he served tours of duty at Fort Lewis, Washington; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Korea and Germany and deployed to Israel in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. While in the military, he completed the requirements for a Master of Arts Degree in Public Administration from Webster University. He also holds a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Tarleton State University and earned his Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Bingham holds certification in administration and supervision and the superintendency.
In his over 30 years as an educator, Dr. Bingham was employed as an elementary teacher, elementary assistant principal, elementary school principal, high school assistant principal, Director of Human Resources, Director of Military Affairs and as an Assistant Superintendent. Additionally, he worked in worked in school districts in Killeen, Texas; Prince George, Virginia; Las Cruces, New Mexico and Detroit, Michigan. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC) as Vice Chair/Treasurer Dr. Bingham and his wife, Lieutenant General (retired) Gwen Bingham, currently reside in Leander, Texas. They have two adult children, Dr. Tava M. Bingham also a University of Texas graduate and Phillip Jamal Bingham a graduate of Virginia Tech.
David Little
David Little graduated from the University of Texas in 1989 (History), and 1992 (Doctor of Jurisprudence).
David served in United States Marine Corps from 1991 – 2016, both in active duty and the Reserves. He was a Marine Judge Advocate, served time commanding as an Infantry Officer, and served in Iraq in 2005. He left as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2016, after complications from a stroke.
David is also an attorney. Currently, he is with D. E. Little Law Firm, PLLC in Dripping Springs, which he opened in 2021. He is also with One Another Project – a San Antonio non-profit company - as Director of Legal in 2023, and joined the firm of Muery & Company, PC in 2024 as Of Counsel.
David went to seminary after the stroke, achieving a Master of Divinity (2017) and a Doctor of Ministry (2023) at San Antonio’s Logsdon Seminary. He did a Chaplain Clinical Pastoral Education Residency in 2018-2019 at the San Antonio VA Medical Center, and practiced hospital chaplaincy for 4+ years, including during the pandemic. David is licensed and ordained as a Gospel Minister.
David is a husband (Amy) and a father (Sam, Ashley, Sarah, and Jake).
Tim Montgomery
Tim Montgomery is a 2020 and 2022 graduate from the University of Texas, with BA and MGPS degrees from the UT COLA and the LBJ School of Public Policy. He served in the US Army 2nd Ranger Battalion with multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan before returning to the private sector as a Geopolitical Risk consultant for international oil corporations.
HELP US HONOR FALLEN LONGHORNS
We are seeking assistance identifying University of Texas alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving during the Korean War, the Cold War era, the Vietnam War, and subsequent conflicts.
Please use the form below to share a name, service information, supporting documentation, or other relevant details with the committee.
EVENTS PHOTO GALLERY
