West Point Magazine Fall 2020

Cadet Summer Training

The Legacy of Army West Point Athletics

The mission of West Point magazine is to tell the West Point story and strengthen the grip of the Long Gray Line.

PUBLISHER

West Point Association of Graduates

Todd A. Browne ’85, President & CEO

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Elizabeth A. Barrett editor@wpaog.org

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Keith J. Hamel

EDITORIAL ADVISORY GROUP

Kim McDermott ’87 Terence Sinkfield ’99

Patrick Ortland ’82 Samantha Soper

ADVERTISING

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ADDRESS UPDATES

West Point Association of Graduates

ATTN: Data Services Team

698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607

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MEMORIAL ARTICLE MANAGER

Marilee Meyer

845.446.1545 | memorials@wpaog.org

CONTENT

E lizabeth Barrett Kim McDermott ’87

Nile Clarke Erika Norton

Keith Hamel

DESIGN

Marguerite Smith

Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policy, or attitude of the U.S. Army, United States Military Academy, West Point Association of Graduates, its officers, or the editorial staff. The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not necessarily constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Army, United States Military Academy, West Point Association of Graduates, its officers, or the editorial staff for the products or services advertised.

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WestPointis published quarterly in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Send address changes to: WestPointmagazine, West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607

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Dear Fellow Graduates:

It has been more than half a year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the upheaval that it has caused. In that time, there have been several changes to the ways in which the West Point Association of Graduates has conducted business, but not to its vision to make the Long Gray Line the most highly connected alumni body in the world.

For example, for the first time in its 25-year history, the Leaders Conference, sponsored by the Class of 1967, was conducted virtually on August 13. Under the theme “Leading through Change,” more than 300 members gathered to discuss the ways that WPAOG and volunteer leaders can sustain vital connections through this extraordinary time. Despite the virtual setting, the 2020 Leaders Conference still presented Distinguished Society and Parents Club awards, viewed an Academy update from the Superintendent, and featured educational breakout sessions on “connections,” “ways to help,” and “resources.”

The All Academy Challenge also experienced changes due to COVID-19. Typically held in the spring, the 2020 All Academy Challenge was moved to August 16-20, but the West Point community still came together in record numbers (11,575 graduates, a 22.2 percent alumni participation rate) to strengthen the Margin of Excellence with gifts totaling $2.1 million, nearly $600,000 more than in 2019. Given the difficult current realities, the 2020 All Academy Challenge took on greater meaning, as graduates from all the federal service academies rallied together to show their support for the future leaders of our military and nation.

The Academy has also seen procedural changes in response to COVID, but cadets, faculty and staff are, as always, soldiering on. West Point executed a modified summer training plan in 2020, which you can read about in this issue, holding a three-day R-Day and a nine-mile March Back to bookend Cadet Basic Training for the Class of 2024. Certainly, that class’s motto, “Like None Before,” unveiled during its March Back, is incontrovertible. Speaking of March Back, a huge shout-out to the 191 individuals—53 members of the affiliate Class of 1974, 49 families of new cadets, and 89 USMA grads—who marched virtually in support of the Class of 2024. West Point also kicked off the 2020-21 academic year with a hybrid instructional model, with approximately half the classes being in person (mostly science labs, engineering courses and military science classes), roughly 15 percent being taught fully virtually (most English courses and many humanities courses) and the remaining 35 percent or so being a mix of in-person and remote learning (some cadets attending a class in person wearing masks one day and the other day attending online).

One aspect of West Point life dramatically affected by COVID is athletics. However, with the determination you would expect from the Army team, our athletes will be representing West Point on the fields of friendly strife. Several contests have been cancelled or moved. In an effort to fill the void, this issue of West Point magazine is dedicated to the legacy and impact of Army athletics. I hope that articles on the greatest Army-Navy football games, West Point Olympians, and athletic buildings named for fallen graduates will significantly demonstrate the great legacy and impact of West Point athletics.

Before closing, I would like to recognize and congratulate Major John A. Meyer, Class of 2005, the recipient of the 2020 Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms, as well as Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, the recipient of the 2020 Sylvanus Thayer Award. Both individuals and their respective award ceremonies will be covered in the 2021 winter issue.

Grip (wash) Hands!

ON THE COVER: Class of 2023 cadets participated in the Slide for Life at the Water Obstacle Course at Camp Buckner during 2020 Cadet Field Training. U.S. Army photo by Matthew Moeller.

Todd

A. Browne ’85

President and CEO West Point Association of Graduates

IN THIS ISSUE |

Cadet Summer Training

The Legacy of Army West Point Athletics

5 Seek Integrity, Preserve Integrity: An Inspired First Year for Mike Buddie, Director of Athletics

8 Michie Stadium Preservation Project

10 “Duty, Honor, Country” Meets “Faster, Higher, Stronger” West Pointers Make an Impact on the Olympics

West Pointers’ participation and success over the course of 25 Olympiads illustrates MacArthur’s belief that “training on the athletic field . . . is fundamental to efficient soldiery.”

18

Their Legacies Live On: The Men behind the Names of the Army West Point Athletic Facilities

24 Donor-Funded ODIA Facilities

26 Photo Essay: USMA 2024 Joins the Corps

View our video of the USMA 2024 Cadet March Back upon completing Cadet Basic Training. Open the camera on your smartphone or tablet. Hold over the QR Code image at right and click on the link that appears. Or go to bit.ly/marchbackstory

28 COVER STORY 2020 Cadet Summer Training Adapts to COVID-19

How West Point’s 20-member Operations Planning Team successfully accomplished Summer Training for the Corps of Cadets amid the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

32 Photo Essay: Summer Training 2020

36 America’s Game: The Top All-Time Army-Navy Football Victories

40 The Anderson Athletic Center: The Academy’s Newest Athletic Home

44 Stories from the Front Lines: Profiles of West Point Grads in the COVID-19 Fight

50 Affirmation 2020: The Class of 1972 Grips Hands Remotely with the Class of 2022

52 2020 WPAOG Leaders Conference: Serving the Long Gray Line in Our New Virtual Reality

Fellow Members of the Long Gray Line:

West Point has been winning the fight against COVID-19! Thanks to the outstanding work and discipline of the entire team, we continue to execute our leader development mission while ensuring the health, safety and wellness of the Corps and the West Point community at large. However, while we are winning the fight, we have not yet won it. We knowthis virus is unpredictable and recognize that this fight is far fromover; therefore, we are not letting our guard down, easing up on the momentum we’ve gained over the past fewmonths, or allowing ourselves to get lulled into a sense of complacency. We will ultimately win this fight, but only by maintaining the same level of discipline that has carried us this far.

As you read this, we are about halfway through fall semester with the entire Corps at West Point. After months of thoughtful and deliberate planning, we are executing Academic Year 2021 as a mix of in-person, hybrid and remote courses, with small class sections, classroomstandards that ensure social distancing, continual cleaning and disinfecting between classes, and intentional, built-in flexibility to accommodate the fluid nature of the nation’s health.

Our military training programcontinues as strong and robust as ever. We successfully executed summer training, albeit adapted to the COVID-19 environment where the vast majority of the Corps participated in various training programs consisting of Cadet Basic Training, Cadet Field Training, Cadet Leader Training, the Air Assault course, and the Army’s Master Resiliency Trainer course. We also held our annual Branch Week in early September, with great support fromthe Army. Additionally, we are still conducting our more traditional training events such as in-ranks inspections, drill, and SAMI. As with the academic program, all our military training efforts ensure cadets’ health and safety while maintaining the critical human interactions that define our leader development experience.

COVIDhas impacted our athletics program, but thanks to the outstanding work of the Army West Point Athletics team, we are conducting a fall season that allows our cadet-athletes to safely compete and ensures we maintain this critical pillar of our leader development program. While our fall schedules look different for our teams this year, the goal has been to preserve our rivalry games and to ensure our teams are able to compete for their league championships, many of which have been shifted to the spring. Our athletics directorate continues to navigate an extremely fluid environment and is leading the nation in preserving our ability to compete.

One of the cornerstones of Army readiness is the “Winning Matters” attitude that Chief of Staff of the Army General McConville continually emphasizes. The lessons learned and the character shaped on the “fields of friendly strife” not only lead to winning seasons but also winning in the classroomand the training range, and, ultimately, ensure winning in the crucible of ground combat.

The real legacy of Army athletics is more than the win/loss records or the star athletes who left their marks in the record books. It is the countless men and women of the Long Gray Line, past and present, who live honorably, lead honorably and demonstrate excellence in service to our nation.

That “Winning Matters” attitude and the continual pursuit of excellence permeates throughout the West Point enterprise. We took a major step toward reaccreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education with a virtual evaluation teamvisit in September. This visit followed a three-year selfstudy process that reaffirmed USMA’s core strengths but also identified several opportunities to enhance our institution’s effectiveness. The evaluation team’s external reviewprovided additional, useful feedback as we continue to pursue excellence and preeminence as an institution of higher learning.

We are preparing to celebrate a major milestone in our modernization efforts with the groundbreaking for the future Cyber and Engineering Academic Center (CEAC). This four-year project, a combination of military construction and Margin of Excellence funding, will result in a 136,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that will modernize USMA’s engineering, technology, and cyber education capabilities and enable us to remain at the forefront of engineering education, putting us in a far more advantageous position to compete for the most talented and innovative cadets and civilian faculty and to develop and prepare themwhile they’re here.

The CEACgroundbreaking kicks off our much broader effort in our USMA2035 vision and is just the start of what will be a very busy time at West Point in terms of construction and progress. We will keep you posted on progress, and I encourage you to look for ways to be involved as we make historic strides in carrying our alma mater into the future!

Winning and excellence are only achieved because of people, and we have a great teamthat makes excellence part of the culture, fromour cadets, to our staff and faculty and coaches. As General McConville reminds us, the Army’s greatest strength is its people, and the Army has a “People First” philosophy. We continue to amplify our focus on building cohesive teams here at West Point, aligned with the Army’s “This is my Squad” initiative. We executed a very successful Honorable Living Day this fall, during which we deliberately addressed trust-breaking behaviors—including sexual harassment/assault, suicide, and racism/extremism—and emphasized that all members of the team should feel that they are a part of a squad rather than in a squad. We put particular emphasis on inclusive leadership this fall, and I have the teamlooking to address any areas of concern regarding race and ethnicity at the Academy in a deliberate and collaborative manner.

Finally, we welcomed our newest addition to the USMAleader teamin August, as CSMMike Coffey assumed responsibilities as the 21st USMAcommand sergeant major. CSMCoffey most recently served as the command sergeant major for 3rd Infantry Division, and we’re pleased to welcome this outstanding leader, his wife Leslie and their children to the West Point family.

Thank you for all you do for the Corps of Cadets, your alma mater and the Long Gray Line.

Army Strong!

Darryl Williams ’83 Lieutenant General, U.S. Army 60th Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy

Seek Integrity, Preserve Integrity: An Inspired First Year for Mike Buddie, Director of Athletics

The first year of a job is always challenging, but Mike Buddie could not have even imagined the twists and turns that he has been through after starting as the Director of Athletics at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in July 2019.

His first semester on the job went smoothly, but soon after the calendar turned to 2020, the mid-Hudson Valley and New York City were hit hard by the pandemic, becoming the global hotspot. The Corps of Cadets did not return from spring break, and the spring sports season was canceled.

“It was hard to watch our firsties have that lack of closure, given that they didn’t know the last game that they had played in would be their last one,” Buddie said. “It was disappointing, but a great life lesson for our kids.”

The Academy mobilized the entire enterprise to protect the community and then transitioned into safely bringing the Corps of Cadets back to West Point beginning in June.

Despite the challenges of the last five months, Buddie has found ways to find the positives and turn it into a constructive time for Army West Point athletics.

Even when dealing with the coronavirus itself, he has found something constructive to take away. “I’ve had the opportunity to see the best crisis team, the West Point leadership team, go into emergency mode and develop a plan to handle the virus successfully,” says Buddie. “It’s been quite inspiring.”

While a significant aspect of his job as Athletics Director is to inspire cadets and coaches to do their best every day, Buddie says that he has found inspiration at West Point to be a two-way street. He admits it feels like he received more inspiration in his first year than he has inspired others.

“I tried to keep my mouth shut and my ears open so that I could learn from others, cadets especially. The way our kids compete inspires me every day,” he added.

He recognizes, for example, that due to military and other obligations, West Point athletes do not get to practice the same number of hours as the teams they compete against saying, “They don’t make excuses; they don’t complain; they just embrace that reality.”

“I read a lot of material, watched videos, spoke to several people in my network and asked a lot of questions,” said Buddie. After a weekend of investigating the opportunity, he realized how special West Point was and set out to convince the hiring committee that he was the best candidate for the position.

“West Point provides a unique Division-I athletic experience,” he said. “There are many universities in America that claim to be about integrity and honor, but very few live it the way West Point does.”

At West Point, every cadet must participate in competitive sports throughout the academic year, whether in varsity intercollegiate athletics, intercollegiate clubs or company athletics. That mandate has been integral to the development of future Army officers since the tenure of General Douglas MacArthur, Class of 1903, as Superintendent.

“Athletics runs deep in the fiber of West Point—think General MacArthur’s ‘Every cadet an athlete,’” Buddie said, “and I see myself as the guardian of that legacy.”

As its Athletics Director, Buddie is also accountable as the keeper of West Point’s athletic legacy and impact, which includes Heisman trophy winners, national champions and Olympians across multiple sports. “When I think of the impact and legacy of West Point athletics, I think of Pete Dawkins, who was President of the Class of 1959, First Captain, a Rhodes Scholar, and a Heisman Trophy Award winner,” Buddie says. “I also think of our other two Heisman Trophy Award winners, as well as the legendary athletes and coaches we have had.”

As the guardian of the Army sports legacy, Buddie mainly focuses on protecting West Point against crisis and preserving the institution’s integrity. “Every decision I make could reflect positively or negatively on the academy, and I am very mindful of this,” says Buddie.

Regarding one of his most important responsibilities as Athletics Director, hiring coaches and other personnel for West Point’s athletics program, Buddie is mindful of his duty to bring in people whose character aligns with the institution’s. “We go above and beyond to make sure anyone we bring in to interact with our cadets will elevate the West Point brand,” he said. In other words, Buddie is committed to preserving the heritage of West Point as an institution of integrity and honor. This tradition attracted him to the Athletics Director’s job in the first place. Few places live integrity like West Point, and there are only a select number of people given the opportunity to preserve that integrity.

Buddie also draws inspiration from the unique West Point reality in which he has found himself. “Being surrounded with people at the Academy who’ve done amazing things—my neighbors, who are colonels and combat veterans—is absolutely remarkable,” he says.

Buddie’s hiring was announced on May 31, 2019. Before coming to West Point, he had been the Athletics Director at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, since 2015. According to Buddie, he was not looking for a new job. Still, a couple of his colleagues made him aware of a unique opportunity at West Point and suggested that he investigate it further.

Last summer before the challenges of COVID-19 were even on the horizon, West Point experienced the tragic death of C.J. Morgan, a corps squad athlete on the Wrestling Team. Less than a week after the press conference announcing his hire as Athletics Director, “I had to lead ODIA through a loss of one of our own while I was still in South Carolina,” said Buddie.

“My job as the leader and vision-setter for ODIA is to get all our sports programs into a position where beating Navy is no longer a challenge,” says Buddie. Of course, this is easier said than done, but he learned early that “Beat Navy” is a way of life at West Point. “Early in my tenure, (Army West Point football) Coach

Buddie was officially introduced as the new head of the Army West Point athletics department by Superintendent LTG Darryl Williams ’83 at a press conference on May 31, 2019.

“Athletics runs deep in the fiber of West Point—think General MacArthur’s ‘Every cadet an athlete’—and I see myself as the guardian of that legacy.”

— Mike Buddie, Director of Athletics

(Jeff) Monken took me aside and explained this rivalry to me saying, ‘You better live it, breathe it, drink it, sleep it and insist that people hold you accountable to it,’” Buddie says.

Buddie has experienced several high points as AD. At the top of his list is the 2019 Army-Navy Game. “It was the first Army-Navy Game I have attended,” said Buddie, “the fact that I got to attend as AD, allowing me a behind-the-scenes look at a football game of such magnitude, was extraordinary.”

Coming in a close second was the series of Army-Navy star matches during the last weekend in February 2020, featuring the Women’s Basketball team’s double-digit victory, the Men’s Basketball team’s thrilling overtime victory, and Wrestling Team’s dramatic win via a total match point tiebreaker.

And the “biggest, jump-out-of-your-seat thrill” of the year for Buddie was the Hockey Team’s January 10, 2020 overtime, nineround shootout win against Air Force, for which the team had to pull the goalie and score with under a minute to play in the final period to send the game to overtime. Buddie, who attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, said, “working primarily in the south, ice hockey is a new sport for me, and I have fallen in love with it!”

Since arriving at West Point, Buddie has focused on the Superintendent’s priority of “building and fostering a culture of excellence and winning in everything we do.” As a three-year letter winner pitcher for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team who was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1992 and pitched during the Yankees’ 1998 World Series championship season, Buddie understands winning.

For Buddie, “winning” means exceeding one’s own expectations. “It is stretching yourself as a human being and demanding excellence as defined by yourself more than others.”

General James McConville ’81, the 40th Chief of Staff of the Army, is known for saying “winning matters,” but for Buddie, preparing to win is just as important. “Even if we don’t win according to a scoreboard, if we have taught cadets how to prepare to win, to be successful, that goes a long way,” Buddie said.

“My job is to remove as many obstacles as possible so that our cadets and coaches can focus on the preparation needed for them to compete at the highest level of their sport,” he says. In this regard, Buddie advocates for cadet-athletes to have a level playing field and the best facilities, and strives to provide the most complete, allencompassing Division-I athletics experience possible.

After graduation, cadets commission as a second lieutenant in our Army. “Even the little things count,” he says. “It is making sure they can do laundry on site rather than take 10 extra minutes to drop it off somewhere else. It is providing them a weight room that is clean and disinfected so they can spend time lifting and not wiping down equipment. I am committed to doing these things so that cadets can maximize their time here and focus on being successful.”

In the end, if the coaches are challenging cadets, they leave West Point feeling that they grew physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. “To me, that’s ‘winning,’” says Buddie. 

Photo: John Pellino/USMA PAO

Along with West Point magazine staff, LTC Christopher Ophardt, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, U.S. Military Academy contributed to this report.

Buddie and the team celebrate the Army West Point Women’s Basketball Team 62-52 victory over Navy at Christl Arena at West Point on Feb. 22, 2020.

Architect

are initial concepts and do not reflect final designs.

Photo: Michelle Eberhardt/USMA PAO.

Images: Ewing Cole

Buddie overlooking Michie Stadium today.

’s renderings

MICHIE STADIUM PRESERVATION PROJECT

Since 1924, Michie Stadium has served as the iconic backdrop for Army Football at West Point and the public’s portal to the Corps of Cadets and Army officers who serve our nation. From the cadets marching on the parade field to honoring our graduates and service members on Blaik Field, Michie Stadium showcases the ideals of “Duty, Honor, Country” to thousands of fans in its seats and to television audiences across the United States. As West Point looks to modernize over the next 15 years to address the demands of an evolving Army and world, it has mapped out a strategic plan that will meet its critical needs and take the Academy’s prestige and excellence to the next level. Key to USMA’s 2035 Plan is the enhancement of Michie Stadium. Renovations will include upgrading the overall fan experience with new facilities and concession areas, improving the views and hospitality options for fans, consolidating all of Army West Point Athletics administrative and coaches’ offices into a new home inside of Michie Stadium, and renovating the East Stands. 

