West Point Magazine Winter 2019

thankyou!

Throughout the year, you may be asked to contribute to the following funds, each of which supports the Academy and WPAOG in important ways. Please accept our deepest gratitude for your support.

Superintendent’s and West Point Parents Fund

unrestricted funds for cadets and the Academy recognized in the Superintendent’s Circle for annual gifts of $1,000 or more

Long Gray Line

unrestricted funds for WPAOG alumni programs recognized in the Chairman’s Circle for annual gifts of $1,000 or more

Army A Club

unrestricted funds for intercollegiate athletics

Class Gift Funds

restricted by classes in reunion campaigns

Other Restricted Funds

restricted for specific programs

We look forward to seeing our Superintendent’s Circle and Chairman’s Circle members at Donor Tribute Day on May 2, 2019.

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

Jess Scheuler 845.446.1577 | ads@wpaog.org

ADDRESS UPDATES

Tammy Talmadge

West Point Association of Graduates

698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607 845.446.1642 | address@wpaog.org

MEMORIAL ARTICLE MANAGER

Marilee Meyer

845.446.1545 | memorials@wpaog.org

CONTENT

Anthony DiNoto

Kim McDermott ’87

Keith Hamel Guest Contributors

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.

POSTMASTER

WestPointis published quarterly in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall by the West Point Association of Graduates, 698 Mills Road, West Point, NY 10996-1607

WestPointis printed by Sheridan NH.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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Dear Fellow Graduates:

The holidays may be over, but the celebration is just starting for the West Point Association of Graduates. It is going to be an especially joyous 2019 for the Association and for members of the Long Gray Line as we honor the past and look to the future while commemorating 150 years of support for West Point and the “fraternal fellowship” of its graduates. Part of this anniversary involves the magazine you are reading right now.

All year long, West Point magazine will highlight the history, achievements and people of your Association, starting with the first meeting at the College of the City of New York in the office of its president, Dr. Horace Webster, Class of 1818, on May 22, 1869. We hope you’ll join us in wishing WPAOG “Happy Birthday” via our virtual toast on the sesquicentennial of that date. In addition, there will be a trove of WPAOG-related “On This Day” facts posted on our 150th website pages and shared via our social media channels. We will have 150th-themed merchandise available through the WPAOG Gift Shop, and we will be saluting the 150th anniversary of WPAOG at every major event in 2019, including Founders Day, Leaders Conference and Army-Navy festivities.

Speaking of Army-Navy, congratulations to head coach Jeff Monken and the Army West Point Football Team for another victory over the Midshipmen on December 8, 2018. For the third year in a row, we sang second, and for the second year in a row, we won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. Given all the grads I saw in Philadelphia, I am confident that the Long Gray Line had a hand in the game’s outcome. Are there any fans better than those who cheer for the Brave Old Army Team? I doubt it. You proved it again when we beat the Houston Cougars on December 22, 2018 in the Armed Forces Bowl, our third bowl victory in as many years.

Competing in a bowl game is becoming a regular part of the West Point calendar, as much as the annual Nininger and Thayer awards, both of which are covered in this issue. Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Myer ’01 received the 2018 Nininger Award for Valor at Arms for his role in the 2008 Battle of Wanat, and Secretary Leon Panetta received the 2018 Sylvanus Thayer Award. We applaud and congratulate both for their service to the nation.

As we begin our sesquicentennial year, there are two new initiatives we have recently launched. The first is WPAOG’s enhanced Career Services Program: please see pages 28-29 for more details. As graduates heard during the 2018 Alumni Leaders Conference, we are also offering a new web-based service platform free of charge to West Point Societies. Called “SALLYPORT,” this program will enable Societies to leverage technology to manage memberships, communications, and events in order to increase participation, facilitate networking within the community, and more. One hundred and fifty years later, your Association of Graduates is still finding new ways to promote “fraternal fellowship” between members of the Long Gray Line, working to realize our vision to be the most highly connected alumni body in the world.

Serving West Point and the Long Gray Line, Todd

ON THE COVER: Founded in 1869, the West Point Association of Graduates proudly celebrates its 150th Anniversary in 2019.

Image: Lee Ross ’73

Todd A. Browne ’85 President and CEO West Point Association of Graduates

ADVERTISERS

IN THIS ISSUE | WPAOG 150TH

5 Celebrate with Us!

Throughout 2019, WPAOG will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary. Here’s how you can be a part of the celebration!

6 COVER STORY | Happy Sesquicentennial!

Celebrating 150 Years of the West Point Association of Graduates: Part I (1869-1900)

On May 22, 2019, the West Point Association of Graduates will turn 150 years old. All 2019 issues of West Point magazine will celebrate this milestone by highlighting WPAOG history. Join us in celebrating one of America’s oldest alumni associations, which continues to proudly serve West Point and the Long Gray Line.

12 Meet the Founders

14 Inside Cullum Hall: A Gift that Transformed West Point and the Association of Graduates

16 Who is George W. Cullum (1833)?

DEPARTMENTS

2

Graduate, Instructor, Superintendent, founding Alumni Association member. Learn more about West Point’s first significant alumni donor, who left a bequest for a landmark that forever changed the landscape of West Point and the fellowship of the Long Gray Line.

18 WPAOG Staff and Services: Class Services, Reunions and Special Events

20 “Earn the Moment”: The 2018 Nininger Award Recipient Addresses the Corps

22 “An American Patriot”: The Honorable Leon E. Panetta Receives the 2018 Thayer Award

24 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Visits West Point for Zengerle Family Lecture

28 Grads Spoke, We Listened: WPAOG’s New Enhanced Career Services

32 Three-Peat! Army Beats Navy 17-10

36 Army Wins Armed Forces Bowl 70-14

38 Inspiring Innovation and Collaboration: USMA’s New Cyber & Engineering Academic Center (CEAC)

44 Army West Point Men’s Soccer: Winning the Moments

51 Branch Night: Class of 1969 Gives “First Brass” to USMA 2019

From Your West Point Association of Graduates

Send your thoughts about West Point magazine to editor@wpaog.org or @WPAOG on Twitter. View the online version of this magazine at WestPointAOG.org/wpmag

To the Long Gray Line:

I’ve enjoyed meeting and speaking with many of you over the past few months, whether here at West Point for your class reunions or throughout the country at various events. I have appreciated your many words of support and encouragement to me personally, but, more importantly, I appreciate your support and passion for your alma mater and our mission to develop leaders of character. As I stated in my initial letter to you, leader development is a team sport and all of you are shareholders in that process.

Our senior national defense leadership has placed a major emphasis on readiness, ensuring America’s military is ready and prepared to deploy, fight and win across the whole spectrum of conflict. That emphasis is echoed by our Army’s senior leaders in their Army Vision, to ensure that the Army’s Total Force is ready to deploy, fight and win in the crucible of ground combat.

At the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting this past October, General Milley, the 39th Chief of Staff of the Army, reiterated the importance of readiness and preparedness, stating that, as much as we’d like to think otherwise, war is not going away from the human experience. He said:

“The only thing more expensive than preventing a war is actually fighting a war. And the only thing more expensive than fighting a war is losing a war. War is a very unforgiving act to those not prepared. The faint clouds of a coming storm are visible on the horizon, and our first duty to our soldiers and our nation is readiness. Readiness today and readiness tomorrow to prepare for that storm.”

Our job here at West Point, therefore, is to support the Army’s current and future readiness by developing the smart, thoughtful and innovative leaders of character who are ready to lead in the crucible of ground combat and who know what it takes to fight and win where and when required.

To that end, we are focusing on these priorities of effort this academic year:

1. Develop Leaders of Character who pursue excellence in every pillar: This is an enduring priority and at the core of everything we do here—building those future second lieutenants who are prepared for the crucible of ground combat. As General Milley told last year’s graduating class: “You didn’t come here to play ping-pong...you came here to learn how to fight.”

2. Build the team: Key to readiness—whether it’s our readiness at West Point to execute our mission or the readiness of the operational force—is building an effective team that leverages and maximizes the diversity, talent and experience of every member of the team. We will continue to attract, recruit and retain the best talent for the Corps, as well as the best talent for our staff and faculty who will educate, train and inspire our cadets.

3. Pursue installation modernization, force protection and energy resilience: Developing leaders for the future force requires modern, high-quality and energy-efficient facilities, utilities and information technology. Working with the Army’s senior leadership, we continue our efforts to upgrade cadet barracks and our IT infrastructure, while preparing for future projects, such as the academic building upgrade program, the new Cyber and Engineering Academic Center and the modernization of Camp Buckner and other military training areas. Additionally, we will pursue every effort to ensure a safe and secure installation for the Corps of Cadets and all who live and work here.

4. Strengthen partnerships: We will increase our connection with the operational force and, through our world-class civilian and military faculty and our research centers, leverage our intellectual capacity and innovation to support the Army’s efforts to modernize for the future fight. Additionally, we will seek opportunities to increase our strategic engagement with our allies and partners.

5. Enhance a culture of dignity and respect: We will continue to maintain an environment where everyone is valued, respected and contributes to the team, while feeling secure, both emotionally and physically.

Of course, none of this is possible without your support, and I truly appreciate all you do for this Academy. Together, we will continue to develop leaders of character who will live honorably, lead honorably and demonstrate excellence, and who are ready to fight and win, anywhere, anytime.

Darryl Williams ’83 Lieutenant General, U.S.

60th Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy

Army

“I’ve enjoyed meeting and speaking with many of you over the past few months, whether here at West Point for your class reunions or throughout the country at various events.”

Celebrate with Us!

150 Years | 1869 – 2019 HonorthePast.PreparefortheFuture.

Throughout 2019, the West Point Association of Graduates will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary. Here’s how you can be a part of commemorating this important milestone.

Learn and Inspire: Discover Our History

• “On This Day:” Throughout 2019, WPAOG will be sharing “On this Day” facts highlighting historic events and achievements of West Point graduates. Daily facts can be found on our website at WestPointAOG.org/150thtimeline. We will also share selected facts on social media, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. WPAOG gratefully acknowledges the historical research for “On This Day” done by Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Voigtschild Minus ’93 (Retired). For more than a year, Minus, an American history major who also holds an MA in American history from Rutgers and taught in the USMA History Department, combed through West Point and WPAOG history to collect 365 facts, one for each day of the year. Minus currently serves on the WPAOG Advisory Council, and as her West Point Class Secretary and Reunion Chair.

• West Point magazine will feature articles in each issue of 2019 on WPAOG’s history and the WPAOG of today.

• Our website, WestPointAOG.org/150th will be a communications hub for the celebration, containing a wealth of information on history and events.

Participate: Celebrate with fellow graduates and share your stories and images

• Founders Day: West Point Societies around the world will celebrate WPAOG’s 150th during Founders Day events taking place February – April 2019. Find an event near you on our website at WestPointAOG.org/founders-day-events.

• George W. Cullum (1833), one of West Point’s most notable graduates, will be seen everywhere in 2019! The spring issue of West Point magazine will include a “Flat Cullum” to incorporate in your photos and share with us. To learn more, see “Who is George W. Cullum (1833)?” on page 16.

• Virtual Toast: On WPAOG’s “Birthday,” May 22, 2019, graduates around the world will offer their best wishes with a virtual birthday toast. Details on how your group can send a message are coming via email in January 2019.

• West Point Alumni Leaders Conference in August 2019 will feature a special 150th celebration.

• Share your 150th celebrations on social media using #WPAOG150. Follow WPAOG on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more information.

Commemorate 150 Years with Exclusive Memorabilia

• Founders Day: West Point Societies: WPAOG is providing 150th celebration packets—free of charge—to all West Point Societies for Founders Day events. Limited to one packet per Society. Society Presidents should submit requests. Included in the packet will be items such as cocktail napkins, placemats, and balloons branded with the 150th logo.

• A selection of exclusive 150th-themed memorabilia will be available to order online at WPAOGGiftShop.com or by phone at 800.426.4725.

• WPAOG will proudly display a 150th logo, flag and building decorations throughout the year. West Point Societies will be able to purchase special signage for their events.

More information: Need more information or have a fact you want to share? Contact us at 150@wpaog.org

150th Anniversary Planning

– LTC(R) Deirdre Dixon ’84, Ph.D.

WPAOG Board of Directors

“I invite all graduates to share in the celebration of our 150th Anniversary in 2019. Your 150th Planning Committee has been working hard over the last two years to create fun and meaningful ways for everyone to join in commemorating the proud traditions of service and fellowship that forever bind and connect the Long Gray Line—past, present and future.”

Chair,

Committee,

Happy Sesquicentennial!

Celebrating 150 Years of the West Point

Association of Graduates

Part I (1869-1900)

On May 22, 2019, the West Point Association of Graduates will turn 150 years old. Think about it—one hundred and fifty years! When “the Association,” as it used to be known, held its first organizational meeting in the office of Dr. Horace Webster, Class of 1818, President of the College of the City of New York, the light bulb had yet to be invented; the telephone had not been patented; the U.S. flag had only 37 stars; and the machine gun, dynamite, and the torpedo were less than a decade old.

