James Emory Mace, , of Mount Pleasant, the decorated Army officer who led The Citadel through a dramatic transition from an all-male institution to a co-ed military college, has died. He was 85.
Mace, a Vietnam War veteran, was among the most decorated graduates in The Citadel’s history. He served as the school’s commandant from 1997 to 2005 — a period marked by cultural upheaval, internal reforms and national scrutiny.
Mace took over the role in February 1997, months after the first woman, Shannon Faulkner, enrolled at the formerly all-male military college following a protracted legal battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
While Faulkner’s stay was brief, his daughter, now-U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, would eventually succeed in becoming the school’s first female graduate.
She confirmed his death on the night of April 14. A cause was not immediately announced.
“Rest in peace, Dad. I love you and I’ll see you again,” she wrote on social media the following morning.
As commandant, Mace moved quickly to reshape cadet life. Known for his blunt, disciplined leadership style, he implemented sweeping reforms: prohibiting harassment during meals and study periods, eliminating sophomore rank authority over freshmen, banning physical contact with first-year cadets, limiting “knob knowledge” requirements and shortening the military orientation period.
In 1997, cadets lived by a new Citadel creed written by Mace. It read, in part: “I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor and high esprit de corps of The Citadel and the South Carolina Corps of Cadets … Under no circumstances will I ever embarrass The Citadel and the South Carolina Corps of Cadets.”
The changes marked a significant shift in the school’s culture as it worked to integrate women into a traditionally rigid system, including his daughter.
He would hold the role as third-in-command at the school for eight years.
When he told the school’s board of visitors he was stepping down, he said he had accomplished what he came to do — help men and women cadets coexist at the college.
“I feel I made a small difference in the life of The Citadel,” Mace said in 2005 when announcing his retirement.
That year, when state lawmakers recognized Mace for his contributions at the state’s military college, the resolution noted that under his leadership some 95 women had graduated from the Corps of Cadets.
The year Mace retired as commandant, the 1,900-member body included about 120 women.
Born in Hampton County, Mace attended The Citadel and earned the nickname “Bulldog.” He graduated in 1963.
He became something of a living legend. In her memoir, Nancy Mace wrote that her father built a near-mythic reputation at The Citadel for his extreme backwoods antics, including poaching alligators to pay for school and using them to intimidate freshmen.
In one story, he allegedly threw a live alligator into a cadet’s room to make a point about discipline, while in another, he chained a gator to the parade field overnight, leaving officers scrambling to remove it the next morning.
The stories, she wrote, cemented his image as both feared and legendary among cadets.
The persona he cultivated as a cadet was later reinforced by his record in combat.
NANCY MACE campaign _1.jpg
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace talks with her father James E. Mace at her election watch party at Patriots Point Links in Mount Pleasant. on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff
He served in the Army for 28 years and retired as an infantry brigadier general. His service in Vietnam made him one of the most decorated graduates The Citadel ever produced.
He earned some of the military’s highest honors, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, multiple Bronze Stars with “V” devices for valor, Army commendation medals for valor and a Purple Heart.
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Mace also reportedly fished his class ring out of a rice paddy rather than leave it behind in Vietnam.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism from Dec. 2–4, 1968, while serving with Company A, 2nd Battalion (Airmobile), 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam.
According to his citation, Mace was leading a search-and-clear mission near Dong Xoai when his unit came under heavy fire. He moved to the front, directing a flanking maneuver that forced enemy troops from their bunkers, then led his company through the position to link up with another unit for a night defensive stand.
Under intense fire, he organized and personally led a rescue party to reach the crew of a downed ammunition resupply helicopter. The next day, he again led an assault on enemy bunkers, at one point carrying a wounded soldier to safety before standing to identify enemy gunners, killing two and wounding three.
As enemy forces attempted to encircle his company, Mace ordered a withdrawal but stayed behind to direct rocket artillery to within 100 meters of his position. Returning to the area the following day, his unit was struck by command-detonated mines and heavy machine gun fire. Mace led another assault, killing an enemy fighter and rescuing two wounded comrades under fire.
His most enduring contributions to the Army Rangers included authoring the first-ever field manual for Ranger operations and transforming the Ranger Department at the Infantry School into the Ranger Training Brigade.
Despite his later role overseeing the integration of women at The Citadel, Mace initially opposed their admission.
“The wife and I were not pro-females going there,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2009.
His daughter, Nancy, who ultimately enrolled, took a week to tell him. If she dropped out, he told her to “plan on walking home.”
He is survived by his wife, Anne, whom he married inside the Summerall Chapel at The Citadel in the spring of 1964. Together, they had four children: three daughters and one son.