If you are interested in supporting the Michie Stadium Preservation Project, please contact Kristin Sorenson, Vice President of Development at 845.446.1561 or email Kristin.Sorenson@wpaog.org, or Chris Wood, Senior Associate Athletic Director/ Development at 845.446.1599 or email Chris.Wood@wpaog.org.

— Mike Buddie, Director of Athletics

Photo: Michelle Eberhardt/USMA PAO. Images: Ewing Cole

“Army West Point Football is an unparalleled experience with the best game day atmosphere in the nation. The modernization of Michie Stadium will provide new and innovative opportunities for our alumni and fans to experience the grandeur surrounding West Point. The project will also include a complete transformation of the East Stands, which will elevate the viewing experience for the entire Corps of Cadets. The experience and traditions at the U.S. Military Academy are unlike any in the country, and this project celebrates the storied history and commitment to excellence surrounding Army West Point Athletics.”

“Duty, Honor, Country” Meets “Faster, Higher, Stronger”

West Pointers

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

Make

an Impact on the Olympics

Every living graduate is familiar with General Douglas MacArthur’s famous dictum: “Every cadet an athlete.” MacArthur, Class of 1903, introduced this philosophy when he became West Point Superintendent in 1919, realizing the importance of physical fitness and intramural athletic programs in the wake of the modern warfare he witnessed in World War I. The battlefields of France during the Great War also led MacArthur to devise his well known “Upon the fields of friendly strife” inscription for the old West Point gymnasium. In a 1939 letter, he explained the origin of this inscription by saying, “The training of the athletic field which produces in a superlative degree the attributes of fortitude, self-control, resolution,

courage, mental agility, and, of course, physical development, is one completely fundamental to efficient soldiery.” In simpler terms, good athletes make good soldiers. Employing the symmetric property of mathematics, good soldiers then should make good athletes. West Pointers’ participation in Olympic games—approximately 100 West Pointers (89 athletes and numerous supporting players) over the course of 25 Olympiads—proves this logic.

Athletes and Officers

West Pointers first participated in the Olympics in 1912. In that year, six graduates traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to take part in

Photos: PhotoRun

the games of the V Olympiad. Two of the six—Guy V. Henry Jr., Class of 1898, and George S. Patton Jr., Class of 1909—went on to wear general stars; another, John C. Montgomery, Class of 1903, was accorded the only battlefield promotion made by General John J. Pershing, Class of 1886, during World War I and also earned a Distinguished Service Medal during the war; and another, Harold M. Rayner, Class of 1912, later became the Master of the Sword at the Academy. Good soldiers, obviously, but they were also good athletes. Henry, Montgomery, and Ephraim F. Graham, Class of 1903, earned a bronze medal in the Equestrian Three-Day Team event. Montgomery also won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. Polo Team at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Rayner also participated in Antwerp, earning a team bronze medal in Fencing (Foil). Scott D. Breckinridge, the sixth West Pointer to participate in Stockholm in 1912, was an ex-cadet from the Class of 1904, and he barely missed winning an individual medal, coming in fourth in Fencing (Foil). (See pages 14-15 for Patton’s athletic performance, another “just missed” medal opportunity at the 1912 Stockholm Games.)

The legacy of the Long Gray Line in the Olympics continued in 1920 at the Summer Games in Antwerp (the games were not held in 1916 due to World War I). Sixteen West Pointers, the most ever for one Olympiad, competed in Antwerp, including Joseph A. Cranston (Boxing) and Henry I. Szymanski (Wrestling), who had just graduated from the Academy a year earlier. As with the 1912 Stockholm Games, the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp showcased some stellar West Point athletes who went on to have distinguished military careers. The U.S. Polo Team, for example, which won the bronze medal, featured Terry de la Mesa Allen, an ex-cadet from the Class of 1911 who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in North Africa and in the invasion of Sicily during World War II, earned the Distinguished Service Cross, and later retired at the rank of major general; and Arthur Harris, Class of 1914, who commanded the 1st Army (1941-43) and retired at the rank of brigadier general (the team also featured Montgomery, who had won a bronze medal in the 1912 Equestrian Three-Day Team event, and whose military accomplishments are noted above). Three West Pointers also won bronze as members of the U.S. Fencing Team in the Foil event: Rayner (who had also competed in 1912); Francis W. Honeycutt, Class of 1904, who ultimately commanded the reactivated 9th Infantry Division as well as Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and retired at the rank of brigadier general; and Robert Sears, Class

of 1909, who commanded the 35th Infantry Division in World War II as a 60-year-old colonel, the oldest combat soldier in the European theatre.

West Point Olympians’ “Triumvirate”: Equestrian, Fencing, Modern Pentathlon

Sears also competed in the Modern Pentathlon at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, and by the time of the 1924 Summer Games in Paris, France, there were three events for which West Point graduates had become known for at the Olympics: Equestrian, Fencing, and Modern Pentathlon. This should not be surprising. Cadets were trained in the horsemanship skills needed for equestrian competitions until 1947 (often in the approximately 150-foot by 600-foot indoor Riding Hall that was converted into an academic building starting in 1946 and renamed Thayer Hall in 1958). Instruction in the use of swords was a necessity for future military officers in the first quarter of the twentieth century, and fencing remained a central part of West Point’s physical education program for decades after. Finally, the Academy is the ideal pitch to perfect the soldier skills necessary for modern pentathlon events, particularly shooting and longdistance endurance. In fact, even though he was not a member of the Modern Pentathlon Team at the 1924 Paris Games, Sidney R. Hinds, Class of 1920, found success demonstrating the

Photos: Library of Congress; public domain.

Clockwise from upper left: Earl F. Thomson, Class of 1922, won five medals (two golds, three silvers) over the course of three Olympic Games (1932-Los Angles, 1936-Berlin, and 1948-London), making him the most decorated West Point Olympian athlete. Thomas J. Sands ’29 (left) and Gustave Heiss ’31 (right) were members of the U.S. Épée Team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, coming in 5th. Sidney R. Hinds Class of 1920 (middle, right), is the first West Point Olympian to win gold, taking 1st place with the U.S. Free Rifle (400, 600, and 800 meters) at the 1924 Paris Olympics..

shooting skills that he learned at West Point, winning a team gold medal for the Free Rifle (400, 600, and 800 meters) event. After Hinds’ gold medal in Free Rifle, no West Point graduate would win a medal in any event outside of Equestrian, Fencing, and Modern Pentathlon until Laurence J. Palmer, Class of 1959, who won team gold in the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California as a member of the U.S. Ice Hockey Team. More West Point Olympians (28) have competed in Equestrian than any other event, winning a total of 17 medals. Without a doubt, the most successful West Pointer in the event was Earl F. Thompson, Class of 1922, who won five medals (two golds, three silvers) over the course of three Olympics (Los Angeles-1932, Berlin-1936, and London-1948). Other notable West Point Olympic equestrians include Harry D. Chamberlin, Class of 1910, who won a team gold for the Three-Day event and two individual silver medals for the Jumping event in 1932 (and who also gained notoriety for the “Chamberlin seat” now dominating hunting and jumping sports); Edwin Y. Argo, an ex-cadet from the Class of 1918 June, who won a team gold medal with Chamberlin in 1932; and Frank S. Henry ’33, who won a gold medal for the Three-Day Team event and two individual silver medals, one for Dressage and one for the Three-Day Individual event, in 1948.

Modern Pentathlon follows Equestrian as the Olympic event with the most West Point Olympians who have participated (23). Richard W. Mayo ’28 was the first American to medal in Modern Pentathlon, winning bronze at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Just months after graduating from West Point, where he had been captain of the Fencing Team, he also competed in both Modern Pentathlon and Fencing at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Mayo commanded the 15th Army in France and Germany during World War II and retired as a brigadier general. Another future general who found success competing in Modern Pentathlon is Charles F. Leonard ’35. En route to winning the silver medal at the 1936 Games in Berlin, Leonard shot a perfect 200 during the Modern Pentathlon’s difficult pistol course, the only time such a feat has ever occurred in international competition. Had there been a Modern Pentathlon Team event in 1936, Leonard, along with other U.S. competitors Fredrick R. Weber ’30 and Alfred Starbird ’33, would have won gold. Similarly, at the 1948 Games in London, George B. Moore ’41, Richard L. Gruenther ’46, and Hale Baugh ’46 would have won a bronze medal had there been a Modern Pentathlon Team event. Moore, who earned a Purple Heart, two Bronze Star Medals, and the Legion of Merit on the battlefields of World War II, added an individual silver medal to

Photos: Courtesy of Gretchen Braunschweiger

Clockwise from upper left: Garland D. O’Quinn Jr. ’58 trains in the old East Gym for the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he was coached by long-time Army Gymnastics Team coach Tom Maloney. Joseph B. Amlong ’61 received a gold medal in Rowing, Coxed Eights, at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His brother, Tom, was also on the team. Thomas Lough ’64 competed in Modern Pentathlon at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Mike Thornberry ’94 played on the U.S. Men’s Handball Team, which was coached by Rick Oleksyk ’85. Lyle B. Nelson ’71 represented the United States in Biathlon at four Winter Olympics—1976-Montreal, 1980-Lake Placid, 1984-Sarajevo, and 1988-Calgary—the most Olympic Games for any West Point Olympian athlete (photo by Paul J. Sutton).

his collection for his Modern Pentathlon finish in 1948.

Gruenther and Baugh’s classmate, Guy K. Troy ’46, had the distinction of leading the first U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Finland, but before turning a new, modern era for the Olympians, there is one more event of the West Point Olympians’ triumvirate to highlight.

While only one West Point Olympian has won a medal in Fencing since 1924, eleven graduates have competed in the event. Perhaps the greatest of West Point’s fencers was Gustave M. Heiss ’31, who won a team bronze medal in Épée at the 1932 Summer Games in Los Angeles. After the Olympics, Rene Pinchart, the famous Belgian master and U.S. Fencing Team coach, stated unequivocally that if Heiss had had two years of seasoning in Europe he would have become the first and only American world épée champion. Heiss, a member of seven national championship teams, won six fencing titles before he was wounded by a German booby trap during the Battle of Bulge in World War II. Another of West Point’s greatest all-time fencers was Thomas J. Sands ’29, who was U.S. champion in épée in 1935 and 1937 and competed in that weapon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, coming in fifth. Later, Sands was chief of staff of the Eighth Army, commanding general of the Seventh Infantry Division, and deputy commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College, retiring at the rank of major general. Today, Robert S. Dow, an ex-cadet from the Class of 1966 who cocoached the Academy to a second-place NCAA finish in fencing in 1966, and competed himself in fencing at the 1976 Montreal Games, is a major donor to the West Point Fencing Team, continuing West Point’s impressive legacy in this classical sport.

The Modern Era

“The 1952 team is the break between the old way of doing Modern Pentathlon and the new way,” says Colonel Guy Troy ’46 (Retired), who had the distinction of leading the first U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team when it competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics at Helsinki, Finland. Troy’s path to the 1952 Modern Pentathlon team is an interesting one and it is also a familiar one to many West Point Olympians.

Troy had never even heard of Modern Pentathlon just four years before he led the U.S. Team. He learned of the sport from his troop commander while stationed in Munich, Germany. His commander had competed in the 1948 London Games on the U.S. Equestrian Team as a jumper rider and taught Troy how to ride. Seeing that he was a good rider and knowing that Troy was a good pistol shot and had done some fencing as a cadet, the commander suggested that he look into Modern Pentathlon. “My Olympic journey proved something that I’ve seen in other West Pointer Olympians over the years,” Troy says. “Cadets have the physical abilities, namely stamina and discipline, needed to become an Olympian, even though they may not have the expertise, but that can come later.”

Upon learning about the Modern Pentathlon, Troy learned that the Army was putting together a team to compete at the first Pan American Games, which was to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February 1951. The team was training at West Point under the leadership of Colonel Weber, who had competed in Fencing and Modern Pentathlon at the 1936 Olympics. Using

the limited resources that the USMA Physical Education Department had to offer, Troy and the team trained for the Pan American Games, winning gold in the team event. After returning from Buenos Aires, Troy was asked by the colonel running the U.S. Army Sports office to defer an assignment to Korea in order to form the 1952 U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team. “We had no horses; we had no training set up; we had nothing, really,” says Troy. “But I always said that a West Pointer can do most anything; so, here I am a captain, not many years out of West Point, setting up and running an Olympic team.”

Troy looked up the physical records of the recent graduates from the Class of 1951 and approached those who were “generally good possible prospects.” Fourteen agreed to train, and Frederick L. Denman ultimately made the team (his classmate Harlan W. Johnson also made it as an alternate). Troy, Denman, and Private First-Class Thad McAthur comprised the 1952 U.S. Modern Pentathlon Olympic Team. Gail Wilson ’50, who was on the 1951 U.S. Pan American Team, served as manager. The team competed well, coming in fourth place, losing the bronze medal to Finland by only two points but besting the United States’ new Cold War enemy, the Soviet Union, which came in fifth. Interestingly, with the Olympics being an athletic competition and not a military one, Troy and Aleksandr Dekhayev, one of the Russian competitors, swapped uniform flag pins after the event, and Troy still has that pin hanging in his home office.

Troy later served as an international judge for modern pentathlon and was a torch bearer at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, proving that the term “West Point Olympian” encompasses more than just what happens on the athletic field. He has also recently helped fund an Olympian display within Arvin Gym.

West Point Olympic Coaches

Troy’s story also serves as a break between the “old” and “new” when it comes to the topic of West Point Olympians in general. Prior to 1952, West Pointers won multiple medals in each of the Olympic games in which they competed, 22 in total. Starting in 1952, however, only a single West Pointer won a medal at any one Olympics, but that changes if coaches are included.

From 1952 onward, West Point Olympians have won five Olympic medals. However, that number more than doubles when Olympic coaches with a West Point affiliation are included (even though the Olympic Games do not technically award medals to coaches). Mike Krzyzewski ’69, for example, is associated with five gold medals as a coach for the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team: in 1984, as a Special Assistant; in 1992, as an Assistant Coach; and in 2008, 2012, and 2016, as the Head Coach (hypothetically tying Thompson’s West Point Olympian medal record).

Should coaches be counted, the number of West Point Olympians approximately reaches the century mark, although spotty historical records make exact quantification impossible. Another graduate to serve as Olympic coach is Rick Oleksyk ’85, who coached the U.S. Men’s Handball Team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

The numbers for West Point Olympians become more impressive if those with long-term ties to the Academy are taken into

Patton: The Mythic Olympic Athlete before He Became the Mythic U.S. Army General

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

Of all of the West Point graduates who have competed in the Olympic games, none might be better known that George S. Patton Jr., Class of 1909. Decades before he achieved fame and mythic status as the colorful general who successfully commanded the North African and Sicily campaigns during World War II, Patton was the first American to compete in Modern Pentathlon, a new event for the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden. While his performance at the “Games of the V Olympiad” did not bring him fame, elements of it certainly border on the mythic.

Modern Pentathlon was inspired by the pentathlon of ancient Greece, during which a soldier carried a message across a long distance, riding on horseback, swimming a river, and running, while at the same time defending himself against an enemy, first by pistol and then by sword. Because of its origins, Modern Pentathlon was only open to military personnel in 1912. When U.S. Army officials began considering athletes for the event, Patton—a first lieutenant stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia, who set a record in the hurdles at West Point and earned letters his firstie year in track & field, fencing, and sharpshooting—caught their attention (allegedly, Patton’s time playing polo with DC’s elite and powerful while stationed at Fort Myer also contributed to his selection). He was named to the U.S. Olympic Team on May 10, 1912 and the Stockholm games officially opened on July 5, 1912, less than two months later.

Regarding his preparations for competition, Patton once wrote, “[I] was in excellent physical condition but had not

run for about two years nor done any fast swimming for three.” During his two-week voyage aboard the S.S. Finland to the 1912 Summer Olympics, he ran two miles around the deck of the ship and used a rope to swim in place in a custom-made 20-foot canvas pool, tying one end of the rope to the deck and the other end around his waist (which chafed him raw).

The 1912 Modern Pentathlon began on July 7 with 42 contestants and lasted for nearly a week. Day one consisted of pistol shooting on the 25-meter range. Patton used his Army-issued .38 Colt Special sidearm for the event (a caliber he supposedly felt was more becoming for a military officer), while the other competitors used .22 caliber Luger P08 pistols and Smith & Wesson target pistols. Despite firing near perfect score (197 out of 200) the previous day in practice, Patton came in 21st on the pistol range, hitting the target 17 out of 20 times. A theory, presumably started by Patton himself, is that, because he used a larger-gauge projectile that made a bigger bullet hole, his “missed” rounds must have passed through holes on the target. Other competitors, being genteel officers, agreed that this must have been the case, but his missing bullets were never located, and the judges had to penalize Patton 10 points accordingly.

On day two, 37 competitors remained for the 300-meter swimming event, in which Patton finished sixth. Foreshadowing the “toujours l’attaque” general he would later become, Patton expended so much energy during

Photos: Courtesy of Gretchen Braunschweiger

George S. Patton Jr., Class of 1909, rides a borrowed Swedish cavalry horse during the 5,000-meter steeplechase event in the Modern Pentathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics, held in Stockholm, Sweden. Patton facing off against Jean de Mas Latrie, widely considered at the time to be the world’s greatest swordsman, during the fencing event of the 1912 Stockholm Games’ Modern Pentathlon.

the swimming event that he had to be helped out of the pool with a boathook.

His aggressive style didn’t change for the fencing portion of the Modern Pentathlon event on days three and four. The remaining 29 competitors had to face every other competitor to determine the overall champion. Of the 28 opponents he faced, Patton bested 20 of them, including Lieutenant Jean de Mas Latrie, the French officer who was widely considered to be the world’s greatest swordsman, which gave Patton a third-place finish for fencing.

He also came in third in the next day’s event, the 5,000-meter steeplechase. The course was demanding, and Patton had to borrow a Swedish cavalry horse for the equestrian competition, as his own horse, “Fencing Girl,” was sidelined with an injury. Despite these odds, Patton registered a perfect score, with overall course time determining his thirdplace finish (just behind two Swedish riders).

The last day’s event was the 4,000-meter (2.5-mile) cross-country foot race. The course consisted of a heavily forested path, which went through muddy swamps that Patton later reported were “6 inches deep.” Reports of the event also note that it was run on one of the hottest and most humid days of the summer in Sweden that year. Two of the remaining 15 Modern Pentathlon competitors fainted on the course, and another died. Before the event, Patton’s trainer gave him a shot of opium (legal at the time), believing it would help his stamina. Whether it was the drug or just his typical “attack-and-be-damned” approach, Patton ran as fast as he could for as long as he could. He was the first to re-enter the Olympic stadium for the final dash but, completely exhausted by this point, was passed by two Swedes and had to amble as best he could across the finish line for a third-place finish. He collapsed in front of the Royal Box, losing consciousness for quite some time. He later wrote that he heard his father say to his trainer, “Will the boy live?” and the trainer respond, “I think he will but can’t tell.”