The year was 1869, an important year in the history of West Point graduates. On March 4 of that year, Ulysses S. Grant, Class of 1843, became the 18th President of the United States. Grant, of course, received national acclaim for commanding the Union Army to victory during the U.S. Civil War, accepting the surrender of Confederate forces from another West Point graduate, Robert E. Lee, Class of 1829. That recent conflict, roughly four years over by the time a handful of graduates met in

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

Webster’s office one Saturday afternoon for that first meeting, is often cited as the reason the “Association” was formed; that is, to heal the divide between West Point graduates who fought on opposing sides of the U.S. Civil War. While it may be romanticized, such a theory is plausible. After all, bridging chasms seemed to be the spirit of the age in 1869. On May 2 of that year the “golden spike” of the First Transcontinental Railroad was driven into the ground at Promontory Summit of Utah Territory, linking America’s East Coast with its West Coast. Later that year, on November 17, the Suez Canal officially opened, finally completing a centuries-old idea to create a waterway between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Yet when Robert Anderson, Class of 1825, wrote to Sylvanus Thayer, Class of 1808, on January 28, 1869 to propose the formation of “an association of the graduates of the Military Academy,” he never mentioned the Civil War as a raison d’être for this endeavor (and Anderson was the officer in charge of

Fort Sumter when it was fired upon by P. G. T. Beauregard, Class of 1838, to start that war!) Instead, Anderson plainly told Thayer he wanted to form an association “to see what should be done to perfect and perpetuate this truly national Institution,” [West Point] and, in his February 12, 1869 reply to Anderson, Thayer agreed.

Three months later, 15 graduates gathered in Webster’s office for the purposes of officially forming an “Association of the Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy.” Neither the Civil War nor the “perpetuation” of West Point was explicitly mentioned in the minutes from that meeting. Instead, the graduates present, including Anderson, passed seven resolutions, the last pertaining to the “fundamental principle that the characteristic of this Association shall be.” According to the “Preliminary Meeting” minutes, Reverend Dr. Francis Vinton, Class of 1830, Assistant Minister of Trinity Church in New York City, introduced a resolution that the Association be “formed purely for the promotion of social and fraternal intercourse.” Vinton’s resolution became Article II of the new Association’s Constitution: “The objects of this Association shall be to cherish the memories of our Alma Mater, and to promote the social intercourse and fraternal fellowship of its graduates.”

Does this end the debate regarding the purpose of the Association of Graduates’ founding? Not quite. Article IV of the Association’s original Constitution complicates matters. It states, “Political, or any other discussions foreign to the purposes of the Association, as set forth in this Constitution, or any proceedings of such a tendency, are declared inimical to the purposes of this organization, and are prohibited.” Such an article calls attention to itself and seems to support the notion that the recent U.S. Civil War and its political aftermath might impede the formation of an Association of West Point Graduates. Furthermore, Article III, paragraph 2, states, “The oldest graduate belonging to the Association shall be President; and in his absence the senior graduate present shall preside at the meeting of the Association.” This made Thayer the Association’s “official” first president. Although Thayer never attended a

meeting of the Association of Graduates (and, interestingly, his name does not appear on the roll of members until 1872), this passage marries Thayer’s legacy with the creation of the Association, including his desire to form such an organization for the benefit of West Point. Going forward, both implicit political matters and the promotion of West Point routinely enter into the dialogue regarding the Association’s early history and business.

Take the Association’s first public act after a committee of 13 graduates, chaired by Webster, met on June 16, 1869 and drafted the constitution and bylaws for the new Association. Soon after, the committee mailed the proposed constitution and bylaws to all graduates; 128 joined (of more than 1,350 living graduates), including three former Confederate officers: Richard S. Ewell, Class of 1840; James Longstreet, Class of 1842; and Nathaniel R. Chambliss, Class of May 1861. In fact, Ewell sent a letter back with his dues stating, “I cannot think that any graduate of the Academy would, unless blinded by prejudices, decline to aid the work of reuniting…a bond broken asunder by civil discord and war.” Conversely, Simon Bolivar Buckner, Class of 1844, the first Confederate general to surrender an Army to Union forces, perhaps stinging from so-called “Radical Republicans” attempts to strip ex-rebels of their right to vote and hold office in the First Reconstruction Act (1867), wrote back to the committee saying, “Fraternal fellowship can exist only in the light of an acknowledged equality, [which] is denounced by the legislation of the central government which extends its fostering care to our class of graduates of our Alma Mater and at the same time prescribes the other...an acknowledgement of the inequality which renders agreeable social intercourse impossible.” Buckner’s sentiment becomes an important theme taken up by committee member Charles Davies, Class of 1815, in his address to graduates at the Association’s first reunion on June 17, 1870. Forty-three graduates sat in the pews of the West Point Chapel (now known as the Old Cadet Chapel) to hear Davies’ address. Although no Southern graduates attended that first open meeting (more likely due to the prohibitive cost of travel than to

Above, from left to right: The College of the City of New York was the site of the first Association meeting in 1869. The Association’s first reunion took place at the old Cadet Chapel in 1870. An artist’s rendering of West Point and the Hudson River ca. 1870. The Thayer Monument showing its original location in front of the old gymnasium. Cullum Hall, dedicated by the Association in 1900, was its first home at West Point.

ideological allegiances), Davies used poetic language in his speech to delicately and diplomatically address the issue raised by Buckner, that is the seeming rift between graduates who fought on opposite sides of the U.S. Civil War. “We come together as the scattered members of a household after a long separation—some full of years, some full of honors,” said Davies, recalling the metaphor of a “divided house” used by President Abraham Lincoln in a famous 1858 speech. Why would Davies use such language? The answer is reunification. But, digging deeper, it is not just a reunification of graduates from the North and the South; it is a reunification between West Point graduates and the United States of America. Just one sentence prior, Davies said, “We come together under the old flag, dear to every American heart, to recall and contemplate that springtime of life… .” In this and his future reunion addresses, Davies continually uses a “reunification with the country” theme to tacitly unite graduates from the North and from the South behind a single purpose.

most overt gesture to reunification between graduates from the North and South via renewed allegiance to the nation. He began by reminding graduates of the resolution passed at the annual meeting a year earlier to invite graduates from “all sections of the country” to the 1875 reunion. Seven of the Association’s 12 former Confederate officer members attended this reunion, the most ever up to that point. “[W]e have come here today, to bury within the circuit of these mountains all recollections which can separate us from each other, or from our common country,” Davies said, “…and to say to all, for each, and to each for all, that from this auspicious day, all the graduates of this Institution will recognize each other as friends. Henceforth, and forever, we have one flag—one country—one destiny.”

“We meet to revive cherished memories…and to renew, together, vows of perpetual allegiance to our country,” Davies said in the opening to his 1870 address. As noted by George Pappas in his book To the Point: The United States Military Academy 18021902, “The defection of southern cadets and graduates, termed treason by many antagonists, was used as a stepping-stone for criticizing West Point in general and its graduates in particular.” The Civil War thrust West Point and its graduates, particularly those who defected to fight for the Confederate cause, into the national spotlight, and, as noted by Harry Williams in his article “The Attack Upon West Point During the Civil War,” “…the [Academy] faced and weathered a series of dangerous attacks designed to destroy its existence.”

Those who gathered in those early reunions must have been aware that West Point stood on precarious footing in the years immediately following the Civil War, as well as the distrust felt for Southern graduates. In his address at the Second Annual Reunion on June 17, 1871, Davies’ concluding words seem to be as much for the graduates as for a public he felt may still be wary of the future political intentions of West Point alumni. “But above all, fellow graduates,” Davies said, “let us remember that the nation which sustains and has spread its mantle over this institution, expects from every graduate, at all times, and wheresoever he may be, the full measure of his duty.” Then in his last (and longest) address to graduates, commemorating the centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill (1875), Davies made his

Interestingly, before championing the patriotism of West Point graduates, Davies lauded the accomplishments of West Point itself through its graduates. “We behold, also, a great Institution,” he said in his 1875 address, “…scattering science and knowledge over the nation,” which seems to pay homage to Thayer and Anderson’s original aim for the Association, “to see what should be done to perfect and perpetuate this truly national Institution.” Davies died in 1876, and, according to David Pinder ’86, in his paper “The Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, 1869-1902: The Healing Years,” the leadership of the AOG passed to George Cullum, Class of 1833. One of the original 15 members of the Association, Cullum became a member of AOG’s Executive Committee in 1871 and chaired this committee until his death in 1892. A year before those 15 grads met in Webster’s office to form the Association, Cullum published the first edition of his three-volume Biographical Register of the Officers of the United States Military Academy, which he described in its preface as a record of West Point graduates’ service to the nation so as to give “world-renown to their Alma Mater.” In the preface to his third edition of the Register, published in 1891, Cullum’s intent became more explicit. There he wrote that he hoped “this last legacy to Alma Mater and her numerous sons may further prove the usefulness of that noble national institution,” nearly echoing Thayer and Anderson’s original aim for the Association. While reunification seemed to be Davies’ primary ambition, championing the accomplishments of graduates for the glory of West Point was clearly the achievement for which Cullum was known. In fact, at that first meeting in 1870, the first order of business after approving the constitution and by-laws was adopting a resolution that gave thanks to Cullum “for his truthful and admirable annals of the Military Academy and its Graduates.”

Cullum demonstrated his philosophy for West Point and its graduates in the biographies he wrote for “Necrology,” that section of the Association’s published annual report identifying the graduates who had died since the last meeting. In the 1871 Annual Reunion, the first to acknowledge the author of each graduate’s biography, Cullum is cited as having written five of them, the first being for Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Class of 1817. And while other authors devoted paragraphs to the deceased, Cullum wrote pages (Hitchcock’s biography is 10 pages long). Cullum continued writing “Necrology” biographies right up until his own death, the last one for Montgomery C. Meigs, Class of 1836, who died January 2, 1892. Cullum himself died February 28 of that year, and his own “Necrology” biography appears just six pages after Meigs’.

“…and to say to all, for each, and to each for all, that from this auspicious day, all the graduates of this Institution will recognize each other as friends. Henceforth, and forever, we have one flag—one country— one destiny.” – Charles Davies, Class of 1815

ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES OF THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY

1869

First meeting of Association of Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at the College of the City of New York. Adopted constitution and bylaws; elected Prof. Charles Davies (1815) as permanent chairman

1872

Eugene McLean (1842), one of seven Southern members, is first former Confederate officer to attend an Association reunion

1877

Annual meeting: Committee of five, including former SUPT George W. Cullum (1833), coordinates re-interment of the remains of Sylvanus Thayer (1808), SUPT 1817-33 at West Point

1882

Annual meeting: Thayer Monument Committee Chairman reports that a model of the statue and pedestal was reviewed by committee and improvements suggested

1891

Annual meeting: Resolved that the Association be incorporated under the laws of New York. Cullum (1833), formally presents third (1890) edition of his BiographicalRegister

1894

Annual meeting: Memorial Hall bequest of George W. Cullum (1833) briefed

1900

Cullum Memorial Hall dedicated, funded by Cullum’s generous bequest of $250,000

1870

First Association reunion held at West Point Chapel (now Old Cadet Chapel)

1874

Annual meeting: Resolved that all graduates should be encouraged to join the Association and attend the 1875 meeting celebrating the centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill

1879

Francis H. Smith (1833), Virginia Military Institute Superintendent and classmate of Executive Committee Chairman Cullum, is first Southern graduate to deliver the opening address at an Association reunion

1883

Thayer statue dedicated; former SUPT (1864-66) George W. Cullum (1833) delivers dedicatory address

1892

George W. Cullum (1833) dies

1896

George S. Greene (1823) is last Association president appointed on the basis of age, and, in 1897, becomes first elected president of the Association, holding office for a year

Cullum had started writing an extended biography of Thayer for the 1873 Annual Reunion, but, according to a Secretary note in that record, Cullum’s absence in Europe prevented the completion of it in time for publication. Ten years later, Cullum likely incorporated portions of that biography into the momentous address he delivered at the unveiling of the Thayer Statue on June 11, 1883, touting Thayer’s impact on West Point and the nation. Consider this passage: “With each evolving year of Colonel Thayer’s Superintendency, class after class was graduated, adding to our army 570 officers, of whom the nation may be justly proud, for in that galaxy are many bright particular stars which have given lustre to our arms, illuminated the paths of science, brightened halls of learning, and adorned various vocations of usefulness.” Cullum was perpetuating the national institution of West Point by demonstrating the perfections of its honorific father. But this is not all that Cullum did as the Association’s de facto leader.

