Walter C. Short was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Pancho Villa Expedition, and World War I, he attained the rank of brigadier general. Short was most notable for the organization and training of several units during the first World War, and his command of the 1st Cavalry Division between World War I and World War II.

The Michigan Military Academy, also known as M.M.A., was an all-boys military prep school in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It was founded in 1877 by J. Sumner Rogers and closed in 1908 due to bankruptcy. Some journalists have referred to the school as the Second West Point. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Orchard Lake Schools Historic District.