Patton ultimately earned fifth place for the 1912 Olympic Modern Pentathlon. Had he done better in the pistol portion, historians speculate he would have won a medal (he bested the medal winners in the remaining four events). Perhaps it was knowledge of this that led Patton in 1914 to secure a spot on the U.S. Modern Pentathlon team for the 1916 Olympics, giving him two years rather than two months to prepare. Unfortunately, due to World War I, the games were cancelled, but his time serving on General John Pershing’s (Class of 1886) staff and with the Tank Corps during the Great War set Patton on the road to fame as the mythic U.S. Army figure who is so widely known today. 

account. Jack Riley, longtime Army Hockey Team head coach, while not a graduate, is typically considered as a West Point Olympian who coached the 1960 U.S. Hockey Team to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley (he also played for the 1948 U.S. Hockey Team at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland). Long-time Army Gymnastics Team head coach Tom Maloney coached the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Team in 1952 (Helsinki, Finland) and 1960 (Rome, Italy). Lastly, 13year Army West Point Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving coach Mickey Wender coached American Samoa swimmers at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China.

The Future of West Point Olympians

In July 2019, the Thayer Hotel introduced a two-room suite dedicated to West Point Olympians. Guests in the room are treated to dozens of memorabilia items related to West Point Olympians, including a 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic torch carried (and donated) by Craig T. Gilbert ’78, who competed in Handball at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and posters from various Olympiads (e.g., 1936-Berlin, 1948London, and 1960-Rome). The room is also a repository for West Point Olympian trivia, answering, among other things, questions such as “Which West Point Olympian has been in the most

Photo: courtesy of Kent Troy

The 1952 U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team, led by Guy Troy ’46 (kneeling) and featuring Frederick L. Denman ’51 (standing, center), competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

Olympic Games?” (Answer: Lyle B. Nelson ’71, who competed in Biathlon in four Winter Olympics: 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1988); “Who was the first female West Point Olympian?”

(Answer: Elexa Diana Wills-Orrange ’90, who competed in the Triple Jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Anita F. Allen ’00, who competed in Modern Pentathlon in the 2004 Athens Games, is the only other female West Point Olympian thus far); and “Which West Olympian won a gold medal in the same event with his brother?” (Answer: Joseph B. Amlong ’61, who won gold with his brother, Tom, in Rowing, Coxed Eights at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan).

But before the collecting the memorabilia and the trivia, one of the first things that had to be decided for the West Point Olympians Suite was the definition of the term “Olympian” as well as the qualifications needed to be recognized as a “West Pointer.” According to Tom Lough ’64, who competed on the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, and who conceived and raised the funds to realize the West Point Olympians Suite, the room at the Thayer Hotel follows the inclusive U.S. Olympic/Paralympic Committee (USOPC) definition of the term “Olympian.” The USOPC definition recognizes officially designated alternates in the various sports, while the stricter International Olympic Committee (IOC) definition requires an athlete to have actually

stepped onto the field of competition. Similarly, says Lough, “In our Thayer Hotel project, we adopted the term ‘West Point Olympian’ as meaning anyone who had attended the Academy as a cadet and who made an Olympic team according to the USOPC definition, whether they competed or not.” While the room does not include coaches, Lough believes that West Point coaches could help fulfill the tacit mission of the West Point Olympians Suite, which is to inspire cadets to greater athletic excellence. “We hope that coaches at West Point will consider bringing their team to the suite for special occasions,” he says.

“Unless they become aware of West Pointers who have become Olympians, cadets might never think of becoming one themselves—maybe some of them might learn of these West Point Olympians and become interested in learning more; maybe some of them might experience Olympic hopes and dreams themselves; and maybe some of them will take action after graduation to qualify for the Olympic trials in their sport.”

Should this be the case, Lough believes that they are at the perfect training ground for any event in the Olympics.

“West Point helped me develop character traits that carried me through the challenges and obstacles of my own Olympic journey,” he says. “Things such as self-confidence, the ability to concentrate in the face of disruptions, and a sense of resilience are all lessons I learned at West Point that worked together to bring me athletic success at the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials.”

Photos: Gretchen Braunschweiger; Courtesy of Kent Troy.

Clockwise from upper left: Anita Allen ’00 competed in the Modern Pentathlon at the 2004 Athens Games. E. Diana Wills-Orrange ’90 competed in the Women’s Triple Jump at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In July 2019, the Thayer Hotel at West Point opened the West Point Olympians suite, which contains dozens of memorabilia involving West Point Olympians, including an immense collage of all 89 athletes, seen here held by Craig Gilbert ’78 (left), who competed on the U.S. Men’s Handball Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Wills-Orrange, and Lough, who conceived of the room and raised the funds to make it a reality. Troy (left), Denman (center), and PFC Thad McAthur at the 1952 Helsinki Games.

These are likely lessons that helped Lough’s fellow 1968 West Pointer Mike Silliman ’68 win a team gold medal as a member of the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team.

If a cadet or recent graduate discovers that he or she has potential in an Olympic event (as Troy believes, West Point has all the ingredients for Modern Pentathlon events—Fencing Club, Swim Team, Track Team, Pistol Team, and Equestrian Team—and Lough thinks that cadets build strong foundations at West Point in combination events such as triathlon and biathlon), they should investigate the opportunities available through the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).

This is the path that Dan Browne ’97 took. “I was on the Track Team, and my first fall semester set the stage that ‘You can train here; you can be the best here,” Browne says. “As I continued through the 47-month experience, I learned lessons at West Point that set me up for success in the Olympics, lessons such as resiliency and determination.” By the time he had graduated, Browne had set several indoor and outdoor track records, including being the first cadet to break the four-minute mile. In 1998, Browne found himself in Boulder, Colorado as a member of the World Class Athletes Program (WCAP) training for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Although he won five U.S. national titles as a WCAP athlete, Browne missed making the Sydney U.S. Olympic Team, believing that his timing in terms of peak performance was off. “While I learned a lesson about timing from that experience, I also remembered a lesson that I learned at the Academy,” says Browne: “You don’t quit what you start.” The setback spurred him on to 2004, when he made the U.S. Olympic Team for the Summer Games in Athens, Greece, competing in both the 10,000-Meter and Marathon events. “I am very proud to be counted among the great group of West Point Olympians, and I am thankful for all the resources West Point provided me a cadet, such as the Center for Enhanced Performance, to help me reach my potential,” says Browne, who is still involved with the Olympics, recently coaching the silver medal winner in the 5,000Meter event at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

MacArthur as Olympian

For many of the living West Point Olympians, such as Troy, Lough, and Browne, there is untapped potential for future Olympians among the Corps. “Every cadet an athlete,” right? Interestingly, the author of that passage, Douglas MacArthur, could be considered the most decorated West Point Olympian ever, both in terms of general stars and Olympic medals.

In 1927, when William C. Prout, then president of the American Olympic Association (AOA) died suddenly on August 4,

MacArthur, thanks to the sweeping athletic changes he instituted at the Academy during his tour as Superintendent, immediately was considered as a possible candidate to become the next AOA president. He took on the role in October 1927, realizing that he would have less than a year to prepare for the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Multiple reports suggest that he approached his duties as AOA president in the same manner that he approached combat. He attended every practice he could. He often met with athletes to motivate them to a higher level of performance. He gave legendary speeches to the 1928 U.S. Olympic Team, famously saying, “We have not come 3,000 miles just to lose gracefully— We are here to win and win decisively.” According to Arthur Herman, author of Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior, “By the time the games were over, the United States had won 24 gold medals, more than the next two countries, Finland and Germany, put together, [and] the U.S. team had set no less than 17 Olympic records and seven world records.” All in all, U.S. athletes took home 56 total medals from the 1928 Amsterdam Games, nine more than the next two nations combined. His effort as AOA president has led historians to dub MacArthur as “the father of the modern American Olympic spirit.”

Through “Every Cadet an Athlete,” which is still in play at West Point, current West Point Olympians hope that some of MacArthur’s spirit passes on to a new generation of cadets at the Academy so that one of the Long Gray Line’s most impressive legacies will continue long into the future. 

The author would like to thank Craig Gilbert ’78 and his wife, Gretchen Braunschweiger, for their invaluable assistance with this article.

“On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days, on other fields, will bear the fruits of victory.”

GEN Douglas MacArthur, Class of 1903

“West Point helped me develop character traits that carried me through the challenges and obstacles of my own Olympic journey…selfconfidence, the ability to concentrate in the face of disruptions, and a sense of resilience are all lessons I learned at West Point that worked together to bring me athletic success at the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials.”

— Tom Lough ’64

Their Legacies Live On:

The Men behind the Names of the

By Erika Norton, WPAOG staff

Whenit comes to discussing the legacy and impact of West Point athletics, there is perhaps no better place to start than the names for several of the athletic buildings themselves. While many of West Point’s athletic facilities have been named after classes and donors who have given Margin of Excellence funding to support the Corps of Cadets, most of them are named after fallen graduates. Their names are meant to inspire the cadets, who use these athletic buildings each day to fulfill their “Every Cadet an Athlete” requirement, of what it means to live a life dedicated to Duty, Honor, Country.

Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center

Arvin gymnasium is named after Carl R. “Bob” Arvin, Class of 1965. During his time at West Point, Arvin excelled in wrestling all four years and was elected team captain his senior year. He was a member of the Debate Council and Forum, served as a Student Conference on U.S. Affairs (SCUSA) round table participant, edited the Howitzer, and was a member of the Catholic Chapel Choir. He was a Rhodes Scholar finalist and was appointed First Captain of the Corps of Cadets. On his first tour after graduation, Arvin was selected as the youngest company commander in the 82d Airborne Division. After a successful command, he was picked to be aide to the

assistant division commander, serving until he got orders for Vietnam in early 1967. Lieutenant Arvin was assigned as an advisor in the MACV in May and earned his first Silver Star for gallant actions in September 1967. In October, near Hue-Phu Bai, in the northernmost province of the Republic of Vietnam, Lieutenant Arvin’s battalion encountered a regimental-sized unit of Viet Cong that pinned his unit down in an exposed, untenable position. At grave risk to himself, Arvin assisted his Vietnamese counterpart in maneuvering a portion of the battalion and subsequently defeating the larger enemy force. During the counterattack, Lieutenant Arvin was mortally wounded and died on the field of battle. For his actions, the 24-year old was awarded a second Silver Star, a Purple Heart and posthumously promoted to captain.

After an extensive renovation, Arvin Gymnasium re-opened at the start of the 2005-06 academic year. The 495,100-square-foot building includes two large basketball courts, the Class of 1979 gifted state-of-the-art rock-climbing wall, the Class of 1962 Weight Room, a survival swimming pool, racquetball courts and Class of 1972 boxing rooms. The Class of 1965 further honored their classmate with the Captain Bob Arvin Alcove that remembers his life and service.

Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center is named for Carl R. “Bob” Arvin, Class of 1965, who served as First Captain.

Above: Hayes Gym and namesake Thomas J. Hayes IV, Class of 1966.

Army West Point Athletic Facilities

Hayes Gym

Arvin Gymnasium also houses Hayes Gym, formerly the East Gym, which was re-named in 1989 to honor Thomas J. Hayes IV, Class of 1966, who was a four-year member of the Army Soccer Team and Ski Club as a cadet and who was killed in action in Vietnam in April 1968 while serving as a captain in the Corps of Engineers. Posthumously promoted to captain, Hayes’ decorations underscore his dedication and service: two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars, five Air Medals (one with “V” device), three Army Commendation Medals, and a Commendation Medal with “V” device. Among other things, Hayes Gym is home to the Indoor Obstacle Course.

Christl Arena

Christl Arena, housed within Holleder Center, was named for Edward C. Christl Jr., Class of 1944. While at West Point, he was dubbed the “tallest man in the Corps.” Playing basketball all three years (the Class of 1944’s curricula was reduced to three years due to World War II), Christl led the Black Knights to an impressive win over Navy in his second class year. Then, as team captain during his senior year, he led the team to an undefeated season and a national #1 ranking.

Christl graduated on D-Day, June 6, 1944, when the fate of the allied invasion on five beaches in Normandy was quite unclear. Lieutenant Christl joined American soldiers less than six months later as a forward observer assigned to an infantry unit of the 65th Division. When the division reached the Fulda River, to fill the request for a reconnaissance of the far side, 23-year-old Lieutenant Christl jumped into the river, followed by a squad of infantrymen, to provide the intelligence.

In the spring of 1945, the 65th Division pushed south into Austria, and it was there, near a town called Eferding that Lieutenant Christl was killed. On May 4, while leading troops against holdout SS troops, he was hit by machine gunfire and died instantly. Christl was awarded his nation’s second highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross. Dedicated in 1988 and renovated in 2015, Chistl Arena is home to the Army West Point Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams, seats 5,043 fans, and has hosted an open practice for the United States Men’s National Basketball Team in August 2014.

Crandall Pool

Crandall Pool is named after Robert W. Crandall, Class of 1939. Crandall was an outstanding Army diver in 1938-39, setting

Christl Arena was named after Edward C. Christl Jr., Class of 1944. As team captain, Christl (wearing #9 in photos far right) led the Basketball Team to an undefeated season his senior year.

many meet records and establishing an Army record for points in a competition against Dartmouth. During his senior year, Crandall was elected captain of the Army Swim Team and led the team to a winning season and a victory over Navy.

After graduation, Crandall went into the Cavalry but, with the outbreak of World War II, found himself in the Infantry. Rising quickly, Major Crandall commanded a battalion of the 3d Infantry Division against German forces in France. Though captured in 1944, once repatriated, Crandall asked to see further service and sought another command. In the spring of 1945, Major Crandall was sent to Italy and given command of a battalion attached to the newly reconstituted 92nd Division. The men of the 92nd had not performed well previously and had to be pulled out of the line. Thus, Crandall ’s second command was no easy job. Yet, he had the force of character to take this weak unit and make it a strong fighting one. Faced with stiff German opposition, the men of the 473d Infantry responded admirably and fought northward over rough terrain, even as the war in the rest of Europe was winding down. On April 25, a week before the cessation of hostilities in Italy, Crandall was killed in action near Sarzana. Only 30 years old when he died, the battalion commander was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Crandall Pool was completed in 1970. It is a six-lane, 50-meter course that can be divided by a submergible bulkhead into an eight-lane, 25-yard competition pool and a six-lane practice pool. Its overall depth is 8 feet. In 1972 and again in 1976, the men’s and women’s Olympic teams used Crandall Pool as their official training site before departing for Munich and Montreal, respectively. Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Mark Spitz once held a Crandall Pool record. Located in a separate area, the pool also includes two one-meter and two three-meter springboards, as well as 6.5- and 10-meter platforms, upon which cadets

complete military training. The pool’s spectator facility has a seating capacity of 1,210 and provides excellent views of the finish and scoreboard.

Gillis Field House

The Gillis Field House is named after William G. Gillis, Class of 1941. Bill Gillis is probably most remembered by his classmates as a star of the Army Football Team, for which he was elected captain his senior year. But off the gridiron, Gillis was also a track star, using his speed to set Academy records in the 220-yard (200-meter) low hurdles—which lasted for several years—and the high hurdles.

After graduation at age 26, Gillis was the youngest battalion commander in the Third Army when he was thrown into combat at the important battle of Mortain-Avranches. There, in a threeday conflict which saw heavy casualties on both sides, Gillis’ battalion was instrumental in turning aside the German counterattack. Certain German generals later characterized the battle as the most crucial of the war, for a German success might well have driven the Americans back upon Omaha Beach.

Within the next 45 days, Major Gillis saw more than his share of combat. At a crossing of an important canal off the Marne River, and in the face of devastating and direct enemy fire, Gillis swam and waded the canal several times to insure his battalion’s success. For his actions that day, he received the Distinguished Service Cross.

Racing across France with Patton’s Third Army, Gillis time and again was in danger, earning a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and several foreign ribbons, including the Distinguished Service Order and the Croix de Guerre. On October 1, 1944, in the Gramercy Forest outside Nancy, only 60 days after he took

Above and right: Crandall Pool is named after Robert W. Crandall, Class of 1939. Crandall was an outstanding Army diver in 1938-39. Left: Team captain Crandall (center) with Coach Gill (left) and CDT Barnett, team manager (right).

Gillis Field House is named after William G. Gillis, Class of 1941, remembered as a star Army Football player and team captain (right, front row, center, holding a football).

command of his battalion, Gillis was killed in action six days short of his 27th birthday.

Today, Army West Point’s Gillis Field House is the home of the Black Knights’ Track and Field Team. The facility is fully equipped with locker rooms and also features a fully-equipped training room and weight area.

Gillis Field House’s track incorporates the same surface as the tracks used in the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games. The facility is also equipped with two jumping pits, a mondo pole vault runway with new UCS 1900 landing system and a mondo high jump apron with UCS landing mats. There is an indoor throwing cage and sector, as well as throwing nets to allow for discus and hammer practice.

Gillis is also the competitive home of the Army West Point Volleyball Team, although their lockers and team rooms are now located in the new Anderson Athletic Center (see page 40). Located on the east side of Gillis Field House, a new wooden court was laid throughout the summer of 2015 to incorporate elements of the Army West Point rebrand, including a new Athena Shield logo. During softball’s offseason period, spacious Gillis Field House also transforms into the Black Knights’ parttime diamond, complete with a tartan surface, three indoor pitching mounds, two pitching machines, batting cages, and a fully equipped weight room.

Holleder Center

The Holleder Center was named after Donald W. Holleder, Class of 1956. As a football player, Cadet Holleder was an outstanding end and was voted an All-American in 1954. In 1955, when Coach Earl “Red ” Blaik needed someone to fill the quarterback position, he asked Holleder to assume the role.

Holleder responded admirably, leading Army to a 6-3 season and a memorable 14-6 win over Navy. In basketball, Holleder in 1954 helped Army to a narrow victory over Navy. Holleder’s athletic abilities earned him many awards, including the Army Athletic Association Award for outstanding football player of his class, the 1956 Swede Nelson Award for Sportsmanship, and entry into the NCAA Football Hall of Fame.

After completing Command and General Staff College in 1967, Major Holleder received orders for Vietnam. His dedication earned him four Bronze Star medals and nine Air Medals. In October 1967, Holleder was serving as an operations officer in the Black Lions Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division when that division undertook Operation Shenandoah II. On October 17, the operation ran into major difficulty. The leading battalion of the brigade was ambushed by the 271st Viet Cong Regiment and immediately took heavy casualties. Over 100 men were hit, including the battalion commander and the sergeant major, both killed in the initial moments. Added to the general chaos of conflict was now the devastating lack of leadership. Unguided and taking heavy losses, troops began filtering rearward. Into the confusion stepped Holleder. He encouraged the men, compelling them by his example to resume their positions, and thus almost single-handedly created order from rout. Running to the point position to rally the U.S. troops, Holleder was almost instantly wounded mortally by a burst of fire from the jungle trees. He died within moments.

For his valor on that day Holleder—only 33 years old—was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 2012. Named in his honor, the 131,000-square-foot Holleder Center now serves as the home of West Point’s hockey and basketball programs.

Photos: Erika Norton/WPAOG; WPAOG archives

The Holleder Center was named after Donald W. Holleder, Class of 1956. As a football player, Cadet Holleder was an outstanding end and was voted an All-American in 1954. He is shown above left with the 1953 Football Team (fourth row, third from the left).

Opened in 1985, the Holleder Center has common areas that service both the ice rink and basketball arena. Rest rooms, concession stands, gift shops, ticket windows and officials’ locker rooms are among the amenities located in the common areas. Plaques and trophy cases inside are devoted to the history of Army athletics. In addition to hockey and basketball, the center has served as the site for numerous other events. It has served as home to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and the Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League championships.

Michie Stadium

Michie Stadium is named after Dennis Mahan Michie, Class of 1892, who had a passion for sports. Football was emerging in the northeast as a popular sport in the Ivy League colleges, but Academy leaders felt that “extensive athletics or indulgence in any sort of intercollegiate competition would prove to be a harmful diversion to men dedicated to military service.” But Dennis Michie proved to be an iconoclast.