Cullum had been Chairman of the Thayer Monument Committee, which was established at the June 12, 1873 annual meeting, and was instrumental in bringing Thayer’s remains from his hometown of South Braintree, Massachusetts to West Point. This accomplishment could be viewed as the Association’s first official act of external business (a year earlier the Executive

Committee resolved to have the body of Joseph Swift, Class of 1802, exhumed and re-interred at the West Point Cemetery, but this ambition never materialized). Thayer’s remains were reinterred at West Point on November 8, 1877, but the monument intended to honor his memory remained unfinished, as only $1,225 of an anticipated $3,100 had been raised from graduates. At the 10th Annual Reunion on June 12, 1879, feeling that the plans to obtain funds to build a stone memorial of Thayer for placement on the Plain were “impractical,” Cullum proposed that a smaller monument be built over Thayer’s grave. However, in his address at that reunion, Cullum’s classmate Francis H. Smith, Class of 1833, the first Southern graduate to speak before AOG members, implored graduates not to forget the original monument plan, saying, “He was a noble specimen of West Point character, and I trust the scheme will not be abandoned of putting, in enduring marble or bronze, a colossal statue of Brvt. Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Thayer, the father of the U.S. Military Academy.”

A year later, at the 11th Annual Reunion, George Andrews, Class of 1851, Treasurer of the Thayer Monument Fund, reported that all but $160 of the funds needed for the monument remained uncollected. The project was further delayed when the committee hired the New England Granite Company “to execute a statue eight feet three inches high, standing upon a wellproportioned pedestal of eight feet, both of pure white granite,” and the cost jumped to $4,000. To raise money to cover the escalating cost, Cullum reportedly addressed “personal letters to each living graduate who has a diploma signed by General Thayer.” In his June 10, 1882 Thayer Monument Committee report to AOG’s Executive Committee, Cullum noted that the statue would be ready by winter, “in ample time to be erected before the Reunion of this Association in June 1883” (it was completed on June 9, 1883, which would have been Thayer’s 98th birthday). At the 14th Annual Reunion on June 12, 1883, Cullum furnished a final report on the Thayer Monument to the Association, saying the statue “is worthy of the great Superintendent, whose majestic port [sic] and intellectual visage [it] so faithfully represents; and it is worthy of this Association which has preserved, amid so many difficulties, to raise such a memorial to the ‘Father of the Military Academy.’” Showing its appreciation for Cullum’s efforts to bring the Thayer Monument to fruition, the Executive Committee unanimously passed a resolution that thanked him for admirably performing his duties.

A year after erecting Thayer Monument, AOG moved on to its next order of major business, another project that took years to materialize and one that ultimately depended greatly on Cullum. At the 15th Annual Reunion in 1884, John S. McCalmont, Class of 1842, proposed that Congress should be petitioned to make an appropriation for the purposes of furnishing a hall for AOG use at West Point, given that the Association had received so many gifts of manuscripts, portraits, books, letters, and more and had no room to safely keep them or exhibit them. The matter was tabled and reintroduced three years later at the 1887 meeting, but members felt that the USMA Board of Visitors would have better luck securing the funds from Congress for building such a hall than their resolution. “The Association of Graduates cannot raise the necessary money,” Charles Braden, Class of 1869, AOG’s Secretary at that time, flatly stated. Then, given the lack of

Handwritten minutes from the first meeting of the Association of Graduates on May 22, 1869 are housed at WPAOG.

reference to it in meeting notes, the Executive Committee seems to forget about this idea for a memorial hall for half a decade, but Cullum did not forget. Upon his death, Cullum bequeathed $250,000 to the U.S. government for the purposes of erecting a such a hall at West Point.

According to a March 7, 1892 New York Times article reporting on his will, Cullum’s gift, “Follow[ed] an idea which he had for some years entertained.” Part of that idea likely involved Cullum’s 1891 proposal that Executive Committee incorporate the Association under the laws of New York state. The committee unanimously adopted Cullum’s proposal and filed a certificate of incorporation in November of that year. As some have hypothesized, Cullum proposed this idea because he had already made his estate plans, and, rather than gift his considerable fortune to what might be characterized as an informal fraternal club, he wanted to leave it to an organization with legitimacy and longevity. Furthermore, showing his prescience, Cullum explicitly stated in his will for the memorial hall to be built “at farthest within five years after my death” (perhaps because he witnessed no movement on an idea that originated in 1884!).

Cullum’s bequest was formally accepted by an act of Congress, and the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White was appointed in 1894 to design the building. Construction began in 1896, with the cornerstone being ceremoniously laid on April 15, and construction was completed on December 21, 1898. After it was furnished (Cullum also left $20,000 in his will for this purpose), the hall was dedicated on June 12, 1900, the date of the 31st Annual Reunion. According to a July 1900 article by Charles Larned, Class of 1870, in Junior Munsey Magazine, “This hall is distinctly a monument to West Point and all that it stands for, given by a son of the Academy to his brother alumni and their well beloved mother; designed to commemorate their deeds, to preserve their names, and to bear witness to the enduring work of the foremost military school of the age.”

Thirty-one years after its founding, the Association of the Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy had 473 members on its rolls, and those members now had a home at West Point. In his will, Cullum indicated that it was his desire that the gifted memorial hall be used for “the Assemblage and Dinners of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, and, if practicable, I wish that lodging accommodations should be provided in some part of it for the members of that Association while attending its annual reunions.” Furthermore, they now had funds. Cullum’s will also provided $10,000 for “the current and necessary expenses” of the Association. This is the genesis of what is now known as the West Point Association of Graduates’ “Long Gray Line Endowment.” While Cullum was Chairman of AOG’s Executive Committee, AOG’s balance sheet consistently ran between $1,000-$1,500, but, thanks to his gift, it grew by 300

percent in one year.

At the turn of the 20th century the Association, now with a home and with funds, started to focus on growth and accountability. This began with two notable changes to the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws. First, in 1897, the Executive Committee decided that an elected graduate, rather that the oldest graduate, would serve as the Association’s President, and voted accordingly to change Article III of the Constitution. They nominated George Greene, Class of 1823, to be President, and he was unanimously elected (ironically, Greene was also the oldest graduate on the Association’s membership roll). Then, at the 1900 Annual Reunion, the Executive Committee voted to amend the Bylaws so that initiation fees were reduced from a one-time $10 payment to an initial $2 fee with an additional $1 paid each subsequent year for the next decade. The prorated fee cycle spurred growth in new membership. In 1898, only three graduates elected to pay the prescribed $10 initiation fee; in 1902, more than 70 paid the new $2 fee. New membership also fostered more graduate participation. In 1899, only seven members attended the 30th annual reunion, but in 1902 reportedly some 350 graduates returned to West Point for the annual alumni reunion.

During the dedication of Cullum Hall, Alexander S. Webb, Class of 1855, who was present in Webster’s office at the original May 22, 1869 meeting, looked back on that historic day and gave a brief account of the organization of the Association. No records exist of his remarks, but it is easy to imagine he would have said that the 15 graduates who gathered to form an “Association of the Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy” would be proud that, 31 years later, their idea had figuratively and literally found a home, that more and more graduates were coming back to that home each year, and that the Association was continuing to promote the social intercourse and fraternal fellowship of USMA graduates. 

Editor’s note: Multiple accounts exist for some of AOG’s early milestones. Where possible, primary source documents, including the original handwritten minutes of the meetings of the Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy (currently housed at WPAOG), Annual Reunion reports, and Cullum’s Registers were used to verify the organizational history and graduate information discussed in this article.

All four 2019 issues of West Point magazine will celebrate WPAOG’s 150th Anniversary by highlighting different eras in its history, from our founding in 1869 through today. Part I in this issue covers 1869-1900. We hope you join us in celebrating of one of America’s oldest alumni associations, which continues to proudly serve West Point and the Long Gray Line. For more information, visit West Point AOG.org/150th.

“The objects of this Association shall be to cherish the memories of our Alma Mater, and to promote the social intercourse and fraternal fellowship of its graduates.”

—Article II of the Association of the Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy Constitution

MEET THE FOUNDERS

Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy

INAUGURAL MEETING | MAY 22, 1869*

Dr. Horace Webster, Chair (1818)

USMA Mathematics Professor 1818-25

Professor of Math & Natural Philosopy, Geneva College 1825-48

Founding President, The College of the City of New York

Brevet MG Alexander Stewart Webb (1855), Secretary

Union Civil War General

Received Medal of Honor for gallantry at Battle of Gettysburg; 2nd President, The College of the City of New York (33 years)

Brevet BG Thomas Jefferson Leslie (1815)

USMA Treasurer 1816-41

45-year career as military paymaster

President of AOG (August 1874-November 1874)

Brevet MG Robert Anderson (1825)

Indian Wars (Battle of “Bad Axe” 1832 and fight with Seminoles 1837-38)

Artillery instructor at West Point 1835-37

Defended, then surrendered, Fort Sumter, opening war between the states

Brevet LTC Abraham Van Buren (1827)

Eldest son of U.S. President Martin Van Buren

Aide de camp to MG Alexander Macomb, Commanding General U.S. Army

Major in Mexican War (Battle of Monterrey 1846)

Brevet MAJ Joseph Smith Bryce (1829) (Joseph Brice Smith at graduation)

Asst Prof Mathematics USMA until 1831

NYC Lawyer, Asst Adjutant General on Brevet MG Wadsworth’s staff

Oldest living USMA grad (January 1899 – April 1901)

Rev. Dr. Francis Vinton (1830)

Graduate: Harvard Law School; General Theological Seminary, Episcopal Church of New York

Assistant minister Trinity Church NYC 1855-72

Two-time member and President (1867), USMA Board of Visitors

*Graduates listed in handwritten minutes of the meeting on file at WPAOG

Brevet MG George Washington Cullum (1833)

USMA Instructor 1848-51, 52-55

16th USMA SUPT 1864-66

Originated Cullum’s Register and Cullum numbering system for all USMA Graduates

Bequeathed $250K for a Memorial Hall (Cullum Hall) & funds to continue publishing Register

Brevet BG Henry Prince (1835)

Brevet CPT in Mexican War (Battles of Contreras and Churunusco)

Chief Paymaster Dept of the East and then NYC 1869-75

Civil War POW (Battle of Cedar Mountain 1862)

Brevet MG Zealous Bates Tower (1841)

15th USMA SUPT July-Sept 1864

Union Civil War General-Chief Engineer in defense of Fort Pickens, FL and later Nashville, TN

Civil Engineer, directed Initial USACE fortification of Alcatraz (1853-57)

Brevet BG Thomas Gamble Pitcher (1845)

1LT in Mexican War (Battles of Contreras and Churunusco)

17th USMA SUPT 1866-71

Governor of Soldiers’ Home 1870-77

BG Egbert L. Viele (1847)

Union Civil War General

NYC Park Commissioner 1863-84; Engineer in Chief of Central Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park

U.S. House of Representatives 1885-87

President of AOG (1899-1900)

Buried at West Point cemetery in landmark “Pyramid” tomb

Brevet LTC Charles C. Parsons (1861)

Led Artillery battery in the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862)

USMA Asst Prof Ethics and English studies (1863-64) and Geography, History & Ethics (1868-70)

Episcopal Clergyman 1870-78

CPT Alexander Macomb Miller (1865)

Asst Prof Engineering, USMA 1872-76

Supervised construction of bridges across Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO and Alton, IL

1893-97, in charge of improvement of Galveston Harbor and Bay

1897-98, in charge of defensive works on Lake Champlain, NY; improvements of Burlington Harbor VT

LT Luigi Lomia (1867)

Born in Sicily, emigrated to New York age 13

Taught at USMA (1868-70) later at Ohio State College (1876-81); University of Wisconsin(1885-88); graduate of City College of New York

Retired as Colonel, 1906

Inside Cullum Hall

A Gift that Transformed West Point and the Association of Graduates

By Anthony DiNoto, WPAOG staff

Photos: Jim Smith photography; WPAOG archives

Top: The Grand Ballroom in Cullum Hall houses a unique collection of oil portraits, commemorative plaques, statues and cannon trophies that serve as a tribute to the achievements of West Point’s notable graduates. Above: Cullum Hall, designed by McKim, Mead & White, was completed on December 21, 1898, and was dedicated on June 12, 1900, the date of the 31st Annual Reunion of the AOG.

One year before the formation of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy in 1869, George Cullum, Class of 1833, published the first edition of his three-volume Biographical Register of the Officers of the United States Military Academy, a “record of West Point graduates’ services to the nation, so as to give world-renown to their Alma Mater.” Later, in 1871, Cullum became a member of AOG’s Executive Committee, which he chaired until his death in 1892. It was evident from the earliest days of AOG that Cullum’s legacy would be forever linked to championing the accomplishments of graduates for the glory of West Point.

At its Annual Meetings beginning in 1884, the Association of Graduates discussed the need for a hall for the Association’s use for meetings and to house the many manuscripts, portraits, books and letters that had been given to the organization since its establishment. It was proposed to petition Congress for an appropriation to fund this hall, but the proposal was tabled for several years and debated again in 1887. At that time, AOG members felt that Congress would not be responsive to a funding request, and also felt that the AOG itself could not raise the funds required, and the matter was dropped. It seems that Cullum, however, privately determined to persevere with the project. Upon his death in February 1892, he bequeathed the considerable sum of $250,000 (worth more than $6.5 million in 2018) to the U.S. government for the purpose of erecting a memorial hall at West Point. Furthermore, Cullum wanted AOG to move forward with construction in a timely fashion, and explicitly stated in his will a wish for the memorial hall to be built “at farthest within five years after my death.”

