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Published: September 30th 2014
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I am a little late with this blog as we visited West Point last Thursday. I had the blog all typed about West Point, then lost the internet. Gave up until I could get good coverage. We drove to West Point, which was about 30 miles from our RV park. We tried several gates, (West Point has lots of acreage). Finally , we found the visitors center and took a tour. Our tour guide was very good but talked so fast. Hopefully, I managed to get some of what he said. I also did some research on my own. West Point's history dates back to the Revolutionary War. General George Washington considered the high plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River to be the most important strategic position in America. He had the fortifications for West Point built in 1778 and transferred his headquarters to West Point in 1779. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British. West Point is the oldest continuously, occupied military post in America. President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy in 1802. The early foundation of the curriculum at West Point was Civil Engineering. For the first half century,
USMA graduates were largely responsible for the construction of the bulk of the nation's initial railway lines, bridges, harbors and roads. In recent decades, West Point's curricular structure was markedly changed to permit cadets to major in any one of more than a dozen fields, including a wide range of subjects from the sciences to the humanities. During the Civil War, West Point Graduates such as Grant, Lee and Sherman dominated the highest ranks on both sides. In World War I, Academy graduates again distinguished themselves on the battlefield. Eisenhower, MacArthur, Bradley, Arnold, Clark, Patton, Stillwell and Wainwright were among the impressive Academy graduates who met the challenge of leadership in the Second World War. In 1964, President Johnson signed legislation increasing the strength of the Corps of Cadets from 2,529 to 4,417(more recently reduced to 4,000). I believe our guide said that their are 4400 cadets there now. He said that they have 500 instructors, one-half are military and one-half are civilian. Another significant development at West Point came when enrollment was opened to women in 1976. Sixty-two women graduated in the class of 1980. West Point's purpose is to produce leaders of character who are prepared to provide
selfless service to our Army and the nation. This is a 47-month program. When students enter the United States Military Academy at West Point, they are beginning a profession. Career development starts on the first day; everything cadets experience is focused on developing them as leaders of character who will serve as officers in America's Army upon graduation, when they are commissioned as second lieutenants. I believe that after graduation, the cadets are required to serve at least five years of active military service. Admission to West Point is an exceptional honor. It not only takes exceptional grades for admission but West Point looks for leaders who are physically fit and of outstanding character. Those who are selected receive a college education with tuition, room and board and expenses fully paid. Hopefully, I have the following correct from our guide. Every year they have 15,000 applicants for admission. Only 1 in 12 are admitted. Four out of five graduate. Since 1802, they have had 71,000 graduates. On the tour, we went to the Cadet Chapel. This is a non-denominational chapel that holds 1500 people. It has beautiful stained glass windows and an impressive pipe organ (although we didn't get to hear it.) There are over 100 weddings there a year. You must be a graduate of West Point to have your wedding there. We also saw the barracks of the cadets. As the guide said, they are barracks, not dorms. They are in the Army. After the tour, we visited the cemetery there. I was surprised that the headstones were not all uniform as they are in the National cemeteries. A young man from our hometown is a cadet there now We also have others from our hometown that are graduates of the Academy. After visiting, hearing and reading about West Point, I am very proud of these young men.
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tom ford
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West Point
Jim, wondered if you knew you are not far from Millbrook, New York (Steve King's hometown). When I went to Poughkeepsie (hope the spelling is at least close) I went there and a winery nearby.