Fighting the resistance, he accepted the challenge to play a Navy football squad in 1890, even though Army had no team at the time. Struggling against the system as well as his team’s lack of experience, Michie fielded an Army team on the Plain at West Point, but watched helplessly as it floundered 0-24. Only through Michie’s stubborn perseverance was Army able to field a second team in 1891.

Playing at Annapolis his senior year, the Michie-coached team “crunched the crabs” 32-16. Thus was born a tradition and Michie received the title “ father of Army football.”

When war broke out with Spain in 1898, Lieutenant Michie proved he was every bit a soldier as he was an athlete. Serving as

aide-de-camp to General Hawkins, he took part in the invasion of Cuba and the critical battle of San Juan. Acting as a runner, with messages for the far right of the U.S. line, he traversed the entire length of the front during the early hours of July 1. He was the only contact the right wing battalions had with headquarters and according to one battalion commander, the only staff officer he saw at the front the entire day. He stayed with the forward battalion for a while, then excused himself to return to headquarters. Somewhere along the way back, in that “ fog of war, ” Michie was killed. He was only 28 years old.

Michie Stadium seats 38,000 fans and has been the home of Army Football at West Point since 1924. It is consistently ranked among the top sports venues in the nation and features an iconic view of Lusk Reservoir and the West Point campus.

Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium was named in honor of Richard Shea, Class of 1952. Shea became a star on the Track Team while at West Point. Already 21 years old with enlisted time behind him when he entered the Academy, Shea did not shy away from responsibility. By his First Class year, both tactical officers and classmates across the Corps recognized his leadership by appointing him a cadet captain and company commander and electing him captain of the Army Track Team.

Shea also competed in cross country, going on to win the European 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter championships. He was the recipient of the Army Athletic Association Trophy, presented to the top senior athlete. He won 16 major intercollegiate middle distance and cross country championships and set seven indoor and outdoor Academy track records. He also qualified for the 1952 Olympic Games in the 10,000-meter competition.

Photos: John Pellino/USMA PAO; WPAOG archives

Michie Stadium and Dennis Mahan Michie, Class of 1892. Michie was captain of the football team (#6, center, holding football) shown in 1891.

Shea Stadium was named in honor of Richard Shea, Class of 1952. He is shown at right on the Track Team in 1952 (second row, seventh from the left).

Shea was assigned to Korea following graduation and was killed in action on July 8, 1953, at Sokkogae, trying to repel Communist “suicide attacks” during the Korean Conflict. Shea was 26 years old when he died, only a few days before the war was signed to a conclusion. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for wartime bravery, the 77th one awarded during the Korean War.

Considered one of the finest track venues on the East Coast, Shea Stadium includes an eight-lane Southwest all-weather surface capable of setting up sprints in either direction. The track is well cushioned and resiliant enough for daily training to minimize chance of injury. Shea Stadium also features six jumping pits and six vault boxes that face every direction, allowing jumpers to enjoy the most favorable winds. Shea also possesses two shot put circles and sectors, two Olympic-size hammer and discus cages, and a Southwest all-weather surfaced javelin runway. The Stadium is also home to the Class of 1952 Memorial site, funded and maintained by the class.

Tate Rink

Tate Rink commemorates brothers Joseph S. Tate, Class of 1941, and Frederic H.S. Tate, Class of 1942, both outstanding athletes and hockey players. In addition to lettering in both hockey and lacrosse and serving as goalie for the icemen his firstie year, Joseph was a stalwart for his class’ Goat Football Team. The younger Tate, Frederic “Honie,” played football for four years and lettered, played tennis his Second and Third Class years, and played four years of hockey, lettering the last three. His First Class year he was elected captain of the Army Hockey Team.

Besides their love for the hockey ice, the two brothers shared a love for flying. Joe graduated first and by 1943 was a squadron commander and lieutenant colonel. He flew bombers and endured the tortuous months when the Army Air Corps was trying to solve the problems of daylight bombing over Germany with little fighter support. By December of 1943, Joseph Tate had earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, several Air Medals and a Purple Heart. Honie joined his brother in the skies over occupied Europe in the spring of 1943.

Three days before Christmas 1943, Joseph failed to return from a mission. His plane, hit over Osnabrueck, Germany, tried to make it to the coast but crashed somewhere in Germany. His leadership and courage earned the 25-year old flyer a Silver Star and a second Distinguished Flying Cross. Nine months later, on September 20, 1944, Captain Frederic “Honie” Tate was shot down over Vigneulles, France. He too was only 25 when he died. Opened in 1985, Tate Rink contains several amenities that makes it one of the most highly regarded hockey facilities in the East. The venue has a seating capacity of 2,648 (a mix of chairback seats and fixed bench bleachers) and includes a threetiered press box with a camera deck for television broadcasts. In 2002, Tate Rink was renovated with a new ice surface and stateof-the-art refrigeration, new dasher boards complete with kick plates, a Daktronics scoreboard, a video board funded by Brian Concannon ’ 79 and David Harkins ’62, an updated lighting system, and a double-ply, low-e ceiling. 

This article updates an October 1988 article “USMA Names Sports Facilities” by William D. Gabbard ’74 that appeared in ASSEMBLY magazine.

Photos: Erika Norton/WPAOG; WPAOG archives

Tate Rink commemorates brothers Frederic H.S. Tate, Class of 1942 and Joseph S. Tate, Class of 1941 (shown at right and with the Hockey Team in the front row. Frederic is on the left and Joseph is third from left).

Frederic H.S. Tate ’42 Joseph S. Tate ’41

Donor-Funded Corps Squad Athletic Facilities

Outstanding Athletic facilities are one of many ways that donor generosity supports the Margin of Excellence and enhances the Academy’s leader development of cadets. Since the WPAOG Bicentennial Campaign of 1997-2002, the landscape of West Point athletic facilities has been enhanced by buildings funded by individuals and classes. WPAOG gratefully acknowledges the following donor-funded athletic facilities.

Please visit WestPointAOG.university-tour.com to view an interactive map showing how donorfunded facilities have transformed the West Point landscape.

Anderson Athletic Center

On June 8, 2018, leaders from WPAOG, Army West Point Athletics and Academy leadership broke ground on the Anderson Athletic Center, the 40th brick and mortar project to be delivered to the Academy by WPAOG. The renovation of the building created a multi-purpose athletic facility to enhance the cadet-athlete experience across multiple sports. The project was made possible by a leadership gift from Lee and Penny Anderson ’61 and has also received support from John Drew ’78, William and Diane Spurgeon ’81 and the Class of 1981, Vaughn G. Vasconcellos ’78 and William J. Sandbrook ’79. The project was completed in 2020, and the Center is the new, state-of-the-art home for the Black Knights Sprint Football, Softball and Volleyball teams (see article on page 40). The first floor of the building is a 6,630-square-foot strength and conditioning training center utilized by various Army West Point teams. The second floor features locker rooms for the Sprint Football, Softball and Volleyball squads. A 500-plus-square-foot self-serve nutrition center is also located on the premises to properly fuel cadet-athletes to maximize the value of their workouts.

Anderson Rugby Complex

Made possible through the generosity of Lee Anderson ’61 and his wife Penny, the complex is positioned alongside the Hudson River, just north of Shea Stadium. The first floor of the two-story, 13,650-square-foot center includes four team locker rooms, a locker room for referees, home and visitor showers, a commercial-quality laundry room, restrooms and a training room. The second floor features a weight-training room, multi-purpose team room, coaches’ offices, restrooms and a 1,800-square-foot balcony that overlooks the pitch.

Foley Athletic Center

The Foley Athletic Center officially opened its doors in 2009 through a gift from William P. Foley ’67. Named in honor of his father, the Foley Athletic Center is a 77,000-square-foot, climate-controlled, indoor practice and training facility. The

facility houses a full 100-yard football playing field, along with 10-yard end zones on each ends. The football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, and softball teams have all utilized the facility to its fullest potential.

Foley, Enners, Nathe Lacrosse Center

The Foley, Enners, Nathe Lacrosse Center is named for lead donor William P. Foley ’67, who in turn honored his classmates

First Lieutenant Raymond J. Enners ‘67 and First Lieutenant Michael L. Nathe ’67, both of whom were killed in action serving in Vietnam. Enners was a three-year letter winner for the Army Lacrosse program and was a 1967 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Honorable Mention AllAmerican. Nathe was a member of the Lacrosse and Wrestling teams at West Point. Nestled in the northeast corner of historic Michie Stadium, this 15,000-square-foot facility features two floors. The first floor contains locker rooms for Army West Point’s Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse teams in addition to equipment and athletic training rooms and coaches’ locker rooms. The second floor features spacious team rooms that open prominently to the scenic terrace overlooking the stadium and a multi-purpose room. Additional major donors to the project included the late Jack Rust ’49, the Class of 1996, Bill Weathersby ’89, Gary Giglio ’89, and Buck French ’89.

Goldstein Field

Goldstein Field is an artificial turf field adjacent to the Howze practice football field and Foley Athletic Center. Named in memory of Carl Goldstein, a longtime West Point supporter, dedicated Army fan, and honorary member of the Class of 1955, it supports the needs of the Football Team as well as the Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse teams. Lead donors to the project are the Goldstein and Lichtenberg families, with additional gifts from Chris C. Casciato and Anthony Guzzi.

Gross Sports Center

The Lou Gross Sports Center is a 23,000-square-foot state-ofthe-art facility, made possible by the generous contributions

of lead donors Lou Gross ’54 and Herb S. Lichtenberg ’55. The home of the Army West Point Men’s Gymnastics Team, the building contains locker, team and training rooms, offices and a spectator viewing area. In addition, the Gross Center benefits both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams, providing them a practice facility that complements the Holleder Center.

Groves Golf Training Center

The Richard N. Groves Golf Training Facility opened in 2006 and provides a state-of-the-art indoor facility that allows for yearround work. The Groves Training Facility is named for Richard N. Groves, a 1958 graduate of West Point who was a three-year letterwinner as part of the Golf Team. The 5,000-square-foot complex, located off of Route 9W between Washington and Stony Lonesome Gates, is part of the U.S. Military Academy’s Margin of Excellence facilities upgrade project.

Hoffman Press Box at Michie Stadium

The Hoffman Press Box is a 12,000-square foot, two-story multi-functional press box. Named after Mark B. Hoffman ’69, its lead donor, the press box provides seating space for media personnel, a television broadcast booth on the 50-yard line, and houses radio, coaches and game operations booths.

Johnson Stadium/Atkinson Press Box

The home to Army West Point Baseball, Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field seats 880 fans in its fixed chair-back seating. It was named in honor of Rupert H. Johnson ’21, by his sons Charles and Rupert. A major renovation project, completed in 1996, enhanced the overall beauty and practical usage of the park and included the construction of a clubhouse, locker room, and training room facilities. The stadium was most recently updated with the addition of the Atkinson Press Box, funded by Gene Atkinson ’66. Doubleday Field, which was named after Abner Doubleday, Class of 1842, widely regarded as the inventor of baseball, has a staff of dedicated groundskeepers that groom its natural playing surface year-round.

Kimsey Athletic Center

This facility, funded with a lead gift from James Kimsey ’62, houses the Class of 1959 O'Meara, Malek, Dawkins Strength Development Center, a Football home team locker room with 151 permanent lockers and space for temporary lockers, and a visitor’s locker room. Also on the floor is a sports medicine center for treatment of athletes from all teams. The Kenna Hall of Army Sports, whose lead donor was E. Douglas and Jean C. Kenna ’45, an All-American quarterback on Army’s national championship team, is located on the third floor. The third floor also houses the offices of the Army West Point Football coaches and their support staff.

Lichtenberg Tennis Center

On January 24, 1999, the Lichtenberg Tennis Center officially was opened as the first completed physical development facility of the Bicentennial Campaign. It was a gift from the Class of 1955; Herb Lichtenberg, Class of 1955; and Alan Lichtenberg, Class of 1951. The seven-court arena features a sophisticated synthetic indoor hardcourt surface, state-of-the-art lighting, locker facilities, coaches’ offices and meeting rooms, and an elevated spectator area that gives Army tennis fans a birds-eye

view of all seven courts. The Class of 1955 Memorial Terrace is located off the front entrance of the center.

Malek Soccer Stadium

Funded through the generosity of Frederic V. Malek ’59, renovations to the home of Army Men’s and Women’s Soccer include a new, multi-level 1,450-square-foot elevated press box which has an isolated room for radio broadcasting and an open platform for broadcast cameras, which allows for better game coverage. Individual cushioned chairs, premium seating, upgraded facilities and the Class of 1987 Scoreboard also enhance the game experience.

Malek Tennis Center

In the spring of 2002, West Point opened the Malek Tennis Center. Featuring enhancements to the former Clinton Courts, the Malek Tennis Center enhanced Army West Point’s reputation for having some of the best facilities in the East. Among the amenities at Malek are a spectator seating area and a pedestrian plaza that adjoins the Tennis and Baseball stadiums. The nine courts, which are named for the project’s lead donor, Frederic V. Malek ’59, are located directly parallel to Clinton Field and adjacent to Doubleday Field.

Randall Hall/Class of 1956 Walkway

Randall Hall is named after the late Robert D. Randall ’56. The first floor of Randall Hall houses Men’s and Women’s Basketball locker and team rooms. The second floor has the 248-seat tiered Nowak Auditorium with state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities, which was funded by Richard A. Nowak ’64. Designed to be divided into two sections when needed for simultaneous use, the auditorium is used by teams for training presentations and ceremonies. The third floor of Randall Hall houses the four preferred seating boxes and the Army West Point Basketball Coaching Center. The Class of 1956 Walkway: Spanning the Cold War connects Randall Hall and the Holleder Center.

Shea Stadium

Shea Stadium is part of the Class of 1952 Memorial Athletic Complex. The project was a cooperative effort between appropriated funds and the generosity of the Class of 1952. Appropriated funds provided for an eight-lane, Olympic caliber track, a synthetic surface playing field inside the track, and a new drainage system for the entire area. The stadium, which is named after Medal of Honor recipient Dick Shea ’52, who gave his life in the Korean War, includes locker rooms, team facilities, and state-of-the-art track timing and photo capability. The Class of 1952 Memorial Plaza is located at the south end of the stadium.

Tronsrue Marksmanship Center

In 2002, the Tronsrue Markmanship Center was dedicated "in honor of the American infantryman, the United States Military Academy, the Long Gray Line, and the Tronsrue family.” The project was funded by a gift from George Tronsrue III, Class of 1978, and his wife Cindy. In addition, Thomas A. Petrie ’67 has supported this facility. The facility houses the Pistol and Rifle Teams and Marksmanship Cadet Club. 

USMA 2024 JOINS THE CORPS

R-Day

R-Day, March Back and A-Day

More than 1,200 cadet candidates of the Class of 2024 reported to West Point for three different Reception Days on July 12-14, 2020. R-Day was staggered over three days this year to safeguard the health and welfare of all cadet candidates, families, and community members, and modified in a way that respected the time honored traditions of the day, but adapted to the conditions of COVID-19. Following the three days of inprocessing, on July 15, the entire class gathered on the Plain and repeated their Oath of Allegiance in a ceremony that was livestreamed to enable parents and families to join online. The new cadets then began an intense, condensed four weeks of Cadet Basic Training. On the last day of training, the class unveiled its motto: “Like None Before.” On August 10, the new cadets completed a 9-mile march, which marked their successful completion of Cadet Basic Training. On August 15, the Class of 2024 was officially accepted into the United States Corps of Cadets at the Acceptance Day parade, which, like their Oath Ceremony, was livestreamed so that family and friends who were unable to attend in person could nonetheless share in commemorating the day.

View our video of the USMA 2024 Cadet March Back upon completing Cadet Basic Training. Open the camera on your smartphone or tablet. Hold over the QR Code image at right and click on the link that appears.Or go to bit.ly/marchbackstory.

Photos: Nile Clarke/WPAOG; Michelle Eberhardt, Brandon O̓Connor/USMA PAO

March Back

March Back

Photos: Erika Norton/WPAOG; Bryan Ilyankof, Kyle Osterhoudt, John Pellino,CDT Angeline Tritschler/USMA PAO

2020 Cadet Summer Training Adapts to COVID-19

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

As soon as it was decided that cadets would not be returning to the Academy after spring break last March, the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, Lieutenant General Darryl Williams ’83, assembled an Operations Planning Team (OPT) of 20 or so West Point personnel to address, among other things, what to do about Cadet Summer Training (CST) 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Adam Sawyer ’00, the Chief of Military Science and Training within USMA’s Department of Military Instruction, who was part of the OPT, the team needed to answer two essential questions regarding CST: 1) When would it occur? and 2) What would it look like?

To answer the “when” question, the team designed a campaign with several lines of operations revolving around both fixed and shifting factors. The fixed factors were the dates of Graduation for the Class of 2020 and March Back for the Class of 2024, and the limiting factor was West Point’s ability to test a maximum of 350 individuals a day for COVID-19. “We designed our CST plan around the ability to flow the entire Corps of Cadets over a period in a way that didn’t exceed our testing ability but still enabled us to train,” said Sawyer. This ultimately set the start day

for summer training as July 7, 2020, allowing task force soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division to flow in starting on June 16 and get tested as well.

With a start date in place, attention shifted to preserving West Point’s traditional CST model as much as possible. “Our training model is very good and balances a lot of things well,” said Sawyer, “taking in factors from both the Commandant’s side and the Dean’s side.” The desire to retain the CST model with minimal changes led to three crucial decisions: first, how to bring in the Class of 2024 (but not necessarily conduct Cadet Basic Training [CBT]); second, how to complete Cadet Field Training (CFT) for the Class of 2023; and third, what to do regarding Cadet Leader Development Training (CLDT).

The third decision ultimately involved cancelling CLDT. “CLDT is not an Army requirement,” said Sawyer, “and we made our decisions for CST 2020 based on Army requirements and not on past West Point training experiences.” In a normal summer, with approximately three-and-a-half months to complete training, resources can be spread out; however, with only a little more than a month of CST in 2020, limited resources and manpower issues meant that West Point could not complete everything done in the past, so CLDT was cut. There was an early plan in place to bring back 200 rising cows for CLDT, but, as the July 7 start date for CST approached, leadership realized it needed to have a bench of upperclass cadets ready to serve as cadet cadre members for CBT, CFT, and Cadet Candidate Basic Training should any of those currently serving have to enter isolation or quarantine as a result of COVID testing. “We also needed additional support for our Quebec Detachment, the CBT element that handled COVID-positive new cadets,” said Sawyer (read more about this below). For those cadets without a summer detail, West Point started flowing them back to post on July 25 and placed them in a new program called “Cadet Leader Development.” Instead of field training, these cadets received approximately three weeks of professional development training, having character-focused conversations with officers in several USMA departments. Sawyer is confident that CLDT will be brought back in 2021, saying, “The beautiful part of the model we developed is that we can go right back to a typical CST next year.”