Cullum’s bequest was formally accepted in 1892 by an act of Congress. The architectural firm McKim, Mead & White was selected in 1894 to design the building, and the cornerstone was laid on April 15, 1896. Construction of Cullum Hall was completed in December 1898, and the building was dedicated on June 12, 1900, at the 31st Annual Reunion of the AOG. Cullum Hall was officially opened as a repository honoring deceased graduates through portraits, sculptures, and plaques, and was also the home of the Association of Graduates until 1994, when the Association moved to the Herbert Alumni Center.

When Cullum Hall was dedicated in 1900, the Academy graduated only 54 officers, but by the mid-1980s that number

had passed 1,000 annually. A century after its dedication, Cullum Hall was due for renovations and upgrades. The building had to be reimagined because the Academy had changed so much. In 2014, Cullum Hall was restored to its original splendor, including restoration of the historic 19th century ballroom and Memorial Hall. The lower two floors, originally officers’ quarters, were fully renovated to accommodate USMA club functions. “Memorials change to reflect the needs of the living, and by redesigning Cullum Hall to put the names of those who died in service to their country front and center, it’s a powerful reminder of the Academy’s mission, our sacrifice, and the nation’s need for West Point,” said Colonel Ty Seidule, Head of the Department of History at the United States Military Academy, regarding the 2014 restoration.

The main floor is now the location of the Memorial Room (formerly The Pershing Room) which opens onto the Terrace overlooking the Hudson River. The Memorial Room was dedicated on November 10, 2014 and contains the names of all West Point graduates killed in action from the War of 1812 to the present day Global War on Terror. The Memorial Room also contains a separate wall listing the names of all USMA graduates who have received the Medal of Honor. Today, this inspiring room is often used for ceremonies, receptions or exhibitions.

On the second floor of Cullum Hall, the Grand Ballroom houses a unique collection of oil portraits, commemorative plaques, statues and cannon trophies that serve as a tribute to the achievements of West Point’s notable graduates. The Cullum Hall paintings, under the care of the West Point Museum, are among the most significant of memorial portraits at the Academy. Around the ceiling are carved the names of many historic battles where graduates have served with distinction. Over the years, the number of lights in the ceiling of Cullum Hall has even entered into West Point lore and tradition as one of the many facts of “plebe knowledge” in Bugle Notes that must be memorized (“How many lights in Cullum Hall?”* Answer on page 16).

Today, Cullum Hall remains one of the most richly decorated buildings at West Point and continues to serve the original purpose charted by Cullum in his will—that is, to be the site of social events, military ceremonies, and lectures while honoring the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy. 

Left: Cullum Hall remains one of the most richly decorated buildings at West Point. Right: The Memorial Room contains the names of all West Point graduates killed in action from the War of 1812 to the present day Global War on Terror, along with a separate wall listing the names of all USMA graduates who have received the Medal of Honor.

Who is George W. Cullum (1833)? A Peerless West Point Graduate

Cullum numbers, Cullum Hall, Cullum’s Register, the Thayer grave and monument: George W. Cullum is a unique graduate who left an indelible legacy to West Point and the Association of Graduates. He is one of the faces of the history of the Association of Graduates.

1833: Graduated 3rd in his class of 43 cadets

1848-51; 52-55 USMA Instructor

1864 -66: Served as 16th USMA Superintendent during the conclusion of the Civil War

1868: First edition published of Cullum’s three-volume Biographical Register of the Officers of the United States Military Academy, a “record of West Point graduates’ services to the nation, so as to give world-renown to their Alma Mater.” In it, Cullum assigned each graduate of the Academy a number in order of graduation. This became known as each graduate’s “Cullum number” and continues to this day. The last Cullum number assigned to date is 75403, for a graduate from the Class of 2018.

1869: Cullum is one of 15 graduates present at the Association of Graduates founding meeting in New York City.

1871: Cullum became a member of AOG’s Executive Committee, which he chaired until his death.

1877: Member of Committee to reinter Sylvanus Thayer’s remains at West Point cemetery.

1882: Member of Committee to create Thayer memorial statue at West Point.

1883: Delivers dedication address for Thayer memorial.

1891: Formally presents the third (1890) edition of his Biographical Register at AOG annual meeting.

1892: George Washington Cullum dies.

1894: Bequest of $250K for a Memorial Hall (Cullum Hall) & funds to continue the Register of Graduates announced

Memorial Hall I wish to be a receptacle of statues, busts, mural tablets and portraits of distinguished deceased officers and graduates of the Military Academy, or paintings of battle scenes, trophies of war, and such objects as may tend to give elevation to the military profession; It is also my desire that this Hall should be adapted for use on any ceremonial occasion taking place at West Point, New York, and for the Assemblage and Dinners of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy.”

– Last Will and Testament, paragraph 33, George W. Cullum, Class of 1833 * Plebe knowledge (from page 15): There are 340 lights in Cullum Hall.

“This

WPAOG Staff and Services: Class Services, Reunions and Special Events

Throughout 2019, West Point magazine will feature members of the WPAOG Staff who work behind the scenes to help each and every member of the Long Gray Line. This issue highlights members of the Alumni Support team. The 25-member Alumni Support team is the heartbeat of WPAOG and your center for services assisting West Point Classes, West Point Societies, organized alumni groups, and individual graduates. In addition, Alumni Support includes Career Services, the Rockbound Highland Home Program, and the elegant WPAOG Gift Shop.

Cathy Kilner ’90 Director of Class Services

Responsible for serving 81 living USMA classes. Besides Class Support, the programs which my team and I are responsible for include; the West Point Class Ring Memorial Program or “Ring Melt”, the annual First Class Social, the 50-Year Affiliation Program; Memorial Services, Grad Link WPAOG’s new networking tool for grads, the Rockbound Highland Home Program exclusive services welcoming grads back to West Point, Membership Associate Members and Friends of West Point, and updating the Grad Guide.

How long have you been at WPAOG?

I began working for WPAOG as an Event Temp in 2013. I enjoyed it so much that I applied for the Associate Director of Class Services position, and I am now the Director of Class Services.

How has your role changed / developed over the years?

The Director of Class Support’s role has changed greatly. WPAOG began supporting leaders of the alumni and cadet classes in 1995. That support has grown significantly over the years with the addition of many new programs. Some programs that were initially done in Class Support, like Reunion Support, have grown so much that they now have their own separate department.

How has the advancement of technology helped you in your role?

Grad Link has a wonderful reporting dashboard that gives us on-the-spot updates of our adoption rate. WPAOG’s goal is to be the most highly connected alumni body in the world. We hope to have at least 15 percent of our grads using Grad Link by July 2019. We are already at 13.7 percent and we only rolled out this program six months ago. We are excited that our grads are finding it useful in connecting or reconnecting with fellow graduates.

What are some of the challenges of your position?

There are only 24 hours in a day!

How are you working on celebrating WPAOG’s 150th birthday? We are having a year-long 150th celebration. My team and I will be incorporating the 150th logo in our online and printed material and we have been working with the 150th planning committee. I look forward to reading the all the history that WPAOG will be sharing throughout the year.

What are some memorable moments of your work at WPAOG?

I enjoyed meeting and escorting our oldest living graduate, Colonel Dyke, Class of 1940. Escorting him was definitely a perk of my job! Many of my most memorable moments at WPAOG have been linked with the Class Ring Memorial Program. For instance, Susan Perry donated two of her father’s rings to our Class Ring Memorial Program. The first ring donated was a replacement ring that General Perry had made over 40 years ago after he lost his original ring while doing yard work. That ring was included in the Ring Melt for the Class of 2012. In 2016, a new homeowner found General Perry’s lost ring while also doing yard work. At the Class of 2018’s Ring Melt ceremony, Susan Perry and that new homeowner, John Wallace, placed General Perry’s original class ring into the crucible.

What are your favorite things about working at WPAOG?

I love so many things about my job! I am immensely proud of helping to launch the Rockbound Highland Home Program. That program welcomes graduates back to West Point and will always be near and dear to this Old Grad’s heart! I also love the 50-Year Affiliation Program. As a member of the Class of 1990, I love the fact that I get to help connect our older graduates and our cadets.

Alexis “Lexie” Davis ’04 Director of Alumni Events and Operations

Responsible for Alumni Events and WPAOG’s online registration program and full-service support for more than 12 USMA class reunions.

How long have you been at WPAOG?

I started at WPAOG in April 2012, and we formed the Alumni Events team in 2013.

Photos: submitted; Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG

How has your role changed / developed over the years?

I started as the Associate Director of Class Reunion Support in 2012. That year Alumni Support supported four Classes with our full-service reunion planning support. In 2013, we realized we needed a team dedicated to Alumni Events and a four-member team was formed. In 2014, a total of 10 classes opted for full-service reunion planning support, so we decided to increase our team by adding an Event and Technology Coordinator. In 2018 we supported 13 reunions, and in 2019 we’re looking at possibly supporting all 14 class reunions! Not included in these numbers is that we always support the 75th reunion class with standard support, so our goal is for all of the other 14 classes celebrating reunions in a given year to choose AOG to support their reunion. Our full-time staff also could not pull off a reunion or alumni event alone we started with two Temporary Event Assistants in 2012 and have increased to 14 in 2019!

How has the advancement of technology helped you in your role?

All the events we plan and manage now use the convenience of online event registration, as well as the groups we support with online membership and event registration.

What are some of the challenges of your position?

West Point graduates have such a strong affinity to West Point and to their class, so when one reunion ends, they’re already thinking about the next reunion. We’re also seeing record numbers of attendees, which means increased assistance from answering more questions ahead of time to making sure nine buses depart the hotel on time. How are you working on celebrating WPAOG’s 150th birthday?

The Alumni Events team is instrumental in reuniting Academy graduates with each other and the Academy our team will be responsible for about 3,500 graduates returning just for class reunions in 2019. We’ll promote the 150th in handouts and signage at all 2019 events.

What are some memorable moments of your work at WPAOG?

My most memorable moments are seeing the oldest graduate from a 75th reunion Class laying the wreath at Thayer Statue with the First Captain, seeing graduates reunite with their classmates and spouses who’ve developed relationships over the course of reunions and other events in between reunions reconnect, hearing that it’s the first time a graduate is returning to West Point since graduation and it’s been 20, 30, or 40 years and honored that something they received regarding the reunion inspired them to come back, and seeing the families of our fallen graduates be embraced by their graduate’s class. These things make this work rewarding.

What are your favorite things about working at WPAOG?

I was a Transportation Officer in the Army and love everything about logistics. I love to plan and know that if I do my best work, the Class Reunion Chair and Committee and Class Leadership can relax and enjoy the reunion and reconnect with their classmates without having to worry about the logistics. I love working with graduates who come back to West Point at varying stages in their life and hearing what concerns them and the stories they have to share.

Nicole Vitale Director of Special

Events

Responsible for Special WPAOG conferences and events, including the Alumni Leaders Conference, Thayer Award, Nininger Award, Army-Navy Tailgate, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Conference, and Athena’s Arena Conference

How long have you been at WPAOG?

I have been in this position for five years. Overall, I have been working at WPAOG for 16 years.

How has your role changed / developed over the years?

Event communication and registration have moved online. Sending invitations through email rather than “snail mail” has provided a faster way to connect with constituents and more convenience for graduates.

How has the advancement of technology helped you in your role?

Through leveraging the power of social media, we can engage attendees before, during, and after an event.

What are some of the challenges of your position? Developing new content for programs, securing dynamic guest speakers at events, and learning new trends in the event industry while keeping in mind the traditions of West Point.

How are you working on celebrating WPAOG’s 150th birthday?

Throughout the sesquicentennial year, we are recognizing this anniversary milestone at our award ceremonies and tailgates, and specifically highlighting the WPAOG Leaders Conference dinner as the celebratory dinner in August 2019.

What are some memorable moments of your work at WPAOG?

Helping to plan a wedding proposal at one of our ArmyNavy tailgates was fun and unexpected!

What are your favorite things about working at WPAOG? Planning and executing events such as the Nininger Award and Thayer Award. I’ve really enjoyed working with and having the privilege to meet these recipients, all of whom are humble, gracious, and inspiring leaders to the nation and West Point. 

Photo: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG

“Earn the Moment”: The 2018 Nininger Award Recipient Addresses the Corps

July 2018 was the 10th anniversary of the Battle of Wanat, one of the most well-coordinated and bloodiest Taliban attacks in the U.S. War in Afghanistan. During the battle, more than 200 insurgents conducted a pre-dawn attack on Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler, which had been recently established in the village of Wanat and defended by the soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. For more than four hours, the commander of Chosen Company, then-Captain Matthew Myer ’01, led the defense of this remote base and its observation post against the numerically superior force. According to the narrative accompanying the Silver Star he received for this battle, “Although his company incurred heavy losses in the attack, Captain Myer’s fearless leadership and steady hand ensured that when the smoked cleared and fighting ended, the Chosen Few owned the ground that the enemy sought to take.” Myer, now a lieutenant colonel and currently commander of the 1st Battalion-501st Infantry (Airborne) Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, returned to West Point on September 27 to receive WPAOG’s 2018 Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms.

