Veteran Discovers Brotherhood

January 23, 2017

James Washburn (Louisville Crescent Colony, 2017) grew up in the small town of Dresden, Tennessee in a family with strong ties to military and a strong sense of civic duty. He was in middle school on September 11, 2001 and he remembers thinking that he would someday serve in the military. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and following basic training was deployed to Afghanistan in May of 2010. He was in a small, secluded combat outpost attached to an Afghan police station.

On September 17, 2010, Washburn was nearly fatally injured after an attack from enemy fighters. He spent months recovering and eventually rejoined his Marines for deployment. Due to his injuries, he ultimately determined the military career path he once envisioned was not a long-term possibility. He enrolled at the University of Louisville where he found himself missing the sense of brotherhood.

The chance to join Delta Tau Delta offered Washburn a new sense of brotherhood and an opportunity to put his leadership skills to work. As a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity’s Crescent Colony at the University of Louisville, Washburn served as a two-term colony president.