Continuing to plan backwards from delivery dates, the next decision involved CFT, which is a vital mission because at the completion of CFT, cadets have met all of their BOLC-A requirements, and West Point must train cadets in these tasks if they are to receive a commission in the U.S. Army. While they theoretically have until Graduation to complete their BOLC-A requirements, having them done as a rising yearling allows cadets the flexibility to focus on their leader detail, CLDT, and Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT) as rising cows and firsties. “We didn’t want the Class of 2023 to fall behind in their BOLC-A tasks,” said Sawyer. “If they did, we’d have to figure out a way to get them trained next year, which would continue to complicate our traditional CST model.” To accommodate for the limited testing factor, CFT 2020 was broken into two details. Most of the cadets in CFT1, which began on July 7, then flowed directly into the Air Assault MIAD (Military Individual Advanced Development program) being held at West Point (in a normal summer, approximately 60 percent of rising yearlings complete a MIAD). Cadets in CFT2 flowed directly into Re-Orgy week. The primary decision Sawyer and West Point faced was how to bring in the Class of 2024. Federal law authorizes what constitutes the full strength of the Corps of Cadets, and having the new cadets from the Class of 2024 in the Corps was essential to being in compliance. While flowing in the Class of 2024 did not equate to conducting CBT, West Point was able to retain this traditional new cadet experience by making a few modifications. First, CBT was reduced from six weeks to four weeks, thus eliminating the need for two cadre details. Next, 20 percent of the typical CBT training events were moved to the Class of 2024’s CFT next summer. “They did not do live-fire marksmanship or land navigation,” said Sawyer. “These training events are conducted in both CBT and CFT, and, given that they only need to be done once for BOLC-A requirements, we saw

them as repetitive this year.” New cadets did receive weapons familiarization using the Engagement Skills Trainer; they just have to wait until CFT to actually qualify on these weapons. Other traditional training events such as tactical combat casualty care, rappelling, and CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense; aka “House of Tears”) still took place, and CBT concluded with a five-day, four night field exercise and the traditional March Back. West Point also upped the ante in CBT this year in regard to discipline, standards, and basics, bringing in active duty drill sergeants to work with the CBT cadre. “The Superintendent and Commandant have made discipline a priority, and it was emphasized greatly in CBT,” said Sawyer.

Most important, the Class of 2024 endured the same West Point “welcome” as the 222 classes that came before them in the form of a modified R-Day. “R-Day is a graduation requirement per the USMA Greenbook,” said Major Ryan Hintz, an officer with DMI who served as S-3 for CBT 2020. “Despite operating under a COVID environment, it had to be just as big and just as effective in transitioning civilians into members of the Corps of Cadets, and subsequently the U.S. Army, as it had been in previous years.” To execute R-Day in the age of COVID, West Point took a lesson from Initial Entry Training (IET) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and staggered it over three days (July 12-14), corresponding to the three battalions of the CBT regiment, and tested each cadet candidate as soon as he or she reported on his or her particular R-Day.

If a cadet candidate tested negative for COVID, he or she was placed in a platoon of about 40 new cadets. For two weeks, this platoon lived, ate, and trained together and was kept apart from the other platoons within a CBT company, so that if someone became symptomatic within those two weeks, the virus would be limited to this 40-person “fire-break,” potentially safeguarding the rest of the company, the CBT regiment, and the West Point population in general. After two weeks of non-resource intensive and socially distant training (mostly in classrooms and outside),

Photo: Tarnish Pride/USMA PAO

A cadet candidate for the Class of 2024 has his temperature taken upon reporting on R-Day.

West Point “opened the aperture” a bit, still keeping platoons socially distant but adding more collective training.

Those cadet candidates who tested positive for COVID on R-Day, and the USMA Public Affairs Office noted that this amounted to less than one percent of new cadets, were immediately moved into a quarantined platoon with a specific cadre responsible for their treatment and their eventual transition back to training. “We did not turn away talent,” said Hintz. “We still prepared COVID-positive new cadets administratively to transition into the Army through paperwork and the oath, and we kept them marching along in a parallel but separate track from non-COVID new cadets so that they could ultimately be integrated back in.”

“We based this model on what TRADOC [U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command] has been doing to deal with COVID,” said Sawyer, who was sent by the Superintendent in the spring to observe IET at Fort Jackson. “They tested and refined their tactics, techniques, and procedures, and we were the beneficiary, seeing what worked and what didn’t so we could ultimately employ their best elements for CBT and R-Day.”

Aside from the three-day testing factor, R-Day 2020 basically resembled any other R-Day in USMA’s history, with the most obvious difference being that the culminating oath ceremony on the Plain had to be moved to day four of CBT so that it could involve all the new cadets. “The Class of 2024 got the same level of R-Day scrutiny as all other classes received,” said Cadet Evan Walker ’21, the CBT Regimental Commander (or “Queen of Beast”). “The only things different were a little bit of spacing and masks, but the heat was still there, the challenge was still there, and the intensity was still there.” As an example of Walker’s last point, new cadets were required to wash their hands in between each R-Day location, and at various hand-washing stations

throughout Central Area one could hear new cadets shouting the Cadet Creed at high volume as ordered while they lathered. To facilitate the most famous R-Day stressor, reporting to the Cadet in the Red Sash, CBT companies set up transparent plastic shields one foot from “the line.” New cadets in masks had to step up to (not on, not behind) the line and report to the Cadet in the Red Sash, who stood unmasked behind the shield and ensured that his or her new charges reported correctly. “Although the plastic barrier may have been able to stop COVID, it was not going to stop the Cadet in the Red Sash from ensuring that each new cadet was able to meet the standard and move on,” said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kinney ’03, Operations Officer for the United States Corps of Cadets.

Cadet Morgan Ammons ’21, CBT Regimental S-1, believes that all the restrictions employed during CBT to combat COVID— masks, shields, social distancing, and the like—worked to make the constitution of the new cadets in the Class of 2024 stronger in the long run. “We didn’t do the restrictions for ourselves; we did them for each other, and that’s the mindset of the military already,” Ammons said. “New cadets had to learn that they are more than themselves now—that they are part of a team, a company, and the Corps—and COVID explicitly taught this lesson well.”

“You joined the Corps of Cadets during a very challenging period in our history,” the Superintendent told the cadet candidates during a video briefing on R-Day. Later, addressing the media, he said, “We’re the U.S. Army and, more importantly, the U.S. Military Academy, and, like all kinds of adversity we fight through, COVID is now part of our operational environment.” Given all that it successfully completed for CST 2020, West Point is adjusting well to that operational environment. 

Photo: Michelle Eberhardt/USMA PAO

A squad of rising yearlings from the Class of 2023 are ready to attempt Cadet Field Training's Slide for Life at Camp Buckner.

Photos: Michelle Eberhardt,CDT Angeline Tritschler,Brandon

O ’ Connor/USMA PAO

Summer at West Point means military training, and despite the challenge of COVID-19, the summer of 2020 was no different. Rising yearlings completed Cadet Field Training (CFT), which was moved and adjusted to allow for a 14-day controlled monitoring period along with other COVID-19 mitigation efforts. CFT offered a multi-week program emphasizing land navigation, marksmanship, patrolling, and fundamentals of indirect fire. In CFT events such as the Slide for Life (sliding 150 feet on a cable from a 53-foot tower and plunging into water) and the 96-hour field training exercise, cadets develop the toughness, character, and reliability to become effective cadet corporals and team leaders. Incoming new cadets participated in an accelerated four weeks of Cadet Basic Training (CBT), learning Army values and basic soldier skills (marksmanship, tactical combat casualty care, rappelling, etc.). In 2020, in addition to these main training events, the U.S. Military Academy hosted Air Assault school from July 25 to August 10. At the conclusion of the training, 245 cadets earned their Air Assault qualification badges. 

Photos: Michelle Eberhardt,MAtthew Moeller, CDT Angeline Tritschler,CDT Crystal Zhang/USMA PAO

“Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.”

Photo: Matthew Moeller/USMA PAO

AMERICA’S GAME

It is the rivalry in college football. No other game has the tradition, the passion, or the legacy of Army-Navy, not even close. Since 1890, the cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point have taken the field 120 times to battle the midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. From the Polo Grounds in New York to Soldier Field in Chicago to various stadiums in Philadelphia, the rivalry has packed its venue no matter where it is played, even the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the site of the 1983 Army-Navy Game. Here are our top picks for the greatest Army-Navy Games of all time. Which ones are your favorites?

Photo: Danny Wild

Above: Army West Point Football Head Coach Jeff Monken, Steven Johnson ’17 and Team Co-Captain Andrew King ’17 join jubililant Army fans on the field after the 21-17 Army victory over Navy in 2016.

The Top All-Time

Army-Navy Football Victories

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

1891: In only the second year of Army Football, team captain Dennis Michie, Class of 1892, pulls off a “miracle,” leading the boys in gray and black to victory, 32-16, in Annapolis even!

Cadets carry the players on their shoulders up the hill (now Williams Road) when they return to West Point.

1922: In head coach Charles Daly’s 1905 final season, Army comes back for a 17-14 victory with George Smythe’s, Class of 1924, famous 48-yard return and pass to Pat Timberlake, Class of 1923, in the final minutes. His players give Coach Daly a “Four Long Yell” after the big game.

1935: Charles ‘Monk’ Meyer ’37, Army’s pint-sized cadet (139lbs), and Whitey Grove ’36 prove too much for the Mids, combining for 28 points in 18 minutes en route to a 28-6 rout. Army outscores Navy 103-47 in the decade of the 1930s.

1908: Army pulls off the upset against heavily favored Navy, 6-4, with the help of the cadet section yelling “Fight! Fight! Fight!” The New York Sun calls the game “remarkable” given that the “ball was punted almost incessantly.” Big play of the game? Harry Chamberlin, Class of 1910, recovers a fumble and runs 33 yards to set up a touchdown by plebe Bill Dean, Class of 1912.

1914: Featuring future four-star General Omar Bradley, Class of 1915, and future NCAA Hall of Fame Coach Bob Neyland, Class of 1916, Army caps its first undefeated season with a 20-0 win against the Middies and is declared National Champions by the All-America Coaches Committee.

Ahmad Bradshaw ’18 (center, #17) and Army’s offense racked up 351 yards against Navy’s defense, holding the ball for more than two-thirds of the game and helping the Black Knights sing second for the first time in 14 years.”

As demonstrated in this 1908 Army-Nave Game “Course of Ball” graph, the nearly 60yard touchdown run by Bill Dean, Class of 1912, early in the 2nd half was the difference in the game.

1944: No. 1 in the country Army vs. No. 2 Navy. Felix “Doc” Blanchard ’47 and Glenn Davis ’47 help Army end a five-year losing streak in the annual game, including an embarrassing loss the previous year when the game was held at West Point due to World War II. Blanchard scores a record three TDs in the 23-7 victory. In the process Army puts the finishing touches on a perfect season and earns the first of three straight national championships. “The greatest of all Army teams,” General Douglas MacArthur, Class of 1903, wires to head coach Earl “Red” Blaik, Class of 1920, after the game.

1949: 38-0: What more is there to say? Gil Stephenson ’51 ties Doc Blanchard’s three-TD record, and he gains more yardage from scrimmage than the entire Navy squad. Bobby Vinson ’50 has a 92-yard kickoff return. With the victory, Army completes its ninth undefeated season in team history.

1958: It is head coach Red Blaik’s final year. Bob Anderson ’60 teams with Pete Dawkins ’59 to give Army a potent one-two punch, and Army’s Lonely End, Bill Carpenter ’60, debuts. Best of all, Army beats Navy 22-6. Another telegram arrives from MacArthur: “In the long history of West Point athletics there has never been a greater triumph.”

1964: In what is called “Rollie’s Redemption,” Carl ‘Rollie’ Stichweh ’65 and the Cadets finally upset Roger Staubach and Navy, winning 11-8 in their first victory since 1958. In the process, Army silences the Midshipmen’s season-long mantra to “Even the Score in ’64” (referring to their hope to tie Army in series wins), dominating the Goatmen on the ground and outrushing them 215 yards to 31.

1971: A game for the ages. With a drenching rain falling throughout the game, Army and Navy battle back and forth, with Army clinging to a 24-21 lead in the final minute. In a move that still torments Navy grads nearly five decades later, Army head coach Tom Cahill instructs punter Ron Danhof ’73 to take an intentional safety on the game’s final play rather than risk a blocked punt or a run-back for a score. Army wins 24-23, the first one-point victory in the series at that point.

2001: In the shadow of 9-11, millions of viewers (the most for a college football game in the millennium’s first decade) tune in to watch Army score touchdowns while Navy has to settle for field goals, culminating in a 26-17 victory for the Black Knights. Despite their losing records, both teams’ players play with a passion and determination that show the nation they are ready for assignments they will receive upon graduation.

2016: Everyone knows where they were when the ignominious streak ended (most ended up on the field of M&T Bank Stadium!) In the second year of the Coach Monken era, Army (7-4) finally kicked the goat off its back and triumphed over the Navy Midshipmen (9-3) with a final score of 21-17. The turning point in the game was an Army 12-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter that ended with an Ahmad Bradshaw ’18 9-yard touchdown run. But despite dominating Navy in terms of yardage (351 to 201), first downs (23 to 8) and time of possession (40:32 to 19:28), it still took Army making a 3rd and 1 with 1:49 left on the clock to seal the victory, end 14 years of misery, and sing second!

1984: Bowl bound, Army has its best season since 1967 with a record of 8-3-1 and earns its first victory over Navy since 1977, winning 28-11. Nate Sassaman ’85 and Doug Black ’86 combine to gain 309 of Army’s 432 yards. In the postseason, Army defeats Michigan State 10-6 in the Cherry Bowl.

2018: Nationally ranked for the first time in 22 years, the Black Knights won their third consecutive victory over Navy, winning this game 17-10. With the victory, Army also won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. The year was highlighted by a program-record 11 wins (including a rout of Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl, 70-14, tying an FBS record for points scored in a bowl game). The 2018 team also gave Army their second-straight season going unbeaten at Michie Stadium. Army closed the year ranked first nationally in third down conversion percentage (.571), fourth down conversion percentage (.861), and time of possession (38:33), while also sitting second in rushing offense with 312.5 yards per game. Army also garnered its first Lambert Trophy in 60 years.

1996: Two winning teams, both heading to bowl games, play the “Game of the Nineties” in the nearly century-long series. Highlights in Army’s 28-24 come-from-behind victory (the largest comeback in Army-Navy history) include Bobby Williams’s ’99 81-yard touchdown scamper and Garland Gay’s ’97 interception to kill Navy’s drive in the final seconds.

AMERICA’S GAME: THE TOP ALL-TIME ARMY-NAVY FOOTBALL VICTORIES

Photos: CDT Amanda Lin; WPAOG archives

The Anderson Athletic Center: The Academy’s Newest Athletic Home

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

Photos: Erika Norton/WPAOG; ODIA

Left: The Anderson Athletic Center’s Class of 1981 Weight Room is the new strength and conditioning center located on the first floor. Right: The Vasconcellos Sprint Football Team Room.

The building used to be informally known as the Arvin Annex, or Building 673. It was originally built in the 1850s and had served several functions for West Point in the ensuing decades: boathouse, boy scout meeting space, bowling alley, convention center, and child development center. In November of 2018, the building was gutted, leaving only the exterior walls and roof. Over the next two years, WPAOG’s construction team, with the help of Consigli construction and West Point’s Department of Public Works, reconditioned Building 673 into a three-floor, approximately 21,000-square-foot athletic facility thanks to the generosity of lead donors Lee Anderson ’61 and his wife, Penny, as well as key donors John Drew ’78, Vaughn Vasconcellos ’78, William Sandbrook ’79, and William Spurgeon ’81, his wife, Diane, and the Class of 1981.

Completed in March 2020, the Anderson Athletic Center now serves as the home of the Army West Point Softball Team, Volleyball Team and Sprint Football Team, providing each with locker rooms, team rooms, display space for awards and trophies, and office space for coaches. The first floor of the Anderson Athletic Center also features a 6,630-square-foot strength and conditioning center that can serve approximately 500 cadetathletes from 11 varsity sports programs, including men’s and

women’s rugby, men’s and women’s track and field, and cross country. These athletes will also be able to take advantage of the building’s additional amenity, a 500-plus-square-foot, self-serve nutrition center where cadets can properly “refuel” themselves to maximize the value of their workouts.

“I am looking forward to seeing how much more efficient our overall program becomes because of the new Anderson Athletic Center,” says Mark West ’91, head coach of the Army West Point Sprint Football Team. “Having first-class locker rooms, a high quality multi-purpose team room, and a state-of-the-art weight room in such close proximity will make it much more manageable for our cadet-athletes.” Prior to the completion of the Anderson Athletic Center, the Sprint Football Team assembled for practices and games at Shea Stadium, which was designed for track and field athletes. “Our players could barely fit their pads into the lockers,” West says. “Our new lockers at the Anderson Athletic Center will be able to easily hold all their football gear along with their personal belongings.”

Like West, Cheryl Milligan, head coach of the Army West Point Softball Team, believes that her team will be much more efficient thanks to the Anderson Athletic Center. “We are now able to lift, train, shower and change within the same area of post; we now have a space to be a team; we now have a year-round home for our players,” Milligan says. She points to the team tradition of having player-coach dinners after practice as a case in point. “We usually ate these at a set of tables set up in a hallway somewhere, but now we have a space in which I can interact with cadets in a less formal setting than on the field, and I expect this will have lots of positive ramifications,” she says.

Alma Kovaci Lee, head coach of the Army West Point Volleyball Team, believes that the Anderson Athletic Center will help

Photos: ODIA; Samantha Soper; Nile Clarke/WPAOG

The Anderson Athletic Center, the West Point Association of Graduates’ 40th brick-andmortar gift to the Academy, is now open.

“What I am most excited about is the team’s new locker room and new team room, which will give our cadet-athletes a chance to bond as a team, refocus, and attack our goals together.”

—Alma Kovaci Lee, head coach, Army West Point Volleyball Team

Left: One of two Sprint Football locker rooms, each dedicated in memory of an important member of the Sprint Football family: former player Captain Ralph R. Wensinger ’59 and former coach Eric G. “Tip” Tipton. Right: Two members of the Army West Point Volleyball Team prep the Smith Machine for a squat workout in the Class of 1981 Weight Room.

Previous page, bottom: The Anderson Athletic Center is a newly renovated state-state-of-the-art training facility for the Army West Point Sprint Football Team, the Softball Team, and the Volleyball Team.

showcase the Academy’s volleyball program. “The Anderson Athletic Center puts us in a great position to continue to recruit stellar prospects,” Kovaci Lee says. “What I am most excited about is the team’s new locker room and new team room, which will give our cadetathletes a chance to bond as a team, refocus, and attack our goals together.” Similar to the situations that once faced the Sprint Football and Softball teams, prior to the Anderson Athletic Center, the Volleyball Team had small locker rooms, no team room, and had to shuttle to the Kimsey Athletic Center to lift. “Our new home in the Anderson Athletic Center gives us more of a professional feel and makes everyone associated with the team feel valued,” Kovaci Lee says. “It is a giant positive step for our program.”

All of the coaches express thanks to the donors who made the new home for their teams possible. “The continued generosity of our donors to support the Army West Point Volleyball Team in its pursuit of excellence is overwhelming,” says Kovaci Lee.

“The ripple effect of this project will be felt for a very long time in the softball program,” says Milligan. “I can’t say enough about our

“It is important for grads to share their success with the Academy because, for many of us, this is where that success began.”

Lee Anderson ’61

A view of the second floor entrance of the Anderson Athletic Center.

The Anderson Athletic Center’s main entrance for the sports teams, located on the first floor next to the nutrition center.

gratitude to the donors for their generosity in making this project happen.”

“Sprint football is extremely fortunate to have a very strong alumni group,” says West. “I speak on behalf of all our cadetathletes when I say that we are extremely grateful for what Lee Anderson, John Drew, and the other donors have done to support the Sprint Football Team.”