“Lieutenant Colonel Myer is an incredible leader who is the epitome of the Army’s warrior ethos, and who truly embodies the

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

West Point values of ‘Duty, Honor, Country,’” said Lieutenant General Darryl Williams ’83, Superintendent, in his remarks at the Nininger ceremony.

In his acceptance speech, Myer challenged cadets to learn the deeper meaning of West Point’s motto and to “earn the moment” when its meaning becomes realized in the faces of their soldiers; that is, when they choose the likelihood of death or injury over safety and security. “Never rest, never waiver, never say ‘good enough,’” Myer told the cadets. “Work hard every day to be the leader that earns the honor of seeing in the eyes of a soldier a willingness to follow you into the worst situations, so you see the determination of Duty in their eyes, their example of Honor toward their fellow man, and their love of Country and everything it stands for.”

Asked what he hopes cadets will take away from his speech, Myer said, “Cadets need to understand the pure gift they will be given as officers: America’s sons and daughters.” As the years have passed, Myer noted that his perspective on officer leadership has matured, and he now believes that West Point develops leaders of character not for the leader’s sake but because that is what America’s soldiers deserve. “If you read the full text of MacArthur’s ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ speech, beyond the part you are supposed to memorize, you will see that it is really about

Photo: Bryan Ilyankoff/USMA PAO

Above: LTC Matthew Myer ’01, the 2018 recipient of the 2018 Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms, poses with LTG Darryl Williams ’83, the 60th Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, in front of the Nininger Award plaque in Washington Hall.

soldiers,” Myer told the Corps. “In that moment known only in combat, soldiers show us the importance of doing what we say we are going to do: our Duty … show us how to Honor those before us that shaped us, those that raised us, those that have fallen in battle … show us how great our Country really is, so great that they are willing to repeatedly face death to protect its ideals.”

“His words were very moving and very inspiring, and I think he is the kind of officer all cadets aspire to be,” said Cadet Kyle Murdy ’19, Regimental Command Sergeant Major for 2nd Regiment. “He was put in a situation that none of us wish to be in, but West Point and the Army and the nation expect us to act as he did, and he is an amazing example.”

Myer brought up another amazing example of his own during his speech, First Lieutenant Matt Ferrara ’05, an officer under his command who was killed in action on November 9, 2007 during an ambush in Afghanistan, but not before Ferrara was able to direct air support on the enemy, preserving the life of every soldier in his platoon. “Had he survived, he would be the recipient of the

Nininger Award,” Myer told the cadets. Ferrara’s parents, Mario and Linda Ferrara, and his brother, Captain Andy Ferrara ’10, were present at the Award ceremony, and the Corps honored them with a round of applause when Myer acknowledged Ferrara’s noble act. More examples were also acknowledged during Myer’s speech, including Command Sergeant Major Shane Stockard, Ferrara’s former platoon sergeant, and Ryan Pitts, a staff sergeant within Chosen Company who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Wanat, both of whom attended the Nininger ceremony as Myer’s guests.

Presented annually by the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) and endowed by E. Douglas Kenna ’45 and his wife Jean, the Nininger Award is named for Second Lieutenant Alexander R. Nininger ’41, who fought the enemy to his death during the Battle of Bataan in January 1942 and posthumously received World War II’s first Medal of Honor. In addition to recognizing the Nininger recipient for valor as an individual, WPAOG regards the recipient as representative of all young West Point-commissioned officers who have heroically led soldiers in

Photos: Bryan Ilyankoff/USMA PAO; Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG; need credit

combat. 

Top: LTC Matthew Myer ’01 poses with members of the Corps of Cadets after the Nininger Award dinner. Above, left: LTC Matthew Myer ’01 poses with Mr. Todd Browne ’85, WPAOG President and CEO, and LTG Darryl Williams ’83, Superintendent, after receiving the 2018 Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms medallion.

Above, right: Then CPT Matthew Myer ’01 (L) poses with the lieutenants of Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, April 2008.

“An American Patriot”: The Honorable Leon E. Panetta Receives the 2018 Thayer Award

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG staff

Now in its seventh decade, the West Point Association of Graduates’ Sylvanus Thayer Award began as an idea suggested by the Class of 1931 at their 25th reunion. From the beginning, the purpose of the Thayer Award has been to recognize an American citizen for outstanding character and accomplishments, drawing wholesome comparison with the qualities for which West Point strives. The first Thayer Award was presented to Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence—Nobel laureate, inventor of the cyclotron, and a key member of the Manhattan Project. In ensuing years, the Thayer Award has been presented to scientists and astronauts, jurists and scholars, members of Congress and four former presidents of the United States. According to West Point Association of Graduates Board Chairman Lieutenant General Joseph E. DeFrancisco ’65 (Retired), the 2018 Thayer Award recipient, the Honorable Leon E. Panetta, is a worthy addition to this list.

“Among the attributes shared by all of these recipients are an intense love of country and an untiring effort to make our country better and stronger,” DeFrancisco said in his introduction. “Secretary Panetta is a true American patriot whose actions exemplify the qualities of ‘Duty, Honor, Country,’ and his name among the others on the Thayer Award plaque greatly enriches the prestige of our alma mater.”

In his remarks at the October 4, 2018 Thayer Award ceremony, Lieutenant General Darryl Williams ’83, the 60th Superintendent of West Point, said, “From the halls of Congress to the Pentagon, and in many places in between, Secretary Leon Panetta has dedicated his life to selfless service for our nation and truly embodies the principles of this Academy.”

Panetta’s service began in 1964, when he joined the U.S. Army, commissioning as a second lieutenant of the Military Intelligence Corps. After leaving the Army and working as a legislative assistant to Thomas Kuchel, the U.S. Senate Minority Whip from California, he was appointed director of the Office of Civil Rights in the Nixon Administration. In 1976, Panetta was elected to represent California’s 16th Congressional District, starting a 16-year career in Congress. He left Congress in 1993, when President Bill Clinton selected him to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Clinton approached Panetta again in 1994 to become his chief of staff, a position he held until January 1997. After serving in the White House, Panetta and his wife, Sylvia, returned to their home state and founded the Panetta Institute for Public Policy on the campus of California State University, Monterey Bay. In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Panetta to be director of the Central Intelligence

Agency, where he supervised the operation to find and bring the terrorist Osama bin Laden to justice. Two years later, Obama nominated Panetta as Secretary of Defense, where he led efforts to develop a new defense strategy, conduct critical counterterrorism operations, strengthen U.S. alliances, and open military service opportunities to Americans regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

“I can’t tell you how humbling it is to be included among the roster of recipients for this award, many of whom are the greatest legends of our times,” Panetta said in his Thayer Award acceptance speech. He particularly highlighted the 2002 recipient, the American Soldier, dedicating his award to the men and women who are “standing watch, ready to fight at moment’s notice to defend America’s security and preserve the blessings of liberty for all of us.” Panetta continued, “For more than two centuries, our democracy had survived because of our soldiers’ commitment to Duty and Honor and Country.”

Photo: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG

The Honorable Leon E. Panetta addresses the Corps of Cadets upon receiving the 2018 Sylvanus Thayer Award.

Photos: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG

Top: The Honorable Leon E. Panetta posses with LTG Darryl Williams ’83, 60th USMA Superintendent; CSM Jack Love, 20th USMA Command Sergeant Major; and the USCC Brigade Staff.

Above, left: LTG (R) Joseph DeFrancisco ’65, WPAOG Chairman, and LTG Darryl Williams ’83, 60th USMA Superintendent, present the 2018 Sylvanus Thayer Award to the Honorable Leon E. Panetta. Above, right: The Honorable Leon E. Panetta troops the line with LTG Darryl Williams ’83, 60th USMA Superintendent, during a review of the Corps of Cadets assembled in formation on the Plain in his honor.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Visits West Point for Zengerle Family Lecture

By MAJ Derek Brown ’07, Guest writer

On September 20, 2018, the West Point community welcomed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the Third Annual Zengerle Family Lecture in the Arts and Humanities. In Eisenhower Hall Theatre, a large audience of more than 2,200 cadets and approximately 1,000 faculty, staff, and guests gathered to hear Justice Ginsburg speak with Brigadier General Cindy Jebb ’82, Dean of the Academic Board .

Photo: Michael lopez/USMA PAO

Above: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and BG Cindy Jebb ’82, Dean of the Academic Board, engage in a dialogue at Eisenhower Hall Theatre for the 2018 Zengerle Lecture.

Inspired and supported by Joseph Zengerle (Class of 1964) and his wife, Lynda, the Zengerle Family Lecture series has previously welcomed the President of Harvard University, Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, and National Book Award recipient, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. In introducing Ginsburg and Jebb, Colonel David Harper, Head of the Department of English and Philosophy, noted that the lecture series asks us to grapple with challenging perspectives and ideas. This event, Harper declared, “[celebrates] the way a broad liberal arts education develops leaders of character” and “equips us to participate in the hard work of democracy.” The conversation between Ginsburg and Jebb was an enjoyable, cordial, and wide-ranging discussion of Justice Ginsburg’s contribution to our nation’s legal and social history, as well as of her personal story in a changing nation.

Many in the audience seemed surprised to learn a particular aspect of Ginsburg’s inspiring story: she and her husband Marty lived at Fort Sill, Oklahoma between their college and law school years. Ginsburg worked for the post engineer troop supply as a GS2, or as she noted with a touch of wry humor, “as low as you can go.” The family lived at Artillery Village during a time of great racial tension. The justice recalled how “the schools on post were integrated, but the schools in town were not.” Yet Fort Sill offered some countervailing “delights”: most notably, the commissary prices and the post nursery.

There were other reminders that Ginsburg embarked on her storied career in a very different time—an era that might well have foreclosed the legal career of a promising female lawyer.

Ginsburg noted that she “[wouldn’t have minded] being a high school teacher…but [she] had a professor at Cornell who wanted [her] to appreciate that [she] was living in a time when our nation was straying from its most basic values.” Despite her family’s reservations, Ginsburg pursued a legal career after seeing “lawyers [stand] up for the people who were called to the committees and reminding Congress that we have a first amendment that says we can think, speak, and write as we believe with no big brother to punish us.” Even so, the young Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to face the challenge of starting law school when her first child was 14 months old. Her father-in-law provided life-long encouragement when he told her: “Ruth, if you don’t want to be a lawyer—if you don’t want to go to law school—no one will think less of you, but if you do want to be a lawyer; you will pick yourself up and you will find a way.” Ginsburg entered Harvard Law School in 1956 as one of nine women among over 500 men.

The workforce at the time was no friendlier to women than the university system. It was difficult to secure the “all important” first job. Yet Ginsburg noted that “If you got the job, you did it as least as well as the men so getting the second job wasn’t the same hurdle.” As she reflected on her biography with a remarkably trenchant objectivity—it cannot have been easy to live through the challenges she described—Ginsburg noted that it was good to be a humanrights lawyer at a time “when society was prepared to listen.” Her barrier-breaking work in the 1970s, fighting for the equal rights of women, was made possible because “people were living differently, and the law was catching up to the change in society.”

Under careful questioning from Brigadier General Jebb, Ginsburg offered an incisive discussion of some of her most famous cases, with a particular interest in military cases addressing gender discrimination. During the 1970s, as a lawyer bringing cases before the Supreme Court, Ginsburg “aimed to eliminate all the covert gender-based classifications.” In Frontiero

v. Richardson, Sharron Frontiero, a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, fought to receive housing allowance and medical care for her newly wedded husband. Housing allowance was only available to men at the time, with what Ginsburg described as the “presumption that the man is the bread winner—the head of the household—and if a woman is working, she is just a second wage earner.” In Struck v. Secretary of Defense, Air Force Captain Susan Struck fought to protect her reproductive rights. As a nurse in Vietnam, Struck became pregnant and “the rule in the Armed Forces at that time was if you get pregnant—you are out.” Struck was pressured to get an abortion by her command, but shortly after the Supreme Court took the case, the Solicitor General directed the Air Force to wave her discharge and change the rule. As Ginsburg noted, Struck “remained in the Air Force and became one of the first nurse-practitioners.” In United States v. Virginia, a storied 1996 case, after Ruth Bader Ginsburg had joined the bench of the Supreme Court, the federal government told the state of Virginia “you cannot make an education facility [VMI] available to members of one sex and exclude the other.”

According to Ginsburg, the decision in the VMI case was possible because West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy had “paved the way” with “20 years of welcoming women.”

Aside from sharing her journey as a jurist, Ginsburg offered some personal advice for cadets: “the career they are pursuing is essential to the well-being of our country.” At West Point, they should learn “collegiality,” and to “care for the people that are working with [them].”

