US Military Academy at West Point

On this day I ventured to the historic site of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  I had arrived the evening prior and would stay two nights, enjoying the very small town of Highlands and the Academy.  This was a place I had always wanted to visit (as is the US Naval Academy at Annapolis that I will visit in a few days) and the history associated with this place is tremendous.  I have known a number of army officers in my life and they have all been special men whose service to our country is greatly valued although most did not attend the Academy; my major professor in graduate school had once taught here and I had studied the story behind this place as part of my military history research.  Now I was here and the entire visit was special.

The visitor's gate to the Academy is the Abrams gate where you are greeted by an M1 Abrams tank!  The visitor's center is relatively new and sits on the site of a former girls college that closed in the 1990s because of lack of funds; apparently much to the dismay of most of the cadets!  The fabulous West Point Museum is located directly behind. 

I had reserved my tickets for the longest tour and when I picked them up I explained my research and they generously agreed to allow me some additional access at the cemetery and such.  After making some purchases at the gift shop - which is funny because I'm really a Navy person with my dad being a Korean War navy veteran -- I headed for my entry to the Academy grounds although rain had begun to fall.  Security here is tight and all visitors must present IDs which are scanned and checked. Also no pictures are allowed as you drive through the security gate.   The new cadets had just arrived the previous week and were now on campus along with the second year cadets (known as yearlings) who receive infantry training during the summer. 

As we drove onto the grounds, history was everywhere!  Graduates of the academy have given back generously to help fund many of the buildings and facilities on campus; the alumni pride shines through.  I smiled as we drove past the football stadium since my TCU Horned Frogs had played here on several occasions with the last game here creating a stir.  At the start of that game, the Army had a flyover to show off army pilot prowess; well the pilot apparently was a little too daring and buzzed the stadium at a very low height; TCU visitors in the upper deck section took pictures that showed the plane below the height of the top of the stadium.  Having now seen the stadium I can tell you that this was a feat of daring!! However, as a result, the pilot was grounded for 6 months. 

We then visited the Academy memorial to all soldiers who have served.   And then on to the large, beautiful chapel.  The chapel houses the banners/flags (or really replicas) that have been won in battle.  The large stained glass windows are reminiscent of those in European churches and most are gifts from cadet graduating classes in memory of former classes.  Cadets sit neatly in rows in perfect alignment and this is also where many of them marry after they graduate, although reservations must be made up to a year in advance.  On the left side, near the front burns a solitary candle; this is the reminder of those who are POW/MIA. 

One of the key parts of the Academy I wanted/needed to visit was the iconic cemetery; this cemetery is an official military cemetery, however it is run by the Military Academy and so is unique.  The markers are not uniform and the pattern of burial is not either.  There are some large and unique markers particularly from the earliest years and the one that most catches your eye is the pyramid.  It was built before the internee was actually deceased as a way to use up his money, however he feared his corpse might be stolen or vandalized or as many people of the time feared, that he might be buried before he was actually deceased (George Washington had such a fear) and so he had an elaborate alarm system installed inside.  The cadets apparently took great joy in setting off the alarm late at night much to the dismay of the groundskeeper and so finally in the latter half of the 20th century the alarm was disarmed. 

The cemetery had many touching stories as I walked through it, and I was allowed to roam away from the tour somewhat as part of my research.  I recognized many of the names and was saddened by many.  Here is the final resting place of George Custer who led his men to their deaths at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.   His memorial was raised by this wife who insisted he be buried here; Custer had graduated from the Academy -- the last in his class and with the most demerits of any cadet in history.  He also has a obelisk on the battlefield in Montana.  

I was more touched however, when I saw markers that showed generations of soldiers buried here. 

Or cadets who had perished before they completed the Academy.  

I also enjoyed some of the more interesting markers of those whose fame was for different reasons... including the famous football coach who rarely lost a game and who coached the famous backfield of the Three Horsemen.    I must say I was also surprised in this area of the cemetery when I came across the marker for Maggie Dixon who had been the Ladies Basketball Coach for one year (2005-2006); in a way I had a connection here.  She is the sister of the basketball coach at Pittsburgh - Jamie Dixon who was a basketball player at TCU when I was a student there.  I had remembered the sad story of Maggie Dixon who in her only year had led the Lady Knights from last place to first and then shortly after the season had died of a brain aneurysm.  The team and Academy asked the family to allow her to be interned here.

At the far back area of the cemetery overlooking the beautiful Hudson River was one of the memorials I had come to find.  This large marker was first built in 1818 to list those cadets who died while in service to their nation -- the Cadet memorial.  Clearly, they did not forsee the many wars the nation would fight in its history but the marker is moving and its base includes inscriptions with the names of many cadets and how they perished. 

  As I turned around from this spot, I drew in my breath because I was afforded a stunning view across the Hudson River.  Just as is depicted in so many American paintings, this spot literally takes your breath away and so I had to snap some photos; I felt bad that most visitors do not have such an opportunity.    

When we first entered the cemetery, I was especially moved by two items/ events that I want to relate.  The first is that this is the area of the cemetery that houses most of the recent burials.  These are recent graduates who have lost their lives fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq and it is is so very sad to realize that these young lives have been ended so soon.  Among those here are two very recent women graduates of the Academy who have perished in these two wars.  These memorials are constant reminders to the young men and women who attend school here that upon graduation they will immediately enter into service in a time of hostilities and that they may pay the ultimate price in service to their nation.

Now I must relate the most personally touching moment of my trip and one that I will never forget.  As the tour guide was introducing the group to the cemetery and giving some historical information (most of which I was already familiar with), I had turned around to look out across the cemetery as being in such hallowed places (like Arlington National Cemetery) always sends my heart and mind spinning and I wonder about the lives of those who lie here.  Very close to where I was standing I noticed one of the temporary markers and knelt down to read it and then take a picture.  I was saddened to see that it was of a recent graduate who had in only a short time since his graduation in 2004 already attained the rank of Captain -- another one of our finest cut down in his prime.  I saw that on top of the marker was a Ranger patch along with a small smooth stone.  There was then walking behind me a young lady with two dogs who approached the marker and placed another small stone on top.  I stood up and turned to see her; she had tears in her eyes and then she pointed at the marker and whispered, "He was mine."  I reached over to touch her hand and tell her I was so very sorry for her loss and that I and the nation was grateful for his service.  I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze; I felt such sorrow for her and all those who have lost their loved ones.  She silently mouthed thank you and walked on.  No one else from the tour group had turned around or noticed and I felt touched that she had shared this with me.  As the group turned to continue the tour, she had quickly moved off seeking her privacy.  I looked down again at the marker, this time with tears in my eyes and reached out to briefly run my hand over it; I do this sometimes as I walk through these military cemeteries whether they are American or British or French or German, it is part of my mental way of reaching out to touch the person to let them know that someone was there and remembered them.  It is their bit of immortality earned through the ultimate sacrifice. 

Our journey continued to the area around the parade ground (where new cadets were practicing learning to march).  Surrounding this important location are many statues and memorials.  The largest memorial is to those in the "Regular Army" who served during the Civil War.  The large memorial is designed however to try and instill the hope that we will never fight each other again.  It has a tall obelisk surrounded by large cannon balls and cannons.  The bottom of the obelisk lists specific units with their commanders and around the cannon balls are the names of those from each unit who were lost; the ends of the cannons are inscribed with the names of battles and around the whole memorial are cannons buried pointing straight down into the ground as a symbol of peace. 

This location also affords a spectacular view of the Hudson River at its narrowest point as it winds around the high ground of West Point - the reason it was chosen as key Patriot installation during the Revolution.

I snapped away taking photos around the parade ground and could not resist the commandant's house which is really quite lovely, but if you look close along the lower porch railing you can see the signs that are found all around campus "Go Army, Beat Navy!"  LOL  These are even found on the tops of buildings!  It clearly is always on the mind of those here and they have not accomplished it much lately.      There is also the statue of General Sedgewick wearing his moveable spurs.  The legend is that cadets who are having trouble in a course can put on their full dress uniform and come here after midnight on the night before a major exam, spin the general's spurs and they will then pass the exam and the class.  This is apparently a popular spot the night before exams...hmmm maybe should start such a tradition at my campus for my students as part of student success initiative.

After my foray around the Military Academy and a quick peek in the museum, I headed for another spot near and dear to my heart...the golf course.  Yes the Military Academy at West Point Golf Course is open to the public!  So I drove around to the small and very worn out looking club house and started my round.  The course is absolutely lovely and challenging with many elevation changes and greens that undulate quite a bit.    There are many blind tee shots as well and so I would smack a good long drive and then just have to see where it went.  Because of the heat and threat of rain there were not too many folks on the course but everyone was really friendly.  Most were retired military or officers assigned to the Academy, and I was apparently one of the few civilians who was not from the area who played the course on my own.  I caught up with a twosome of retired officers near the end and finished the round with them.  I was pretty happy as I shot a 79! The starter who had been really kind when I started out asked how my round went and when I told him my score, he seemed quite surprised!  The most interesting part of the round, however, came after I watched the trucks transporting cadets down the road adjacent to the course.  They were going for artillery practice and training and so most of my round was played while being serenaded by practice artillery fire!  I must say it was a unique experience and on the back nine, I know I could hear some of the rounds whistling nearby as they passed by on the way to the target before hearing the thump, thump thump.  You can listen on the following video and hear some of this -- it is not wind in the microphone or thunder.

So what a day it had been here in West Point, New York.  I had dinner at the little local 50+ year old diner on the main street in town.  It was loaded with historical photos that I perused while listening to local folks talking about the new class of cadets and all of their folks who had brought them here.  I cannot imagine such a small town being overwhelmed by the 1300 cadets and their families.  I also remembered back to an old Hollywood movie called "The Long Gray Line" with Maureen O'Hara about the US Military Academy at West Point and the men who work there and the young men who attend.  I think I will go back and re-watch that when I have time to see if I can recognize the locations.  In the morning I would arise early and set out heading south to see the US Naval Academy at Annapolis and other memorials.  The comparison between the two academies should be fun!