“It is important for grads to share their success with the Academy because, for many of us, this is where that success began,” says lead donor Lee Anderson, who was a three-sport athlete at West Point: football, basketball, and track. Anderson branched Air Force upon graduation in 1961 and served in the 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing from 1961 to 1964. Following his military career, he returned to his home state of Minnesota and took over the family company, an insulation contracting firm. Five years later, he purchased an industrial fire sprinkler company, and subsequently acquired other firms in the fire-protection field. In 1997, the conglomerate he oversaw was renamed APi Group Inc., and it has become a multi-billion-dollar parent company for over 40 independently managed specialty construction companies, based in almost 300 locations worldwide.

Anderson and his wife, Penny, are members of multiple committees and societies at West Point, including the Thomas Jefferson Lifetime Giving Society and the Cullum Planned Giving Society. In 2003, the Andersons provided the funds for the Anderson Rugby Complex, and they currently endow the head men’s basketball and women’s rugby coaching positions. Anderson was honored in 2013 with the West Point Association of Graduates Distinguished Graduate Award. Reflecting upon his most recent gift to the Academy, Anderson says, “This building is the tip of the spear, and it will be directly beneficial to cadets—not only helping them become better cadet-athletes but also developing them into the future leaders of our country.”

“

This building is the tip of the spear, and it will be directly beneficial to cadets— not only helping them become better cadet-athletes but also developing them into the future leaders of our country.”

Lee Anderson ’61

Left: A plaque located at the main entrance of the Anderson Athletic Center thanks West Point Graduate Lee Anderson ̓61 and his wife Penny Anderson for the donation that made the building renovation possible. Right: The Army West Point Women̓s Volleyball Team training in the Class of 1981 Weight Room located inside the Anderson Athletic Center.

The Anderson Athletic Center is located across from Shea Stadium.

STORIES FROM THE FRONT LINES: Profiles of West Point Grads in the COVID-19 Fight

In response to our outreach, WPAOG continues to receive many inspiring stories about how West Point grads all over the country are serving in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In our Summer 2020 issue, West Point magazine profiled some of their stories, and we are continuing this feature in our Fall 2020 issue. Please check the WPAOG Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for videos and full details, and watch for more stories, which we will post as we receive them. WPAOG salutes and thanks all West Point grads who are doing their part to help.

Grads Helping Grads Through the COVID-19 Pandemic:

WPAOG’s Gripping Hands Program

The West Point Association of Graduates’ Gripping Hands program was originally established in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey impacted a large number of West Point graduates living in the Texas and Louisiana area. Although its intent was originally to assist those who were affected by natural disasters, the program was soon expanded to include economic and medical disasters such as the government shutdown in 2019 and the present COVID-19 pandemic. Gripping Hands aims to connect West Point community members in need of assistance with those who can offer non-financial support in the form of supplies, shelter, career assistance, transportation, temporary pet care or emotional support.

In March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gripping Hands team released a survey to recruit volunteers offering help and to locate those needing assistance. Nearly 200 graduates responded. Locally, West Point Societies were indispensable in connecting these two categories of graduates.

In late May, for example, the Gripping Hands team learned of a 1966 graduate who sustained a brain injury after a fall. Although he was able to recover at home with the help of his wife and children, leaving the house for certain tasks like grocery shopping was difficult, and potentially dangerous, for the family. WPAOG’s Gripping Hands team reached out to the president of the West Point Society of Central Florida, Jim Young ’78, who was more than willing to help. Young offered to do the grocery shopping himself but ultimately located a graduate who lived closer and was willing to assist.

Shortly after, the Gripping Hands team received a request for assistance from a 1978 graduate whose wife was suffering from stage 4 cancer and who needed assistance with the household chores he was unable to tackle while serving as his wife’s primary caregiver. The West Point Society of Richmond jumped into action, sending out an email to its members asking who could

help with filing papers, dog walking, grocery shopping, and donating leave time (his wife was an Army civilian). WPS of Richmond President Mike Flanagan ’86 noted, “Within 24 hours, we collected more than 20 volunteers.” When the graduate’s wife was admitted to the hospital, the Society coordinated support with County Social Services; and, when she unfortunately passed, the Society assisted with funeral arrangements.

Finally, the West Point Society of Phoenix received a request from the wife of a ’62 graduate who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is no longer able to help her with some household chores. Upon learning of the Gripping Hands program and the type of support available, she requested assistance with tasks such as small repairs and lifting heavier objects, and Benson Chu ’88, the president of the West Point Society of Phoenix, responded, and the two of them discussed a time when it would be safe for him and some of his members to come and complete these chores.

Individual graduates are also helping with the Gripping Hands program. When the daughter of a 1958 graduate contacted the program seeking someone to check on her parents who lived in an assisted living facility in Houston, with her father suffering from dementia and Parkinson’s, the team turned to its list of graduates who responded to the Gripping Hands assistance survey. The daughter asked to have certain graduates call because her father usually did better when remembering his time in the military, and the Gripping Hands team found more than enough graduates who met the requested criteria, so much more that they started a waitlist. They even found the wife of a graduate with Alzheimer’s, who was willing to speak to the daughter’s mother in the hope of alleviating some of the isolation, topped with the anxiety caused by the pandemic, that she was experiencing.

The Gripping Hands program proves that, no matter the circumstances, West Point graduates come together to support each other in times of need, and it is one more piece of evidence showing that the Long Gray Line aims to be the most highly connected alumni body in the world.

Physician Brothers David ’04 and Christopher ’07 Hostler Battle COVID-19

Lieutenant Colonel David C. Hostler ’04, M.D., and Christopher J. Hostler ’07, M.D., are brothers, and each one is proudly serving on the front lines of the current COVID battle.

David Hostler is a brigade surgeon assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. From March through July, he was “on loan” to Womack Army Medical Center, designing the hospital’s phased and scalable response to COVID and attending in its ICU. Since mid-July, he has been serving as an intensivist with a task force from the 44th Medical Brigade, which was dispatched to South Texas as part of NORTHCOM’s response to an emerging COVID-19 hotspot. “I have trained my entire adult life for a situation like this and have built a skillset that makes me uniquely suited to help the team here in Texas,” says Hostler, who volunteered for the role. “While deployed, I had brief, intense periods of challenging medical care with limited physical resources. In this assignment the limited resource is manpower and there is no downtime; patients are sick and dying 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is, without a doubt, the most challenging medical practice environment of my career to date.”

Chris Hostler is an infectious disease specialist and Chief of the Office of Public Health and Epidemiology at the Durham VA Health Care System (DVAHCS). In this role, he directs a team of approximately 55 people to implement pandemic preparedness and infection prevention practices throughout the 27-county DVAHCS catchment area. Early in the pandemic, he and his team successfully contained an outbreak in a VA-attached Community Living Center and reported the lessons learned to the state, encouraging officials to conduct mandatory testing and improve infection prevention practices in community nursing facilities throughout the state. His team then started evaluating non-VA nursing facilities where veterans resided throughout their catchment area, providing education on best practices in infection prevention. “I have no doubt that our proactive approach to assessing these external entities saved lives,” he says. Hostler, who had been consulting with the NFL and its Players Association on infection prevention practices since 2014, also co-founded Infection Control Education for Major Sports, LLC, which provides infection control education to professional and college sports teams around the country. “We help advise leagues and conferences on evidence-based best practices and

recommendations for risk mitigation, and I believe that this pandemic will also lead to an increased focus on infection prevention practices within athletics longitudinally,” he says.

Both brothers say that the lessons they learned at West Point have benefitted them greatly in their battles against COVID.

“As a plebe I learned that the only catastrophic failure is failure to learn from mistakes,” David Hostler says. “COVID19 is incredibly complex and our best efforts often fail to achieve the desired outcomes, but I apply lessons learned in these cases to the next patient’s care.” The Cadet Prayer, which urges “to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong,” has also led Hostler to challenge existing systems and practices. “I have pushed my colleagues to rethink, and eventually discard, policies that artificially constrained the care offered to COVID-19 patients based on fear rather than medical evidence,” he says. “Every decision we make must stem from a commitment to do right by the patient.”

Similarly, Chris Hostler credits West Point with preparing him for the fight against COVID. “While I’ve always felt that my time as a cadet was the most formative time of my life, I haven’t been able to see how well it prepared me for future challenges until now,” he says. “West Point taught me how to learn from failure, how to lead with integrity in difficult times, how to build an effective team, and how to put the mission and the team above personal interests.” He’s also relied on the Cadet Honor Code, saying, “There were certainly times where it would have been easier to reassure people with falsehoods or half-truths about the risks they faced, but obviously this would not be the right thing to do and would only breed distrust—integrity is paramount in crisis communication.”

Neither brother could have anticipated how their choices for their respective Army medical specialty areas would ready them to engage in critical roles in the fight against an invisible enemy, but both are proud to be shoulder to shoulder with each other and with their medical colleagues combatting the COVID pandemic.

. Learn more: bit.ly/hostlers

Christopher J. Hostler ’07, M.D.

LTC David C. Hostler ’04, M.D.

LTC David Hostler ’04 cares for a COVID patient. Dr. Chris Hostler ’07 gets “coined” by his residency program.

Scattini ’96 Mobilizes Grads and Local WPS for COVID Relief in Republic of Georgia

In March 2020, as schools around the nation closed, Total Courage, Inc., a nonprofit comprised of former American soldiers and citizens dedicated to educating college and high school athletes with its “Winning with Character” curriculum, found itself as an organization without a mission.

“When COVID hit, our client base disappeared,” says COL (R) Darryl “Dee” Daugherty, executive director and founder of Total Courage.

Enter LTC (R) Todd Scattini ’96. Through a mutual Army connection, Scattini learned of Daugherty and his work and helped add humanitarian relief and development to Total Courage’s overall mission just as COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Around the same time, Scattini, who spent three and a half years on assignment in Slovenia, heard from a friend who was former deputy ambassador to the Republic of Georgia embassy about how the pandemic was devastating the Eurasian country. Upon hearing this, Scattini sought to mobilize his many contacts in the Balkan and Caucasus regions to combat the impact of COVID. Among the grads he contacted were COL Mike Tarquinto ’94, defense attaché to Bosnia, LTC Corey Shea ’97, Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Bosnia, COL Stephanie Bagley ’98, the defense attaché to Georgia, and CPT (GAF) Giorgi Janjalia ’13, president of the West Point Society of Georgia, who brought even more grads into the fight.

Executing the mission on the ground was Total Courage’s country coordinator, Kathy Sheppard, who, like Scattini, hails from Kansas City, Missouri. Through her efforts and Scattini’s West Point network, Total Courage’s humanitarian relief food program has served food packages to 144 and counting Georgian families, providing more than 12,000 meals. Each box consists of locally

purchased food, which supports the Georgian economy in a time when it has been decimated by COVID, and each can sustain a family of five for a week.

In addition to its food program, Total Courage’s humanitarian relief also includes a medicine program, providing donated PPE and basic over-the-counter medications to a Georgian quarantine hospital in order to counter COVID.

Recently, Total Courage—in a joint effort with four Georgian universities, a Tbilisi science museum, and a local NGO—added a STEM program to its humanitarian relief in Georgia. Janjalia, a professor at Georgian Technical University, has been an integral part of planning and implementing Total Courage’s STEM program. He says, “With the help of the West Point Society of Georgia, Total Courage is bringing an AI educational program to Georgian regional schools, which will help many talented students do great things for this country in the future.”

“I think we have created a really impressive and effective team, and we are living the principles of Duty, Honor, Country in all that we do,” says Scattini.

“Duty, Honor, Country has been part of each Georgian graduate’s everyday life since joining the Long Gray Line,” says Janjalia, “and COVID-19 and our partnership with Total Courage emphasizes the fact that the Long Gray Line ‘Grips Hands’ against the adversary no matter where its members are located.”

Learn more: bit.ly/scattini96

I was compelled to assist in the Republic of Georgia, as I observed their Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan while I was there from 2011-12 in the CIG with General John Allen (USMC), ISAF Commander. The Georgians had a Brigade there. They were attacked one day in November 2011. They lost around 14 soldiers. The next week, instead of retreating, they sent another battalion to fill in the lines. I think it is important to recognize that bravery, and I hope to honor that here with our activity.

(Left to right) Mikheil Golijashvili ’15, Levan Lanchava ’14, Giorgi Alavidze ’12, Tornike Todria ‘11, Matt Smith ’94, Giorgi Janjalia ‘13, Matt Dimmick ’92.

LTC(R) Todd Scattini ’96

LTC (R) Todd Scattini ’96

Washington '91 Ensures Support for Front Line VA Nurses with “Got Your 6”

When the pandemic hit the U.S., cardiac nurse Monique Washington

‘91 began managing a team of nurses that was converted into a dedicated COVID-19 unit at the VA North Texas Hospital in Dallas. Since March, the VA has been accepting and treating Veterans who caught COVID-19, and Washington has been at the forefront in making sure that the front line nurses are being taken care of as well.

As the staff worked around the clock, Washington implemented a “Got Your 6” system to care for her team. This system included measures like monitoring the time spent in patients’ rooms, ensuring PPE supplies for everyone, and maintaining a regular break schedule. “This has been a humbling experience and we are battle weary. I have a great team and I took their safety, health and welfare very seriously. My focus was to provide psychological safety to the team so that they felt supported,” says Washington. “I wanted the team to treat COVID-19 as an ‘enemy’ that must be respected and never underestimated at all times.”

Washington also connected with the Long Gray Line and received meals almost daily from the women of the West Point Class of 1991, who “gripped hands” with their classmate and showed the team of nurses lots of support by providing meals and supplies.

Washington, who also holds a BSN from the University of Texas, then took her experience of caring for nursing teams a step further and teamed up with nurses Zeyneba Mustafa and Doreen Ekwerike and Dr. Vetta Sanders-Thompson, codirector of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University, to create a COVID-19 ‘Survival Guide for Nurses’ to help navigate the changes and updates that have resulted from the pandemic.

Learn more: bit.ly/washington91

Richardson ‘83 Creates Recuperation Shelters for COVID-19 Positive Homeless

Reverend Wayne Richardson ‘83 is helping to fight COVID-19 in San Joaquin County, one of the worst affected counties percentage-wise in California. As Chief Executive Officer of Gospel Center Rescue Mission, Inc. (GCRM), he and his team created the first homeless COVID-19 positive recuperation shelters in San Joaquin County for men, women and children.

According to Richardson, GCRM added three additional COVID-19 shelters, dedicating 86 of its total 290 campus beds. He says his education at West Point has prepared him to lead during this time. “My USMA education, six years of Army command experience, great parents, and my faith in God are the reasons that I can effectively lead during this terrible pandemic,” Richardson said. “West Point leaders are uniquely prepared to lead in these critical times.”

Along with the COVID-19 positive homeless shelters, GCRM has been operating its seven other programs that serve the homeless community, including providing food, clothing, recuperative care, transitional housing and work and education training. Richardson said that the Mission serves more than 2,000 men, women and children each day from its Stockton-based campus, and that funding has been one of his toughest challenges. “We survive only because I am blessed to lead a dedicated group of men and women who are caring, mission-focused people who have dedicated their lives to serving the homeless,” Richardson said.

Learn more: bit.ly/richardson83

Rev. Wayne Richardson ’83

Monique Washington ̓91

Wilson ’85: Fighting COVID-19 from State to State

When West Point magazine first wrote about Nurse Darlene (Cookie) Wilson ’85, she had traveled from Texas to Queens, New York, and started working at Elmhurst Hospital on April 5, during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. “As an ER nurse with over 20 years of experience, and as an educator, I just knew that I needed to help when this first started,” explained Wilson.

Once the pandemic slowed in New York, Wilson returned home to Texas and continued to serve in the fight against COVID-19 in hospitals there. Since July 5, she has been working in the ER in the South Texas Healthcare System in both McAllen and Austin, as well as teaching nursing at the University of Texas at Austin. Back in Texas, the veteran emergency room nurse could see firsthand how hard the state she has called home for the past 27 years was hit. “In New York City, we learned so much every day about the virus, and about what worked and what didn’t work,” she said. “Now, in Texas, we are able to implement the treatments that are working, and that is so rewarding.”

Wilson has been inspecting nursing homes and helping them implement best practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to the residents. She has also cared for COVID19 patients at alternate care sites who were still too sick to return home and needed more time to recover.

Wilson has been a nurse since 1996 and she says she feels “blessed that I have a skill where I can help others.”

Learn more: bit.ly/wilson85

Williams ’05 Feeds Community During First Wave of COVID-19

Small communities were hit hard back in March of 2020, when the first wave of COVID19 spread across America. During those first few weeks, La’Berrick Williams ’05 reached out to help feed his community in Huntsville, Alabama, drawing upon his family values, recipes and the West Point call to service.

Williams owns and operates Jell’s 4 Ever BBQ food truck, named for his grandparents Jell and Ever Scruggs, who owned the Jell’s 4 Ever BBQ restaurant in Huntsville. His grandparents taught him how to make their signature “Magic Red Sauce,” and he also witnessed how his family helped feed anyone who came into the restaurant hungry.

So, on March 25, 26 and 27, for three straight days, Williams began giving away meals from his food truck to help students who suddenly had no school and people who suddenly had no jobs. These meals were home-cooked southern plates that included BBQ pit chicken, pulled pork, or brisket with a side of baked beans, potato salad, green beans or buttered corn with a roll.

“It's part of my DNA from how I was raised by my parents and grandparents. West Point instilled in me ‘Duty, Honor and Country.’ Serving in the Army taught me leadership, along with selfless service. For this, I am forever grateful,” says Williams.

With his team and local volunteers, Williams was able to serve more than 150 plates a day before the mandatory shutdown in their state. Williams says they plan on doing this again in the future but have remained closed for the past couple of months due to safety protocols.

Learn more: bit.ly/williams05

Darlene (Cookie) Wilson ’85

La’Berrick Williams ’05

system in just two weeks to produce hand sanitizer. Cavalry Sanitizers started making sanitizer on April 1 for local healthcare facilities, restaurants, and chemical plants, soon producing over 9,000 gallons of hand sanitizer per day in one-gallon refillable jugs, later expanding to offer smaller package options. To date, Calvary has produced over 200,000 bottles of sanitizer, and has created 25 new local jobs, using the can-do motto of “Call in the Cavalry.” 

Learn more: bit.ly/dirks96

Dirks ’96 and White ’94 Pivot from Hot Sauce to Hand Sanitizer

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Aaron Dirks ’96 and Chris White ’94 converted their New Orleans-based Louisiana Pepper Exchange hot sauce manufacturing business into a hand sanitizer venture called Cavalry Sanitizers.

Co-founders Dirks and White had just installed a new stateof-the-art bottling system to launch new hot sauce products when the pandemic struck and shut production down. At the time, critical supplies like hand sanitizer were nearly impossible to find in their city and around the U.S. Responding to the community need, they repurposed the new bottling

Falcons Landing is home to some of the bravest men and women who have honorably served and shaped our country. They are leaders, thinkers and active community volunteers. They are our family, and in this time of adversity, we are here continuing strong with our mission to not only keep our residents safe, but to value, support and enhance their lives. Our dedicated staff is committed to providing the services our residents deserve at the highest level possible to support them during this COVID-19 public health emergency.

Call (703) 436-9238 or visit FalconsLanding.org to learn more about our community.

Falcons Landing is proud to be a non-profit Life Plan Community.