Photo: Michael lopez/USMA PAO

CDTs Seth Sowalskie ’19 and Ashley Salgado-Padin ’19 present Justice Ginsburg with a framed facsimile of the cover of the 1915 100th Night musical score entitled “The Grand Strategy: A Musical Comedy in Three Acts.” The selection was inspired by Ginsburg’s passion for opera and musical performance.

Demonstrating that same collegiality and care, Ginsburg spent time throughout the rest of the day meeting cadets. In the Haig Room at Jefferson Hall, she enjoyed musical performances by the Jazz Forum (led by Cadet Courtney Schrade ’20) and classical music from the Orchestra Club (cellist Cadet Dion Perinon ’20) before speaking individually with members of the Cadet Fine Arts Forum, the Honor Board, the Department of Law, and the Department of History. Her generosity and energy offered a tacit lesson in just how she has achieved so much for so many years. Her visit to West Point, attended by Joseph and Lynda Zengerle, as well as their children and grandchildren, offered an edifying and finally personal testament to the remarkable life and career of one of America’s iconic public figures.

The Zengerle Family Lecture Series in the Arts and Humanities is an annual lecture series endowed by Mr. Joseph Zengerle ’64 in honor of his wife, Lynda, and their two sons, Tucker and Jason. The lecture brings a leading figure in the arts and humanities to West Point each year to enhance faculty and cadet intellectual development, facilitate interdisciplinary scholarship, and bridge the civil-military divide by inviting important and diverse voices in the arts and humanities to address a military audience.  Major Derek Brown ’07 is an instructor in the West Point Department of English and Philosophy, where he teaches core courses in composition and literature. He is an Aviation officer from San Antonio, Texas and holds a Master of Arts in English Literature from Texas A&M University.

Photos: Matthew Moeller, Michael Lopez/USMA PAO

Right: Justice Ginsburg meets with Joseph Zengerle ’64 and his wife Lynda prior to the Zengerle Family Lecture. Below: Justice Ginsburg talks with Cadets Paris Taylor ‘20 (left), Lauren Clark ’21 (middle), and Christina Huynh ’22 (right) from the Cadet Fine Arts Forum during her interactive tour in the Haig Room at Jefferson Hall. Ginsburg also met with cadets from the Honor Committee, the Department of Law, and the Department of History.

Grads Spoke, We Listened: WPAOG’s New Enhanced Career Services

In every recent survey the West Point Association of Graduates has conducted, graduates have told us one type of support that they want most from WPAOG is career services. “The one guarantee in our graduates’ lives now is that they are going to need a job when they transition from the military,” says Miguel Gutierrez ’80, WPAOG’s Director of Career Services. But WPAOG’s new program is not only for those transitioning from the military. In today’s professional environment, grads are likely to switch jobs multiple times during their careers, re-entering the job market at different stages of their lives. To respond to our graduates’ needs, WPAOG has created a new, enhanced Career Services program.

As part of its mission to serve the Long Gray Line, WPAOG has long offered Career Services to alumni. For example, since 1994, WPAOG has partnered with the other federal service academies to offer the quarterly Service Academy Career Conference (SACC), a job fair exclusively for service academy grads. WPAOG has also offered limited assistance for career search, networking, and interviewing—but the new enhancements now being rolled out will bring the program to the next level.

WPAOG has launched a partnership with Korn Ferry, a top global executive search firm, to offer professional career counseling tools to West Point graduates, designed to help them prepare for a successful job search. Through a program called “Korn Ferry Advance,” grads will have access to career coaches and tools designed to help them navigate towards a new job, a promotion, or a new industry.

Korn Ferry Advance offers a portfolio of customized services designed to prepare candidates for every aspect of the job search: self-assessment (psychometric analysis), resume preparation, personal coaching, interview preparation and compensation counseling. The self-assessment module provides an individually tailored analysis that examines four key dimensions affecting job performance and career satisfaction: Traits (aptitudes, personality), Drivers (values, interests and motivators), Competencies (Skills and behaviors), and Experiences (functional experience and expertise). This analysis is then used during one-on-one coaching sessions with Korn Ferry’s career experts. These experts will provide grads with advice on a spectrum of issues, from understanding how their military skill sets translate to a civilian environment, to writing a successful resume that will pass a company’s “gate-keeper” technology that scans for appropriate keywords. Korn Ferry Advance also offers interview preparation (available via smartphone, tablet, or computer) and compensation counseling to assist with salary negotiation.

After completing the Korn Ferry Advance program, which is designed to be self-paced, grads are paired with a member of the WPAOG Career Services team, who will assist in the next stage of the job search, namely developing a plan and networking. The Career Services team is comprised of three West Point graduates— Gutierrez, Scott Leishman ’77, and Julia Ruddock ’07—who are deeply aware of candidates’ strengths, based on their own West Point and Army experiences, and the challenges and opportunities

Photo: Dreamstime; Pexels; WPAOG archives

candidates are likely to encounter while looking for a job, based on their extensive experience in recruiting and placement. The Career Services team also understands employer needs in a range of industries. “We meet with a company’s recruiting staff and we get a feel for that company’s corporate culture and its appreciation for West Point and Army talent,” Gutierrez says. “This will help grads make an informed decision as to which company best fits their situation and needs.” And helping grads obtain a top-notch, long-lasting placement, one that works both for them and for the company, is the ultimate focus of WPAOG’s new enhanced Career Services program.

Complementing WPAOG’s new team of career services experts will be a variety of supports that leverage the power of the West Point network across corporations and industries, and in regions around the U.S. and worldwide. The WPAOG team is hard at work building relationships with employers seeking to hire USMA grads. In addition, WPAOG is building an Industry Network—a corps of graduate “industry advisors” who can offer tailored advice to job-seeking grads, as well as leveraging our Geographic Network of regional graduate advisors operating through local West Point Societies. In this way, WPAOG serves as the “hub” of the network, forging connections between job seekers, employers, and grads who serve as industry and geographic advisors willing to help fellow members of the Long Gray Line. WPAOG’s Career Services team will continue to support the successful SACC job fairs, but the enhanced service programs will be able to deliver so much more to graduates. “Our enhanced program will guide our grads through the process to become successful job seekers and help them gain access to opportunities within companies we’ll know well,” says Gutierrez, “and the best part is that WPAOG will stay with the grad at every step along the way.”

“Our hope is that this program becomes entrepreneurial and grows an ever-expanding circle,” says Gutierrez. “If we do our job right, we strengthen our bond with the company, and the hired grad becomes a resource who’d be willing to help future grads seeking a position within the company, thereby expanding the outreach of WPAOG’s Career Services program.” This goal is another step toward fulfilling WPAOG’s vision to become the most highly connected alumni body in the world.

With its enhancements, WPAOG’s Career Services program is going far beyond SACC to offer grads an essential and valuable service. According to Terence Sinkfield ’99, WPAOG’s Vice President of Alumni Support, “We are committed to one mission: helping grads – and when they are seeking a job there is no greater need.” Combining the Korn Ferry Advance process with WPAOG’s multiple networks and professional career experts, who have an in-depth understanding of alumni candidates and employer needs, will result in outstanding matches. Or, as Sinkfield says, “The best candidates and the best companies: a winning combination.” 

For more information on this program, please contact a member of WPAOG’s Career Services team at careers@wpaog.org

Photo: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG

WPAOG serves as the “hub” of the network, forging connections between job seekers, employers, and grads who serve as industry and geographic advisors willing to help fellow members of the Long Gray Line.

WPAOG Career Services Team L to R: Scott Leishman ’77, Julia Ruddock ’07, and Director Miguel Gutierrez ’80.

“Loyalty is a cohesive force that forges individuals into a team.” —John Wooden

Photo: CDT Caleb Kifer ’20/USMA PAO

THREE-PEAT!

ARMY BEATS NAVY 17-10

For the third straight year, the Army West Point football team defeated their rival, Navy (this year by a score of 17-10), and claimed the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the program’s history. With its third consecutive win over Navy, Army secured the longest winning streak against the Midshipmen since 1994-96.

Army set the tone early after going 82 yards on the opening drive of the game. Kell Walker ’20 had a 51-yard run which set up Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. ’20 for a short touchdown run one play later. Both teams then traded possession for the remainder of the half, but Army maintained their 7-0 lead and shutout Navy— their fifth first-half shutout this season.

Navy started the second half with a 3-and-out drive, allowing Army to quickly regain possession and move the ball down to the 12-yard line, though the Black Knights had to settle for a 33-yard field goal, bringing the score to 10-0.

In the fourth quarter, Navy eventually scored a touchdown, making it 10-7 Army. Soon after, the Black Knights sacked Navy’s quarterback and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Kenneth Brinson ’19. On the next drive, Hopkins Jr. scored his second touchdown of the game and brought the score to 17-7 with just three minutes remaining.

Late in the fourth quarter, Navy mounted a comeback and converted on a 46-yard field goal and cut Army’s lead to 17-10. After Navy’s failed on-side kick, Army secured the win as the clock ran out on the next and final play.

Hopkins Jr. was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after rushing for 64 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his total touchdowns for the season to 12. Hopkins Jr. also competed 4 of 9 passes for 61 yards.

Walker led in receiving with two catches for 30 yards, while the Army defense limited Navy to just 10 points, their best defensive performance against the Midshipmen since 1987. Jaylon

McClinton was the defensive star of the night, forcing two fumbles and an interception.

The pageantry of “America’s Game” is unmatched by any other sporting event in the country, and the legendary rivalry between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen is said to be the greatest in all of sports. Each year, the two finest service academies go head-to-head for the most coveted of bragging rights, as cadets, parents, fans and U.S. Army leadership unite for a display of gridiron grit that has kept Americans on the edge of their seats for the past 120 years. ★

Photo: Michelle Eberhart/USMA PAO

Photos: CDT Amanda Lin, Brandon O’Connor/USMA PAO

Photos: CDT Isabela Vargas; CDT Robert Norwood; USMA PAO

WPAOG THANKS OUR TAILGATE SPONSORS:

Photos: Michelle Eberhart; Brandon O’Connor/USMA

PAO; CDT Robert Norwood

ARMY WINS 2018 ARMED FORCES BOWL 70-14

Photos: Danny Wild; USMA PAO

On December 22, 2018, Army West Point became the 2018 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Champions with a resounding 70-14 win over the University of Houston Cougars at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. With the win, Army became the first three-time bowl champion in the bowl’s history.

The sold-out bowl victory capped off a record 2018 season for the Black Knights, coming just two weeks after Army beat Navy to claim the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for the second time in back-to-back seasons. The Black Knights finished the season 11-2, becoming the first team in Army history to win three Armed Forces Bowl games (2010, 2017, 2018), and posting their second-straight Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl victory. It was Army’s fourth consecutive bowl win (2010, 2016, 2017, 2018) and sixth bowl win overall as a program. For more details, play-by-play summaries, and game highlights, visit GoArmyWestPoint.com. ★

Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, Network Enterprise Technology Command, Electronic Proving Ground, and Information Systems Engineering Command (among others). Pointing to the installation as an example of the interdisciplinary power of the U.S. Army, Milley said, “We have to modernize and improve our current capabilities and adapt to what we predict will be a future operating environment…that translates into readiness at some point in the future, say 10 to 20 years from now.”

The United States Military Academy at West Point is moving forward toward such readiness with the proposed design of a new, interdisciplinary Cyber and Engineering Academic Center (CEAC). A vital part of USMA’s Academic Building Update Program (ABUP), a decade-long modernization effort that will allow the Academy to reorganize its traditional development areas (academic, military, physical) in order to enhance program delivery and mission execution, CEAC will house the departments of Civil & Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS), and Systems Engineering. Cadet research within CEAC will innovatively integrate the physical, digital, and biological spheres, and the technology employed in this research (cyber connectivity, biotechnology, energy sustainability, autonomous machinery, 3D printing, sensors, artificial intelligence, and more) will help prepare cadets for the operating environment in which future officers will operate. According to Dr. Led Klosky, Professor of Civil Engineering, CEAC will be a future-focused modern academic facility that will enable and inspire the kinds of collaboration across disciplines that simply cannot happen now in the current academic spaces used by the above departments. Thayer Hall, for example, the present home of EECS, is a 105-year-old retrofitted riding hall, and is ill-equipped to handle the power and HVAC loads of modern computers.

The 136,000-square-foot CEAC will be built near the south end of Thayer Road, across from Mahan Hall and immediately south of Building 606, the future site of the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The federal government has committed more than $200 million to the CEAC project, but three architectural enhancements paid for via Margin of Excellence private funds will be force multipliers in helping CEAC achieve its goal of connecting people, spaces, ideas, and projects across disciplines.

In 2017, during a visit to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, General Mark Milley, 39th Chief of Staff of the Army, spoke about the readiness of the current force and the pressing need of modernizing for the future.

Above

left: An overall view of CEAC, the first new academic facility to be built at West Point in over a decade. CEAC will support STEM programs as well as serving as a new approach to Central Area. Left: CEAC’s three-story, light-filled atrium will provide collaborative work space for cadets and faculty and allow guests to view the work being done within the glass-walled labs, notably the Robotics High Bay (see page 41), that surround its space.

CEAC Margin of Excellence Enhancements

THE GATEWAY: Connecting Mahan Hall to CEAC, the Gateway will form an iconic entrance to the Academy by respecting the USMA military-gothic tradition that has become an enduring symbol of strength and excellence for West Point, the American landmark. The indoor connection of the Gateway (between Mahan’s 3rd floor and CEAC’s 2nd floor) will contain 4,500 square feet of program space for cadet collaboration. Outdoors, atop the bridge, the Gateway will offer another 5,000 square feet that can be used to host functions or informal gatherings between cadets and visitors amidst inspirational views of Central Post and the Hudson Valley.

 THE OVERLOOK: Connecting CEAC to Building 606, the Overlook is designed to be an architectural reflection of the Gateway, providing the essential western element of a newly formed Quad (with Mahan Hall to the east, CEAC to the south, and Building 606 to the north). An indoor pedestrian connection

between CEAC and 606 and a planned overhead outdoor walkway that is the twin of the Gateway, the Overlook will be ABUP’s realization of a daily “commuter route” for cadets from Central Post to the new Engineering Complex (606, Mahan, and CEAC), and an indispensable element of cadet daily life.

 THE REDOUBT: Similar to the ever-evolving battlefield that forces West Point graduates to constantly adapt, innovate, and problem-solve, CEAC’s 4th-floor Redoubt, with its spectacular views of the Hudson River, will feature more than 5,000 square feet of highly adaptable space that can be reconfigured to support a wide variety of activities, from colloquia and technology-rich presentations to real-time video conferences with military personnel spread throughout the world. Whether hosting wargames, design events, or head-to-head cyber competitions, the Redoubt will meet the Army’s evolving needs for a multipurpose venue to support simulation, communication, and collaboration.

Images:

“We have to modernize and improve our current capabilities and adapt to what we predict will be a future operating environment…that translates into readiness at some point in the future, say 10 to 20 years from now.”

—GEN Mark Milley, 39th Chief of Staff of the Army

Above (1): The Gateway will connect CEAC to Mahan Hall. Above right (2): The Overlook will connect CEAC to Building 606 and offer views to a newly formed quad. Right (3): The Redoubt will feature more than 5,000 square feet of highly flexible space on CEAC’s 4th floor. Below right (3): One of three prime interior spaces of CEAC’s 4th floor, the North Redoubt will seat approximately 60 people for conferences and presentations.

When complete, CEAC will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to advance West Point’s competitive position as a worldclass institution on the cutting edge of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). USMA proudly prioritizes STEM concepts and innovation in all that it does, which is reflected in its ranking among the top four “Best Undergraduate Engineering Program” in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” issue. In response to rapidly changing technology in the modern world, on the battlefield, and throughout the Army at large, CEAC will reflect West Point’s growing leadership in the development and application of STEM-based solutions to the most difficult global challenges. Among other initiatives, CEAC will strengthen the quality of STEM education at the Academy; attract STEM talent for West Point, the Army, and the nation; integrate STEM knowledge and skills across fields; and enable cadets, faculty, industry partners, and military leaders to quickly synthesize and share massive quantities of data, test prototypes, strategize STEM innovations, evaluate ethical considerations, and more.

“The bottom line is that the Cyber and Engineering Academic Center at West Point will directly support General Milley’s vision of a technically competent force that can tackle complex problems,” says Klosky. “This proposed academic facility is an investment that will pay great dividends toward the Army’s need for technical competence in the officer corps, especially with the ongoing growth of the Cyber Branch, which is accessing the majority of its officers from West Point.” 

Photo: Michelle Eberhart/USMA PAO; Image: Jacobs

The Robotics High Bay (top), part of CEAC’s Robotics Complex, will allow cadets to test their automated engineering designs, such as those recently seen on Projects Day (above), in a controlled indoor environment.

Gripping Hands

2004

Harrison Named White House Fellow

On October 15, MAJ Michael Harrison ’04 was named as a 20182019 White House Fellow, placed in the Office of the Vice President of the United States. The prestigious White House Fellows program provides professionals from diverse backgrounds with an opportunity to engage in public service for one year by serving in various roles in Federal government. The highly competitive selection process is based on a record of professional accomplishment, leadership skills, the potential for further growth, and a commitment to public service. Selected individuals spend a year working as full-time, paid fellows to senior White House Staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and other top-ranking government officials. Learn more about the program at: fellows.whitehouse.gov/.

2009 2011

Downing Scholars Class of 2021

MAJ Craig Nelson ’06, CPT Jon Chachula ’09, CPT Paul Erickson ’11, CPT Nicholas Lewis-Walls ’10, and CPT Tyler Martin ’09 were selected for the West Point Combating Terrorism Center’s General Wayne A. Downing Scholarship program, which offers select Army Officers from all commissioning sources in the Maneuver, Fires, and Effects branches the opportunity to attend a fully funded graduate education program at top-tier universities around the globe. The program provides horizon-broadening educational programs and immersion experiences centered on issues of terrorism, insurgency, and other threats to our nation’s security.

General Officer Announcements

Reappointed to the rank of general and assigned as Commander, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea, Republic of Korea:

GEN Robert B. Abrams ’82

Appointed to the rank of general and assigned as Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, FL:

LTG Richard D. Clarke ’84

Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General:

COL Tina B. Boyd ’89, USAR

COL Ernest Litynski ’94, USAR

COL Paul T. Stanton ’95

Photo: submitted

“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

Winning the Moments

By Kim McDermott ’87, WPAOG staff

In December 2009, West Point named Russell Payne as the eleventh head coach of Men’s Soccer. “It is a tremendous honor,” said Payne. “West Point is our nation’s top institution and the traditions here run as deep as they come. Army has the ability to attract the highest caliber student-athletes, and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to re-establish the Men’s Soccer program’s presence on the national scene and to develop a culture that reflects the prestige and rich tradition represented by all who have called West Point home.” Prior to his appointment, West Point was not on Payne’s radar. He was in his fifth season as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland, his alma mater, when Army contacted him during a national search for a new head coach. Payne’s brother had been an ROTC cadet, but he had very little familiarity with the military. He consulted a former teammate of his from Maryland (who was an Army officer) who told him he should consider it because the values emphasized at the Academy lined up with who he was. The rest, as they say, is history. He visited for an interview and discovered “amazing people and a beautiful campus.” He was excited that Army was committed to reinvesting in the program, and he did indeed think West Point was a good fit. He said, “My wife and I got a great feeling from all the people here and we are looking forward to becoming part of the West Point family.”

Top: Forward/Midfielder Keenan O’Shea ’20 dribbles past a Lehigh defender.

Above: Goalkeeper Justin Stoll ’20 gets set to boot the ball up the field.

In fact, West Point seemed a lot like home. It reminded him very much of his roots in Columbia, Maryland—what he calls the “original planned community.” It was a suburban environment, a highly diverse neighborhood, where everyone had appreciation for community, and education was very important. “This is hard to find,” he says, but he found it at West Point. He especially loves that his family and his players are extremely close. His children come to practice as often as they can, and he says, “My kids have 25 big brothers!”

What did Payne bring to the program? He believes the story of Army West Point Men’s Soccer is consistency. He maintains a constant approach to everything, from use of terminology to practice. Fidelity in all the small things provides a stable foundation for success. He says this is especially important when setbacks occur. This season, the program has encountered unforeseen challenges and injuries which have “affected the ability to be whole all of the time.” But when everyone shares a common understanding of what’s going on, what to do and when to do it, success can follow. Team captain Grayson Naquin ’19 says, “Coach Payne’s approach is very simple yet effective, since he is consistent with his demands of excellence in all areas of life, and this translates to the field.”

Payne echoes what other coaches have said about coaching at West Point. He says, “It’s easy.” Not because coaching is easy, but because the same things the players are learning in the locker room are reinforced everywhere else. Whether it’s about individual performance or teamwork, the cadets are receiving consistent messages from faculty and leadership. “It’s great that the values and belief systems that I came with are the same as what West Point teaches every day.” Naquin adds, “Although the ‘lingo’ we use in our locker room may be slightly tailored towards soccer, our values are quite synonymous with those that West Point seeks to instill.”

When asked what impresses him most about cadets, Payne is quick to respond with two attributes: their adaptability and resiliency. He realizes that many, if not most, come to the Academy unsure about what they are fully capable of. “But put in an environment full of high-level thinkers and operating under stress they learn they can do more—that’s impressive! They all dig in and work together and mostly all of them make it! This is very different from a scenario when only the strongest survive.” Team Captain Tyler Mitchiner ’20 says, “There are many team settings within our companies and classrooms that require the same amount of detail regarding teamwork, motivation, and leadership. I think the constant exposure to these environments is what most prepares cadets for future challenges outside of West Point.”

Head coach Russell Payne addresses the team during a walkthrough in San Diego, CA.

“Army has the ability to attract the highest caliber student-athletes, and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to re-establish the men’s soccer program’s presence on the national scene…”

Russell Payne, Army West Point Men’s Soccer Head Coach

Did you know?

The Army-Navy Cup is currently the premier event in men’s college soccer.

The Army-Navy Cup was launched in 2012 in Philadelphia, to build off the tradition of the annual football game typically played there.

The Philadelphia Union (Major League Soccer Team) is a primary host of the game which is played in their venue, Talen Energy Stadium.

Attendance grew from 3,500 in year one to 10,000 by year four. Total attendance over the last five matches has exceeded 40,000.

The 2018 game was a special one as Army West Point fought back from a one goal deficit to win the match 4-1, the biggest margin of victory in the series.

Army now leads the series prior to the October 12, 2018 game, each team had a 2-2-2 record.

How, specifically, does the team work together in this way? The driving philosophy is, “Win the moment.” Mitchiner says the team adheres to this every day. “The game is made up of small moments. We emphasize focusing on winning the current moment and nothing else. Once that moment is over, move on to winning the next one. These moments add up, and if a team can win the individual moments consistently, then they will be successful. This winning-the-moment mentality can also be useful off the field in everyday life.”

Payne gives the team a model called the Performance Pentagon which addresses the fundamental ways that the players can make this happen. Players need to work on their hearts, mind and body— which equate to commitment, concentration and conditioning. They also need to focus on relationships and teamwork—equating to communication and cooperation. Strength in these areas helps them face all the tests that teach them how to win the moments and get better every day.

Two major events for the team are coming up in the spring, and each is important in its own way. The first is a Spring Break trip in March. This will be the team’s first ever foreign tour to the U.K. Players will

Photo: ODIA

“We emphasize focusing on winning the current moment and nothing else. Once that moment is over, move on to winning the next one… if a team can win the individual moments consistently, then they will be successful.”

Russell Payne, Army West Point Men’s Soccer Head Coach

have the opportunity to train and play with Premier League teams in Premier League venues. Payne is excited that the cadets will get to see the game played at the highest level. It will be a blend of cultural immersion and a bonding experience and will allow them to “make the most of their (nine months long) out-of-season time.” Mitchiner is excited to represent West Point overseas.

The other event is Alumni Weekend, May 3-5, 2019. Per Payne, it’s important to alumni who will get to “revisit their bonds and have an opportunity to reconnect with each other around a common passion.” But he notes that it’s also important for the cadets. He says, “They gain perspective on their time here when they see how the alumni are so connected—they learn that they need to make the most of their time together.”

Naquin describes the current team’s modus operandi as a deep respect for each other, the program, and the Academy. He says, “Being a part of the Army Men's Soccer team is a blessing few possess, and we take pride in the opportunity to put on our jersey every game. When we put our jerseys on, we all commit to excellence for each other, those who have worn our jersey before us (represented by the number on our backs), as well the Academy itself (represented by the logo on the front).” And, Mitchiner adds, “We love what we do.” 

To learn about how you can support the Men’s Soccer program or any Army West Point team, please contact Jonathan Rodak, Associate Director, Army A Club Annual Giving at 845.446.1542 or jonathan.rodak@wpaog.org or visit WestPointAOG.org/supportarmymenssoccer.

Balfour can replace Class Rings, miniatures, and wedding bands for the above listed back dated classes. Contact Jayne Roland at Balfour.

Army West Point Men’s Soccer poses with the Army-Navy Cup after defeating Navy 4-1 on October 12, 2018.

WPAOG Annual Meeting Election Results

At the WPAOG Annual Meeting on November 20, 2018, the following members were elected to positions on the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council to serve their terms from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021:

DIRECTORS

Charles C. Correll Jr. ’89

Kate Ward Shattuck ’96

John H. Northrop ’72

Scott M. Sauer ’86

Guy C. Swan III ’76

ADVISORS-AT-LARGE

Sahm D. Cho ’11

Douglass S. Heckman ’81

John R. Martin ’74

Craig D. Morrow ’91

David E. Palamar ’82

Kathryn K. Pegues ’02

Announcement of WPAOG 2019 Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the membership of the West Point Association of Graduates shall take place on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 5pm Eastern Time at the Herbert Alumni Center, West Point, New York. At the Annual Meeting, the 2019 election of members of the Board of Directors and at-large members of the Advisory Council shall take place. Information on the nomination process for Director and Advisor-at-Large positions is published at West PointAOG.org/nominationpolicy.

WPAOG Hosts Annual Cadet Class Officer Luncheon

On September 17, 2018, WPAOG hosted a luncheon for cadet class officers from the Classes of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. At the luncheon, cadets met with various members of WPAOG as well as staff members from the Academy with whom they will work (Directorate of Cadet Activities, the Cadet Hostess, Officers in Charge, and Advisors) in their officer roles. The goal of the luncheon was to provide class officers the opportunity to interact with WPAOG staff and engage in meaningful discussions on how WPAOG serves them, as well as how they can serve their classmates now and in the decades ahead.

USMA 1988 Reunion Gift Supports ACI, Summer Leaders Experience

During the Army vs. Hawaii game on September 15, 2018, the Class of 1988 presented a 30th Reunion Gift of $1,500,000 to support the Directorate of Admissions Summer Leaders Experience Program and the Cyber Research Center. David Clonts, David and Cynthia Kim, and Chuck Ahner presented the gift on behalf of the class to Todd Browne ’85, President and CEO of the West Point Association of Graduates. Thank you to the Class of 1988 for its outstanding support of West Point—No Task Too Great!

Photos: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG

Class of 1998 Gift Supports Modern War Institute

During the Homecoming Army vs. Miami (OH) game on October 20, 2018, the Class of 1998 presented a 20th Reunion Gift of $250,000 to support the Modern War Institute. Class President Kirk Brinker and Fundraising Chairman Ray Fields presented the gift on behalf of the class to LTG Darryl A. Williams ‘83, 60th Superintendent, CSM Jack H. Love, and WPAOG President and CEO Todd Browne ’85. Thank you to the Class of 1998 for its outstanding support of West Point and the Margin of Excellence!

Class of 1993 Gift Supports Cyber Research Center, Army Baseball

On November 2, 2018, during the Academy Leader Team briefing at Eisenhower Hall, the Class of 1993, in recognition of their 25th reunion, presented a check for $500,000 to LTG Darryl A. Williams ’83, 60th Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, and Todd Browne ’85, President and CEO of the West Point Association of Graduates. The gift supports the Cyber Research Center and the Army West Point Baseball Team. Representing the class was Yale F. Levin, President of the class. Thank you to the Class of 1993 for its commitment to West Point and the Corps of Cadets!

Grip Hands! Popular Grad Link Network Continues to Grow

Since the launch of WPAOG’s new Grad Link initiative, we have received tremendously positive feedback on this personal networking app exclusively for West Point grads, which now boasts over 7,200 users! It’s a great tool to have for reunions,

WPAOG Hosts Annual Firstie Social for USMA 2019

Founders Day, or professional networking. Access this secure platform today through the Google Play Store, Apple App Store or with your web browser. Grad Link is your gateway to connecting with fellow graduates!

More than 350 First Class cadets gathered at Herbert Alumni Center in early October for WPAOG’s “Firstie Social,” sponsored by the Class of 1996. This annual event provides an opportunity for the First Class cadets to socialize, meet the WPAOG team, and learn more about the WPAOG mission to serve cadets, graduates, and the Long Gray Line.

West Point Magazine Digital Archives Available Online

West Point, our flagship publication, is published quarterly and sent free of charge to all alumni, widowed spouses of graduates, and parents of current West Point cadets. Thanks to all our readers who participated in our recent online survey—we appreciate your feedback! Did you know that all past West Point magazine editions are available online? An archive of every issue can be found on the WPAOG website at WestPointAOG.org/WestPointMagazinepastissues. Gift subscriptions are also available. To learn more, please email subscribe@wpaog.org or call 845.446.1645.

Visiting West Point? Get your Grad Pass and Book Your Grad Insider Tour Now!

WPAOG’s award-winning Rockbound Highland Home Program was created exclusively for USMA graduates, and is designed to assist you in navigating post security procedures, offer special access to select MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) facilities and services, and provide “insider” tours for you and your guests. With Grad Pass, West Point graduates have the opportunity to bypass lines at the Visitor Control Center (VCC) by filling out a secure online form in advance of their visit, allowing West Point to conduct the background check before they arrive. Alumni must apply for a Grad Pass at least three days prior to arrival but no more than 120 days. The Rockbound Highland Home Grad Insider Tour allows graduates to share unique experiences of West Point with their families and guests. Take an exclusive guided tour of the Cadet Mess in Washington Hall, Jefferson Library, Thayer Award Room, Army Sports Hall of Fame in Kenna Hall/Kimsey Center, Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center (ACPDC), or the Cadet Uniform Factory. Apply for your Grad Pass and book your tour online today on our website at westpointaog.org/rockboundhighlandhome. For more information on the Rockbound Highland Home program, phone 845.446.1622 or email RockboundHighlandHome@wpaog.org.

Photos: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG; WPAOG archives

Branch Night: Class of 1969 Gives “First Brass” to USMA 2019

In the hierarchy of events in a cadet’s 47-month experience, Branch Night is second only to Graduation in importance. For the members of the Class of 2019, Branch Night on November 14, 2018 signaled the reality of a life beyond West Point. After four years of learning about the 17 branches of the U.S. Army through the various initiatives surrounding the Branch Education and Mentorship Program (e.g. Branch Week, military instruction courses, summer training, etc.), the firsties finally learned what their identity, beyond “cadet,” will be in the profession of arms for the next five years or more.

According to Brigadier General Steve Gilland ’90, 77th Commandant of Cadets, 96 percent of the Class of 2019 received one of their top-five branch choices, with 77 percent getting their first choice. Seventy-five percent of the Class of 2019 branched combat arms. These numbers reflect a 2018 directive from Army Leadership for USMA to increase the number of graduates serving in combat arms branches to 81 percent, a five percent increase from last year’s graduating class, and likely the first in a series of increases for USMA’s combat arms branch allocations in upcoming years.

The 2018 Branch Night guest speaker was Major General Bob Ivany ’69 (Retired), one of 21 members of the Class of 1969, the 50-Year Affiliation Class for the Class of 2019, on hand for the event. Ivany offered the cadets words of wisdom regarding the significance of one’s branch, and concluded, “now that you’re only a few months away from graduation… be confident, because no one is better educated or better trained than you are, and take that extra step to really know your soldiers, and I think you’ll be amazed at how well they respond.” ★

Branch Results for the Class of 2019

Left: USMA 2019 class officers celebrate Branch Night with members of the Class of 1969, their 50-year Affiliation Class. Right: Branch Night speaker MG (R) Bob Ivany ’69.

Saddle Up: TheStoryofaRedScarf

LTC (R) John Hedley ’68

This story of small unit leadership recounts the experiences of the reconnaissance platoon of the 1st Battalion 14th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division as they fought through the jungles of Vietnam in 1969-70 wearing a Vietnamese valor award of a red scarf. This story not only paints a picture of what it was like to be an infantry soldier, but also gives a glimpse into how something so ugly could forge incredible bonds that survive to today.

Available at Amazon.com or saddleup-redscarf.com

Undefeated:

AStoryofBasketball,Battle,and West Point’s Perfect 1944 Season

Jim Noles ’90

West Point’s basketball team crafted a perfect season in the early months of 1944. But there would be no postseason tournament glory for the team’s Firsties. Instead, they simply steeled themselves for graduation and their next campaign—one that would take them overseas to Europe and the Pacific. And, tragically, not all of them would survive. Undefeated tells the forgotten tale of that remarkable moment in West Point’s— and American sports’—history.

Available at Amazon.com and your local bookstore

Alcatraz Kid

William R. Stewart Jr. January ’43

Alcatraz Kid wonderfully tells two stories: one is a thoroughly researched discussion of the construction and management of the island by the US Army. The other story describes how five formative years of life on Alcatraz, interacting with Army prisoners, shaped the character of the author, who has devoted 80 years of his life to serving others. Valuable leadership lessons are skillfully taught in both stories.

–MG (R) Jerry Allen

Available from amazon.com and alcatrazkid.com

The Midlife Crisis of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

Dr. Peter Pella ’70

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, insuring that those technologies are not being diverted toward the production of nuclear weapons, and encourage nuclear disarmament. This manuscript describes the past successes of the treaty, current issues of concern for its survival and offers some possible solutions to ensure that the NPT will survive effectively for many years to come.

Available at Amazon.com and Morganclaypoolpublishers.com

Peter Drucker’s Way to the Top: Lessons for ReachingYour Life’s

Goals

William A. Cohen, Ph.D. ’59

This book examines the selfdevelopment methods that the father of modern management, Peter Drucker, created and practiced, and offers vital lessons on how to accomplish any life goal. As Drucker wrote, “The most crucial and vital resource you have as a manager is yourself; your organization is not going to do better than you do yourself.”

Available at Amazon.com

Consulting Drucker: Principles and Lessons from theWorld’s Leading Management Consultant

William A. Cohen, Ph.D. ’59

Written by a first-generation Drucker PhD, Consulting Drucker is the first book to reveal, in detail, Peter Drucker’s specific consulting methods that, when applied correctly, have been heralded for saving organizations thousands of wasted hours and unnecessary frustration.

Available at Amazon.com

Warriors Remembered: Vietnam Veterans — Welcome Home

Albert Nahas ’67

Award winning coffee-table photo documentary of 100 Vietnam Veterans Memorials from all 50 states with emotional stories of their creators’ struggle to build them in unpopular times. Nine regional maps and detailed descriptions guide a visitor to subtle memorial features. Awarded 2016 Gold Medal by the Military Writers Society of America and 2015 Excellence in Print Media by Texas DAR. 240 pages; 285 photographs. Dedicated to 29 classmates lost in Vietnam.

Author signed at warriorsremembered.com

Free shipping; Great Veteran gift

The General Won’t Wait

By Caroline Swan, wife of Joseph H. Swain ‘11

The General has arrived!

A lieutenant learns that while he may lead at work, the baby gives the orders at home. This “children’s book” is for adults to laugh (or commiserate) about the foibles of new parenthood. During the author’s pregnancy, someone laughed and said, "This baby will call the shots. He'll be the General in charge." It came to pass.

Currently available at: store. bookbaby.com/book/ The-General-Wont-Wait

Also available at Amazon.com

The Black Knight

COL (Ret) Clifford Worthy ’53

In the 1940’s West Point was out of reach for most African-Americans due to racial barriers. Clifford Worthy was one who was accepted and excelled as a Black Knight. His courageous service around the world balanced military and family life, even as he and his wife raised a child with special needs. In this inspiring memoir, Cliff tells how faith and family guided him as he lived out the motto: Duty, Honor, Country

Available at TheBlackKnightBook.com

Available January 2019 at Amazon.com

The Legacy of

Maggie Dixon: A Leader on the Court and in Life

BG (R) Jack Grubbs, Ph.D. ’64

Hired 11 days before the start of the 2005-06 Army women’s basketball season, Maggie Dixon picked up pieces of chaos and led the team to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In her knowledge of basketball, ability to inspire her players, and aptitude for building relationships with the West Point community, Maggie is the personification of the transformational leader. Her story is monumental.

Available at Amazon, B & N, Rowman.com, Grubbsbooks.com

Ghosts of Fallujah

Coley D. Tyler ’00

FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT OF THE Second Battalion, Seventh Cavalry’s participation in the Second Battle of Fallujah, the largest single engagement of the Iraq War and the largest urban battle since Hue in 1968. A First Marine Division operation, it was spearheaded by one of the most famous Army units in history. Ghosts of Fallujah is a heartfelt and somber recount of the battle, the influence of history, personal leadership, and how that can change lives.

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

Leaders: Myth and Reality

By GEN (R) Stanley A. McChrystal ’76

In LEADERS: MYTH AND REALITY, former General Stanley McChrystal (US Army, Retired) profiles thirteen famous leaders from a wide range of eras and fields, to explore the ancient question of what makes a leader great. From Martin Luther to Robert E. Lee to Walt Disney to Margaret Thatcher, you’ll be surprised at his conclusions.

Find out why leadership is not what you think it is—and it never was.

Learn more: TheLeadersBook.com

From “Hero” to Zero and Back!

Lessons from aVeteran’s Civilian Employment Experience

LTG (R) Steve Speakes ’74

This book is a tough account written for retiring or transitioning military leaders based on one Veteran’s time in corporate America. After being fired from his first civilian job Steve studied his mistakes and tried again. Now after 5 years as a CEO Steve tells you what he learned. Use this story to learn how to communicate and interact, while setting reasonable and achievable goals.

Available at Amazon.com

Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue

By Tom Van Riper, Son of Thomas P. Van Riper ’60

Call it the forgotten rivalry. For a period of time in the 1970's the Dodgers vs. the Reds was the best rivalry in Major League Baseball. They boasted the biggest names of the game Johnny Bench, Steve Garvey, Pete Rose, Don Sutton, and Ron Cey, to name a few and appeared in the World Series seven out of nine years. