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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Joe Wilson. Extensions of Remarks are statements submitted for the official record, even if they were not spoken live on the floor.
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April 16, 2026
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Extensions of Remarks
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHON. JOE WILSON
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, Carolinians are grateful to express appreciation for the life of Commandant James Emory Mace, Sr., of Hampton County. He not only served our Nation as a decorated Army Officer but was the beloved father of Congresswoman Nancy Mace. I include in the Record the following obituary provided by The Citadel Alumni Association:
J. Emory Mace, Sr., '63
James Emory Mace, Sr., 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.