Aaron Dirks ’96 Chris White ’94

20522 Falcons Landing Circle Potomac Falls |

The Class of 1972 Grips Hands Remotely with the Class of 2022

On August 16, 2020, the Class of 2022 affirmed their commitment to service in the U.S. Army during a ceremony at West Point with remote support from their 50-Year Affiliate Class of 1972. Cadets took the Oath of Affirmation, binding them to complete their next two years of study and a minimum of five years of active-duty military service thereafter. Although unable to attend in person due to COVID-19 restrictions, Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp ’72 (Retired) was the virtual guest speaker for the event. Cadets will be presented with commemorative coins from their 50-Year Affiliate Class to mark the milestone occasion at a later date. Thank you to the Class of 1972 for their continued support of the Class of 2022.

Photos: Tarnish Pride/USMA PAO; Cathy Kilner/WPAOG

Top: Members of Class of 2022 affirmed their commitment to serve in the U.S. Army upon graduation from West Point during the Affirmation Ceremony at Eisenhower Hall Theater. Inset: USMA 2022 Class President Xavier Williams greets WPAOG President & CEO Todd Browne ’85 at the Affirmation Ceremony. Left: At the Cow Affirmation Ceremony, Class President Xavier Williams ‘22 and the Class of 2022 affirm their commitment to complete the next two years of study and serve their five-year active duty service obligation, followed by three years of Reserve duty.

Origins of the Cow Affirmation Ceremony and Coin Program

The Cow Affirmation Ceremony was the idea of then Commandant of Cadets, John P. Abizaid ’73, and began with the Class of 1999. WPAOG first participated in the program when it provided a 2LT bar to each member of the class during the ceremony. The following year, the Class of 2000 decided on a commemorative class coin, and WPAOG has been providing them ever since.

Today, the Cow Affirmation Ceremony occurs each year on the evening prior to the first day of classes and is one of the milestone events of the 50-Year Affiliation Program. The 50-Year Affiliate Class representatives are part of the official party representing the Class and WPAOG. A noteworthy member of the Affiliate Class is the guest speaker for the ceremony. After the speaker’s remarks, the Commandant administers the Oath of Affirmation to the Cadet Sergeants. Members of the Affiliation Class present cadets with a joint class coin symbolizing the commitment of both to the profession of Arms.

WPAOG’s 50-Year Affiliation Program

The purpose of WPAOG’s 50-Year Affiliation Program, which began with the Classes of 1949 and 1999, is to strengthen the ties between the graduates of yesterday and the cadets of today, as both groups work together to strengthen the Long Gray Line as it serves our nation.

Beginning on R-Day, the entering cadet class is paired with the alumni class that is 50 years its senior. Over the next four years, the graduates accompany their affiliated cadets at significant Academy events that mark “milestones” in their 47-month journey at West Point. Events include:

 Reception Day (R-Day)

 Acceptance Day (A-Day)

 Class Crest Unveiling (PlebeParent Weekend)

 Yearling Flag Ceremony

 Cow Affirmation

 Ring Weekend

 Branch Night

 Graduation 2LT Bars

 “Unofficial” Academy-linked event: Grad March Back from Cadet Basic Training

To learn more about WPAOG’s 50-Year Affiliation Program, visit WestPointAOG.org/50YearAffiliation or contact the WPAOG Office of Class Support at 50YearAffiliation@wpaog.org or 845.446.1614.

Photos: Tarnish Pride/USMA PAO; WPAOG

The Affirmation address by guest speaker LTG Robert L. VanAntwerp ’72 was made virtually and projected onscreen at Eisenhower Hall.

2020 WPAOG Leaders Conference: Serving the Long Gray Line in Our New Virtual Reality

By Erika Norton, WPAOG staff

Like many organizations this year, the West Point Association of Graduates had to adapt its traditional events calendar to the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the popular annual Leaders Conference—sponsored by the Class of 1967 went virtual.

Over 370 people attended the conference from around the globe, including Class, Society, Parents Club Leaders, as well as Board members, Advisors, Committees and other members of the Long Gray Line.

Much of the conference focused on learning to adapt to the new virtual environment that leaders are operating in, from online meetings and virtual events to working from home.

“Our conference theme ‘Leading Through Change’ is very appropriate during this unprecedented time as we discuss the ways in which all of us can stay connected with each other and the Academy, giving our current environment,” Conference Chair Deirdre Dixon ‘84 said as she welcomed attendees.

Both WPAOG Chairman LTG (R) Joseph DeFrancisco ‘65 and WPAOG President & CEO Todd Browne ‘85 spoke about how WPAOG has continued to serve the Long Gray Line during the pandemic through new and updated services such as virtual grad calls.

West Point Superintendent LTG Darryl Williams ‘83 also addressed conference attendees, relaying how USMA has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Academy’s plans for the coming future.

“If you were at the West Point today, you would see an Academy winning the fight against COVID-19,” Williams said. “From the new cadets of the Class of 2024, to the firstie class of 2021, the Corps is back and training hard. We are developing leaders of character in a responsible manner that acknowledges the virus yet allows for the deeply human interaction required by our leaders in our Army and that cannot be replicated virtually.”

Throughout the day, WPAOG speakers shared how the Long Gray Line’s commitment to “gripping hands” during times of change and their ongoing support of each other and to giving back to USMA is critical to sustaining the Academy’s future. WPAOG also announced the 68 winners of the Distinguished Society Awards and fifteen Parents Club Awards.

“I'm betting everyone would agree that not being able to meet together at our alma mater was less than optimal, but at the very least, our virtual meeting was ‘better than nothing’...but I would say it was more than that,” said Steve Best ’76, West Point Society of Denver Vice President. “My sense is a large percentage of the attendees would rate the virtual conference as a success.” 

Conference Chair Deirdre Dixon ’84 greeted participants and opened the virtual conference.

Superintendent LTG Darryl A Williams ’83 briefed conference participants on the USMA response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WPAOG President & CEO Todd Browne ’85 gave an update of WPAOG operations.

Grad March Back Goes Virtual as USMA 2024 Completes CBT

On August 10, members of the Class of 2024 completed their March Back to officially mark their successful completion of Cadet Basic Training. Their class motto, “Like None Before,” reflects the unusual circumstances surrounding their first summer at West Point, which was markedly different from normal summer training. This year, since they could not be there in person, 191 Old Grads, representing West Point classes spanning 58 years of the Long Gray Line, from the Class of 1958 to the Class of 2015, marched back virtually with the Class of 2024. Fifty-three members from the Class of 1974—the 50-Year Affiliation class for the Class of 2024 — also participated in the virtual March Back to show their support of the new cadets. Each Old Grad was assigned to virtually march with one of the 36 platoons in the Regiment. Many grads submitted videos to show their support for the cadets, and others posted their marches on social media.

Old Grads couldn’t march back with USMA 2024 in person this year, but you can view our video of the Virtual Grad March Back. Open the camera on your smartphone or tablet. Hold over the QR Code image at right and click on the link that appears. Or go to bit.ly/virtualgradmarchback.

All Academy Challenge 2020 Achieves Record Participation

Thank you to the West Point community, who came together in record numbers for the 2020 All Academy Challenge, with gifts totaling $2.1 million. Given the difficult and unprecedented time we are living through, it was even more meaningful that graduates from all the service academies rallied together to show their support for the future leaders of our military and nation. It was a close race with the Merchant Marine Academy for all five days. West Point narrowly came in second, with 22.2 percent of the Long Gray Line (11,575 West Point graduates) supporting the Challenge. Check our website at WestPointAOG.org/AcademyChallenge to see the 2020 All Academy Challenge “by the numbers” and the final class standings.

West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) Annual Meeting and Election

All USMA graduates are encouraged to vote in the WPAOG 2020 Annual Election. Not later than October 17, 2020, proxies will be emailed or mailed to each graduate. Graduates whose email address is on file at WPAOG will receive an email that contains a link to a personalized, confidential online voting site maintained by Amplitude Research, Inc. Other graduates will receive paper proxies via the U.S. Postal Service. Voting closes at 5:00pm EST on November 16, 2020, the evening before the WPAOG Annual Meeting and Election, which will take place at 5:00pm Eastern Time on November 17, 2020. This year the Annual Meeting will take place at The Thayer Hotel, West Point, New York.

Photo and video link: Nile Clarke/WPAOG

Class of 2023 Receives Class Colors from USMA 1973

As part of WPAOG’s 50-Year Affiliation Program, the Class of 1973 presented a class flag to the Class of 2023 on August 9 at the Cadet Field Training graduation ceremony at Camp Buckner. The class flag is mounted on a brass-tipped staff, and from this day forward, the flag will remain with the Class of 2023 and will be displayed at class events at West Point. Because members of the Class of 1973 could not attend the ceremony in person due to the pandemic, Todd Browne ’85, President and CEO of the West Point Association of Graduates, presented the flag on behalf of the class. Cadet Shahriyar Ahmed, Vice President of the Class of 2023, accepted the gift on behalf of his class.

WPAOG 2019 Report of Gifts Now Available Online

Thank you for making 2019 such a successful year! In these unusual times, we wanted to be sure we didn’t miss an opportunity to thank all of our generous West Point donors. Whether you are an Old Grad, a parent showing support for your cadet’s 47-month experience, or a friend of the Academy—your commitment to West Point continues to strengthen the Margin of Excellence and the Long Gray Line. The WPAOG 2019 Report of Gifts is available online only this year at Impelcreative.com/publications/WPAOG/ROG2019/ in order to reduce costs.

Update Your Record of Service to the Nation for the 2020 Register of Graduates

It’s been five years since the last Register was published, and we are preparing for the next edition of WPAOG’s oldest publication. We invite all graduates to help us continue the project initiated by General George W. Cullum, Class of 1833, to chronicle the careers and service to the nation of all West Point graduates. This edition will be an indispensable treasury of military history, with individual entries recording the names, classes and careers of every West Point graduate from 1802 to the present. Graduates can review their current ROG biographies and submit updates online at WestPointAOG.org/RegisterofGraduates. Login today to review your profile and update your assignments, promotions, retirement and civilian positions in time to be included in the 2020 edition. Information on ordering the 2020 Register will be published in fall of 2020, and publication is anticipated in spring 2021 in order to include all Class of 2020 graduates.

WPAOG News

Follow WPAOG on Instagram!

Stay up to date on the latest West Point alumni news! WPAOG recently achieved our goal of obtaining 10,000+ Instagram followers to activate the convenient “swipe up” feature. Join us today on our newest social media platform for staying in touch with the Long Gray Line! From exclusive videos and photography to information on upcoming alumni events, like and share our posts with fellow Old Grads.

Calling All West Point Authors!

Reserve your space in the Spring 2021 West Point Authors Bookshelf, a specially priced advertising section in West Point magazine showcasing books by West Point affiliated authors. The Bookshelf appears in our Fall and Spring issues to enable our more than 56,000 magazine readers to discover and support these books. Learn more about the Bookshelf and other WPAOG advertising and sponsorship opportunities on our website at WestPointAOG.org/Advertise.

LEGENDARY LOOKS

For all Army Fans

Photo Credit Gregory D. Gadson

BARRICADES

By Tom Carhart ’66

“Tom Carhart vividly portrays the travails of the first black cadets at West Point during the post-Civil War generation… An important contribution to black history and to military history.”

—James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winner

“Shines a bright light on some dark moments in West Point history—a wonderful, eye-opening read.”

—Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize winner

“It is a story of courage and character, and the very personal fight against prejudice and institutional racism.”

—GEN(R) Wesley K. Clark, former SACEUR

Available at Amazon.com & Xlibris.com

Authors Bookshelf

Leadership Tough Love

By Tim Lupfer ’72

Leadership Tough Love goes back to the basics. Instead of listing traits (which we can’t remember) or celebrating a single, striking example (which is too often context dependent), Lupfer describes what leaders are supposed to do and the tools they need to lead. He examines why we have so many bad leaders—temporary success can hide many flaws—and why well-intentioned people often fail as leaders. This book is a dose of realism to help leaders at all levels.

Available at Amazon.com

THE CHARACTER EDGE

Leading and Winning with Integrity

By LTG(R) Robert L. Caslen Jr. ’75 and Dr. Michael D. Matthews

West Point’s former superintendent and the West Point professor of psychology explain why successful leaders rely on strong character, and how you can build it. Angela Duckworth, author of Grit, says, “The Character Edge is inspiring and practical in equal measure, drawing upon both scientific research and personal experience…. An instant classic!”

Available now wherever hardcovers, ebooks, and audiobooks are sold

No Time for Spectators

The Lessons That Mattered Most from West Point to the West Wing

By GEN (R) Martin E. Dempsey ’74

After a military career spanning more than four decades, the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff examines the limits of loyalty, the necessity of sensible skepticism, and the value of responsible rebelliousness, and explains why we should sweat the small stuff. Life is not a spectator sport. Especially not today—when issues are so complex, information is so pervasive, scrutiny is so intense, and the stakes are so high.

Available at Amazon.com

Golf as Guru: Mind“full”ness, Awareness, and Self-Restraint

By Dr. John Edwin DeVore ’62

This book will enable the reader to become aware that playing consistently good golf requires mastery of simple fundamentals starting with set-up and takeaway; and that programming the subconscious mind is essential to being able to stand over a ball, deliberately quiet the mind, inspire passion, squeeze the trigger and trust the subconscious to creatively move a club through the ball to a target.

Available at Amazon.com, Xlibris.com, and Barnes & Noble.com

To Trust in What We Cannot See

By Dennis Mansfield ex-’78 Parent ’14

In 1913 Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky, and Tito all lived in Vienna, Austria, and all regularly frequented the same coffee shop, Café Central. At the time, they did not know one another. This historical science fiction epic travels across spacetime dimensions in an effort to prevent the rise of the Nazi party and the Holocaust. Yet, a calculated act of murder to change the past winds up having an earthshattering impact on the future.

Available at iUniverse.com & Amazon.com

Warbot 1.0: AI Goes to War

By COL(R) Brian M. Michelson, ’88

“Artificial intelligence is the future, not only of Russia, but of all mankind. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become ruler of the world.”

—Vladimir Putin, 2017

Set in 2033, Warbot 1.0 offers a compelling picture of high-stakes future combat between the United States and China as teams of soldiers, enabled by AI, robotic systems, and weaponized big data fight for their lives in a battlefield full of deadly new technologies.

Available at Amazon.com

West Point: A Novel

By J.M. Patton

This tale of honorable military commitment, love and conflict gives the reader the experience of attending West Point, featuring the humor and heartbreak of daily life that slowly develops the panache of a West Point leader during the Vietnam Era.

Available at your favorite local bookstore or at Amazon.com

To learn more about Bookshelf advertising, contact ads@wpaog.org or call 845.446.1646

The Golden Brigade

By Robert J. Dvorchak

This masterpiece memorializes the bonds of brotherhood forged by the 82nd Airborne in the crucible of Vietnam. As told by those who fought, the 528-page hardback salutes the sacrifices of an elite combat unit led by Alexander R. Bolling Jr. ’43June , a World War II veteran and scholar/ soldier. Among the 227 fallen are Silver Star recipients from the Class of 1967, James Adams and Ronald Frazer. The book concludes with the golden anniversary reunion at West Point.

Available at bdvorchak@msn.com

Rotors in the Sand

By Don Harvel ’76

Four dead and sixteen injured as a result of a CV-22 (Osprey) accident on April 9, 2010 in Afghanistan. It was the first combat mission in the Afghan theater supporting Army Ranger special forces. The Air Force blamed the accident on “pilot error.” But was it? Follow along with the president of the official accident investigation board as they dig through thousands of clues to discover “what really happened.”

Available at store.bookbaby.com/book/ Rotors-in-the-Sand

The Life and Art of Wilson Hurley: Celebrating the Richness of Reality

By Rosalyn Roembke Hurley, wife of Wilson “Pat” Hurley ’45 Hurley saw the world from the vantage point of a pilot. His 40-year career of recording iconic views throughout the American West and in outer space places him at the forefront of America’s greatest landscape painters, both past and present. With 380 pages and 212 color illustrations, this magnificent tome is beautifully produced and will inspire generations to come.

Available at Amazon.com & UNM Press

Heartfelt Leadership: How to Capture the Top Spot and Keep on Soaring

By Deb Boelkes

Featuring several truly exceptional best-ever bosses, from Colonel Debra M. Lewis, USMA 1980, to decorated combat veteran Todd Wilcox, Executive Chairman of Patriot Defense Group, Heartfelt Leadership reveals how leaders can get through to anyone, even under what many would believe are not the best of circumstances. The result is a workplace that is admired; one that delivers outstanding results; one that employees seek to be part of.

Available at Amazon.com & Barnes&Noble

Hunting the Caliphate

By Dana J.H. Pittard ’81 and Wes J. Bryant

In this vivid first-person narrative, a Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) and his commanding general give fascinating and detailed accounts of America’s fight against one of the most barbaric insurgencies the world has ever seen.

Hear the ground truth on the senior military and political interactions that shaped America’s war against ISIS, a war unprecedented in both its methodology and its application of modern military technology.

Available at Amazon.com

Blame the Dead

By Ed Ruggero ’80

First in an action-packed World War II series for fans of compelling historical fiction.

Sicily, 1943. MP Lieutenant Eddie Harkins investigates a murder at the 11th Field Hospital, where nurses contend with heat, dirt, the specter of German counterattack, a flood of wounded GIs, and the threat of assault by one of their own—at least until someone shoots Dr. Myers Stephenson in the head. As the battle lines push forward, Harkins must find the killer before he can strike again.

Available at booksellers everywhere

The Leader's Compass for Medical Professionals:

Modeling Personal Values to Influence People, Accomplish the Mission, and Improve the Organization

By Robert M. Underwood, MD, MHCDS ’87 and Dennis

Haley,

USNA ’67

While physicians are highly skilled in the clinical arena, they rarely have formal leadership training. Yet healthcare organizations need doctors to take on new and complex leadership roles. This book teaches leadership skills via an allegory of a young surgeon who’s been assigned a daunting leadership role, guided along the way by his USMA graduate mentor.

Available at Amazon.com & Academyleadership.com

Iraq and the

Politics of Oil: An Insider’s Perspective

By Gary Vogler ‘73

Vogler spent 5 months in prewar oil planning at the Pentagon, then 75 months in Iraq executing oil reconstruction under DOD between 2003 and 2011. During all this time and through 2014, he denied that our government had a hidden oil agenda in Iraq. While researching his book, Gary discovered something of significance: an oil plan that will surprise most Americans. The book attempts to correct history and set the record straight.

Available at Thayer Hall Bookstore & Amazon.com

Gripping Hands

2005

Major John Meyer Named 2020 Nininger Award Recipient

The West Point Association of Graduates is pleased to announce that MAJ John Meyer has been selected to receive the 2020 Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms. Meyer was awarded the Silver Star for heroic actions on July 27, 2007. He is currently serving in the Congressional Fellowship Program, Washington, DC, U.S. Forces Command.

General Officer Announcements

The following officers were confirmed by the Senate:

Lieutenant General Daniel R. Hokanson ’86 (ARNG) for appointment to the rank of General and assignment as Chief, National Guard Bureau, Arlington, VA.

Major General Willard M. Burleson III ’88 for appointment to the rank of Lieutenant General and assignment as Commanding General, Eighth Army/Chief of Staff, Combined Forces Command, Republic of Korea.

Major General Scott A. Spellmon ’86 for appointment to the rank of Lieutenant General and assignment as Chief of Engineers/Commanding General, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC.

For promotion to the rank of Brigadier General:

Colonel Curtis D. Taylor ’94

Colonel James P. Work ’95

Colonel Jed J. Schaertl ’91 (USAR)

The following officers have been confirmed by the Senate for Federal recognition in the next higher grade:

To Major General

Brigadier General John C. Andonie ’89 (ARNG)

To Brigadier General

Colonel David L. Hall ’95 (ARNG)

Colonel John M. Wallace ’94 (ARNG)

The Chief of Staff of the Army announces the following general officer assignment:

Brigadier General Tina B. Boyd ’89 (USAR) to Commanding General, 335th Signal Command (Theater), Operational Command Post (Forward), Kuwait.

“Grip hands—though it be from the shadows—while we swear as you did of yore, or living or dying, to honor the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.” —Bishop Shipman, 1902

Grip Hands with Us.

As our country continues to navigate the unexpected events of this year, the West Point Association of Graduates is committed to maintaining the services and programs we provide that keep all hearts in gray connected to the Academy, the Corps of Cadets, and each other. Although it isn’t business as usual, you can count on us to be responsive to the needs of the Long Gray Line. Now is the time to embrace new ways of connecting with one another, and WPAOG is fully committed to providing you with the tools that support those connections.

With your help, we can achieve our vision for the Long Gray Line to be the most highly connected alumni body in the world. Grip Hands with fellow graduates and friends and support the Long Gray Line today. For more information, visit us online at westpointaog.org/longgraylinefund or call: 845.446.1657

Your Gift to the Long Gray Line Fund provides for services such as the Gripping Hands Program, which proved to be invaluable during this time of uncertainty. The Gripping Hands Program offers a forum for graduates to connect with one another, offer assistance, or ask for help in a time of need.

WEST POINT ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATE

Unlock the Power of the Long Gray Line with

WPAOG’s

Career Services

327 680

2,900 1,400+ GRADS PLACED Grads engaged with Career Services

COMPANIES IN CAREER SERVICES

PORTFOLIO SINCE 2019

Employer posted jobs on average in Career Services portfolio

In today’s market, networking is the most effective way to get a new job! WPAOG Career Services is the hub of your Long Gray Line Network!

We’re here for you every step of the way.

All USMA graduates have lifetime free access to Career Services, including the following services and employer connections:

• Dedicated transition coaching by our experienced team members

• Quarterly SACC Job Fairs including new virtual events

• Tailored networking events and webinars

• Workshops relevant to each facet of the job search, including preparing for SACC

• Grad-only access to Career Services Job Board

• 150+ employer partnerships across diverse industries

TOP INDUSTRIES

Information Technology (IT) Financial Services

Consulting Defense Engineering & Construction

• Networking opportunities through our database of 500+ industrial and regional advisors

• Access to Korn Ferry Advance career coaching platform and job board

For more information on this program, please contact a member of WPAOG’s Career Services team at careers@wpaog.org or visit us online at WPAOGCareers.org Text “careerservices” to 51555 for instant careers updates

WPAOG Military Retiree Recognition Program

WPAOG’s new Military Retiree Recognition Program honors our military retirees for their service and sacrifice. If you retired on October 1, 2017 or later, you and three guests are eligible for a free Grad Insider Tour, as well as a free night at The Thayer Hotel, subject to restrictions. We will also publish your name in West Point magazine, with your permission. If you wish to participate, please contact retiree@wpaog.org to learn more.

The following graduates retired from active, reserve, or National Guard duty. We thank you for serving this great nation, and the Association looks forward to serving you.

Should American Soldiers Be Religious?

By Arthur T. Coumbe ’73 and William C. Taylor ’00

The authors trace the history of religion at West Point from 1813 until 2015. They discuss the evolution of the Academy's chaplaincy, the struggle with conflicting constitutional principles, and the handling of an increasingly diverse cadet corps. The authors address several topical issues, including the supposed Evangelical over representation in and the growing secularization of the military. Finally, the authors discuss the civilmilitary relations aspects of religion in the Army.

Available at

 The only military career fair exclusively for Federal Service Academy Graduates.

 Meet one-on-one with corporate recruiters looking for the unique skills and experience of Academy graduates.

 Get peer advice on managing the challenges of career transitions.

 Learn how to get your foot in the door for your desired civilian career.

 Explore graduate school options.

 NEW: Text “CareerServices” to 51555 to subscribe for weekly updates on announcements, hot jobs, webinars etc. ,

To register for any SACC as an attendee or exhibitor, go to sacc-jobfair.com

MAILBOX

We regret that, because of limited space, we cannot publish all letters received. Letters may be edited and shortened for space. Submit comments or questions to Editor@wpaog.org, or chat with us on one of our WPAOG social media channels.

FROM: COL (R) Dick Littlestone ’47

I was pleased to read the 2020 summer issue’s article on OICs. I enjoyed tremendously my stint as OIC for two groups while a math professor and department XO in the early 1960s: spending countless hours with cadets in their activities, trips away for competitions and PR, their visits to our quarters, providing them snacks that they didn’t get in cadet mess, and their delightful interactions with our youngsters. I still have the “OIC” jacket given me by one of the groups on my departure.

FROM: LTC (R) Richard H. Sugg ’54

As a former club OIC, I was pleased to see the coverage of those volunteer officers in the 2020 summer issue. I was an assistant professor in the Ordnance Engineering Department and Officer in Charge of the Cadet Triathlon Club, the events for which included three parts of the Modern Pentathlon: pistol marksmanship, swimming, and a cross-country run. The club competed against other local college clubs and won every meet. We once traveled to Fort Sam Houston, TX, and the cadets competed in the three events with the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Team in training. Members of that team came to West Point to compete on our college course, and our cadets won the cross-country meet! The club president was Tom Lough, Class of 1964, who made the U.S. Olympic Team as an Army lieutenant and competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

RESPONSE:

Thank you for your letters. For a volunteer assignment with so much responsibility (13 mandatory duties according to paragraph 3.6 of USCC Regulation No. 28-1, the 2012 regulation governing the Cadet Extracurricular Activities Program), there are also evidently a lot of rewards to being an OIC. And certainly a lot of great memories, likely both for officers and cadets. Incidentally, Tom Lough’s Olympic involvement appears on page 16 of this issue.

No excuse, sir or ma’am!

We failed to identify a graduate in a photo in “Grads on the Front Lines Against COVID-19” appearing in the 2020 summer issue. On page 12, for the “above, right” photo (also shown below), the caption should have read: “FEMA Regional Administrator Paul J. Taylor Jr. ’93 (right) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MG Mark Toy ’87, then the Commander of the Mississippi Valley Division, greet each other with an alternative “handshake” at an Alternate Care Site in St. Louis County, Missouri.” The photo was taken by John Mills, FEMA, not USACE Public Affairs. The online edition of the magazine has been corrected.

Photos: John Mills, FEMA

Parents Corner

WPAOG Resources for Cadet Parents

It’s the start of a new academic year at West Point, and WPAOG offers many resources for cadet families. WPAOG’s website hosts a Parent Portal packed full of useful resources for cadet parents at WestPointAOG.org/parentresources, including:

• Listings for more than 75 West Point Parent Clubs nationwide

• Annual Parent Handbook available online

• West Point magazine is complimentary to cadet parents

• Parent Review eNewsletter published monthly

• USMA and Cadet News is posted on our website at WestPointAOG.org/cadetnews. You can subscribe to have all the news delivered right to your email inbox: just look for the link at the top of the page

• Social Media: Follow WPAOG on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest West Point updates

What is the West Point Parents Fund?

While the Academy receives federal funding to support its core programs, which provide the basic requirements to earn a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission in the United States Army, many cadet projects and activities that are of great value but outside the “core” designation receive minimal to no funding from the government. West Point needs these programs to recruit and educate the very best candidates in a highly competitive environment. The Parents Fund, which is part of the Superintendent’s Annual Fund, supports cocurricular clubs, capstone projects, academic trips, semester abroad, AIADS, and academic conferences. Such opportunities are truly what define the Margin of Excellence and are what make West Point the world’s renowned leadership development institution. This is why private funding from our alumni, parents and friends is so important—it supports unique experiences and extraordinary developmental programs for cadets that go above and beyond the Academy’s core programming to create the Margin of Excellence, making a West Point education like no other.

Please consider supporting West Point by giving a gift at WestPointAOG.org/giveonline.

Be Thou at Peace

Mr. Howard A. Baldwin 1945

Mr. Robert R. Batson 1945

COL Leon C. Byrd USA, Retired 1945

COL George E. Dexter USA, Retired 1945

LTC Arthur L. Doyle Jr. USA, Retired 1945

Mr. Francis H. Klabouch 1945

Mr. John J. Byrne 1946

Mr. Clyde B. MacKenzie 1946

COL John G. Gaddie USA, Retired 1947

Col Herbert C. Pinkerton USAF, Retired 1947

Lt Gen Brent Scowcroft USAF, Retired 1947

COL Sam C. Holliday USA, Retired 1948

Mr. William D. Mounger 1948

Mr. Ralph W. Pearson 1948

Mr. Kenneth I. Pressman 1948

Dr. Richard G. Weber 1948

COL Seth S. Day USA, Retired 1949

MG Charles K. Heiden USA, Retired 1949

Lt Gen Richard C. Henry USAF, Retired 1949

LTC George C. Fifield USA, Retired 1950

MG Clyde W. Spence Jr. USA, Retired 1950

Mr. Sidney T. Wright 1950

Mr. William F. Yeoman 1950

MG Edward B. Atkeson USA, Retired 1951

Mr. Jose A. Chacon 1951

Col Richard G. Dingman USAF, Retired 1951

COL R. Joe Rogers USA, Retired 1951

LTC John J. Stahl Jr. USA, Retired 1951

LTC Wallace C. Steiger Jr. USA, Retired 1951

Mr. Bernard Zwerling 1951

COL John D. Bethea USA, Retired 1952

LTC Warren S. O’Sullivan USA, Retired 1952

COL Robert E. Ayers USA, Retired 1953

LTC O. Kirk Ehlers USA, Retired 1953

COL Jack O. Hayes USA, Retired 1953

COL Jack E. Johns USA, Retired 1953

Mr. Robert B. Maehr 1953

Deaths reported from June 13, 2020 — September 12, 2020

Lt Col Arthur L. Mavis Jr. USAF, Retired 1953

Mr. Maxwell R. Murrell 1953

MAJ Courtland C. Nordgren Jr. USA, Retired 1953

Maj Gary W. Robbins USAF, Retired 1953

BG Hiram K. Tompkins USA, Retired 1953

LTC Richard P. Hoy USA, Retired 1954

Mr. Walter J. Martin 1954

CPT Perin Mawhinney USA, Retired 1954

COL Edward M. Moses USA, Retired 1954

LTC Herald F. Stout Jr. USA, Retired 1954

LTC John H. Woodyard USA, Retired 1954

Mr. James M. Zerkel 1954

Mr. Felix Dorough 1955

LTC William H. Edwards Jr. USA, Retired 1955

COL James W. Grey USA, Retired 1955

LTC John R. Wing USA, Retired 1955

COL William F. Cody USA, Retired 1956

LTC Paul A. Lasley USA, Retired 1956

Lt Col William C. McPeek USAF, Retired 1956

LTC Frederick A. Rall USA, Retired 1956

COL John R. Hocker USA, Retired 1957

Mr. Jackson L. McDaniel 1957

Col Thomas A.F. Conti USAF, Retired 1958

COL Daryl G. Jaschen USA, Retired 1958

Col John M. Kubiak USAF, Retired 1958

LTC Dick S. Oberg USA, Retired 1958

Mr. Thomas K. Smith 1958

Mr. Anthony P. West 1958

COL William A. Luther Jr. USA, Retired 1959

MAJ Godwin P. McLaughlin USA, Retired 1959

LTC Julian T. Caraballo USA, Retired 1960

LTC John S. Gibbs USA, Retired 1960

Mr. Willard S. Belknap 1961

LTC David A. Hastings USA, Retired 1961

Col Leonard A. Butler USAF, Retired 1962

Mr. Peter G. King 1962

COL William C. Meade III USA, Retired 1962

LTC Marlin E. Schmidt USA, Retired 1962

Dr. James E. Sarn 1963

LTC Kenneth R. Silberstein USA, Retired 1963

COL James W. Speed USA, Retired 1963

COL Ted K. Yamashita USA, Retired 1963

Mr. Vukoslav E. Aguirre 1964

Mr. Per I. Madsen 1964

LTC Colin O. Halvorson USA, Retired 1965

COL Vardell E. Nesmith Jr. USA, Retired 1966

Mr. William R. Morrell 1967

Mr. Henry P. Timm Jr. 1967

LTC Maurice E. Murphy II USA, Retired 1968

COL Leonard R. Hawley USA, Retired 1969

LTC Donovan F. Jagger USA, Retired 1970

LTC Thomas G. Martin USA, Retired 1971

Mr. Robert M. McDannell 1972

Dr. Patrick M. Hermanson 1973

COL Davis M. Richardson USAR, Retired 1973

Mr. Bradley G. Magness 1974

Mr. Douglas S. Frazier 1975

CPT Thomas J. Huey III USA, Retired 1975

Mr. Jeffery S. Lewis 1975

MAJ Andrew E. Pehonsky USA, Retired 1977

Mr. William A. Blanding 1978

Mr. Richard J. Cashman 1978

Mr. Gerald W. Pina 1978

Mr. Robert F. McGurty 1980

Mr. John D. Michel 1980

Mr. Keith H. Gardner 1982

Mr. Gery W. Donovan 1983

MAJ William W. Thompson USA, Retired 1983

Mr. Peter J. Perez 1985

Mr. Michael D. Detlefsen 1990

Mr. Geoffrey L. Tinelli 1990

Mr. Matthew J. Bunker 2013

Past in Review

The Trailblazing Forty-Niner Lodge: Setting the New Standard

By BG Charles Robert Kemble ’49, Guest Writer

As reported in two articles in the Summer 2019 issue of West Point magazine, through the 1960s and 1970s, combined endeavors to fund “Margins of Excellence” gifts to the Academy were well on the move. Those now complemented 60 years of annual class memorial gifts.

A benchmark in the “class gifts tradition” came with the Class of 1949 Memorial Lodge in 1974. Setting wholly new standards, it was designed to honor 35 fallen classmates in Korea, plus a Medal of Honor and 31 Purple Heart recipients. The 1949 Memorial Lodge set new standards for class giving to USMA, both physically and monetarily. Establishing a multiple-elevated financial model, it was also the first significant class gift designed to directly enhance the informal pleasures of the Corps of Cadets.

The monetary impact of the 1949 Memorial Lodge was immediate. Between 1912 (when records begin) and 1973, the total of all USMA class gifts over the 60 years up to that date was $102,000, typically for class memorial

markers such as benches, fountains, and trees. When the $100,000 initial cost donation for the first edition of the ’49er Lodge was announced in 1974, the Association of Graduates proclaimed, “This is the most costly project undertaken by any USMA class for the benefit of West Point and the Corps of Cadets.”

The ripple effects began immediately: the Class of 1924 added $29,000 and the Class of 1944 added $41,000 to their previous donations,the Class of 1947 pledged $81,000 to renovate the West Point train station, and the Class of 1948 began the fund drive for their ski lodge—all in that same year!

The full story of the Class of 1949 Memorial Lodge begins in the late 1950s when about 40 members of the class were stationed at West Point, a good 15 years before something like a lodge was even under consideration. In anticipation of their 10th Reunion, the Class of 1949 was considering two central options. One of these was a class constitution that would serve through the years and anticipate the

likely ’49 center of gravity to be in Washington, DC by their 25th Reunion. The constitution was approved at their 10th Reunion and consideration then began for a major Class of 1949 memorial to be located at the Academy at some future point. The central idea was to set a whole new standard for what an individual class could do for the Academy: something truly consequential and far beyond the typical markers of past classes. Intermittent discussions followed, focusing mostly on memorializing the class members who had already died in service. In 1967, acting Class President Bob Kemble proposed an eight-year plan leading to a major memorial gift to be determined at the 25th Class Anniversary. The planning committee established three goals: 1) to memorialize the Class of 1949 and its fallen classmates; 2) to create something of substantial personal benefit to the Corps itself; and 3) to be a precedentsetting challenge for following classes. After options were considered with the Superintendent’s staff, the primary

goal became to provide a memorial lodge suitable for company-sized cadet informal recreation out of the public eye.

The USMA staff readily approved, originally recommending that it be located on Constitution Island at a recreational area being planned there; and the initial, but tentative, proposal reflected that choice. Timing obliged. When the class gathered for its 20th Reunion, the 1949 “Academy contingent” was still recognized as the official ’49 headquarters by both the Chief of Staff and the AOG. By then, the Constitution Island project had been scrubbed and an ad hoc advisory committee recommended the memorial lodge be located in the wooded area above Delafield Pond.

Target funding was set at $75,000 to $100,000, a bold goal for junior officers making less than $50,000. A Memorial Fund Committee sent classwide notices promptly. Between 1970 and 1975, with ups and downs, and largely due to strong endeavors by the DC class organization, sufficient funds and pledges were raised.

At West Point, under the direction of classmate and USMA Professor Gilbert Kirby, a New York-licensed Engineer, the first edition of the lodge was constructed. As scheduled, the Class of 1949 Memorial Lodge was dedicated at the 25th Reunion in 1974. Other classes followed the Class of 1949’s model, regularly providing sizable and worthy donations to the

Academy, often exceeding ’49’s earlier major class gift.

Per plan, the representative Class of 1949 Association was moved to Washington, DC and a Lodge Oversight Committee appointed. Under classmate George Sylvester’s leadership, continuing actions followed. A patio was added and the heating system was updated. By 1992 funds had been raised to provide a permanent endowment for the lodge’s maintenance. Those actions were followed in 1998 by another $600,000 in donations for major renovation leading to “a symphony in wood” designed by architect and classmate Lew Zickel. The final Lodge version was essentially completed in October 1997, funded by a combination of outlays of more than $1.3 million, part of over $2.3 million in contributions by this class to date. The Class of 1949 Lodge was formally dedicated at their 50th Class Reunion. Thus, that initial concept of providing a much needed and meaningful commemorative building to their alma mater became central to the enduring cohesiveness and worthy influences of the Class of 1949—and, importantly, the commemoration of class members who served through four wars. Since the lodge was first dedicated in 1974, that signal achievement has provided a worthy legacy as well as a relaxing location for the personal enjoyment of the Corps of Cadets and their guests.

Notably, during those same years, it was this same West Point class that initiated the widely beneficial 50-Year Affiliation Program. This program, now an applauded 20-year tradition, was first proposed by classmate George Summers, jointly adopted by the Classes of 1949 and 1999, and endorsed by the AOG. Since its inception in 1999 the program has been applied in various distinctive ways to enhance meaningful relationships between a current USMA class and its 50-year anniversary class affiliate. The need to compactly relate this remarkable story required, regrettably, the omission of numerous further details and names of those who played significant roles. In sum, the ’49er Lodge established an entirely new spirit for annual class contributions, inaugurating the praiseworthy series of meaningful and substantial Class Memorial Gifts to West Point and the Association of Graduates. 

About the Author: General Kemble began his military career as an enlisted paratrooper. He served in combat in World War II during Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. After graduation from West Point in 1949, he served as a reconnaissance troop commander in Germany, earned a Ph.D., taught at West Point and served on the Joint Staff. After retirement, he served as president of New Mexico Military Institute and Lamar University.

Photos: Courtesy Class of 1949

Left: The dedication for the 1949 Lodge was held at Delafield Pond despite heavy rain. Bill Gustafson turned the traditional shovel of earth in an abbreviated ceremony. Right: The interior of the 49er Lodge, renovated in October 1997.

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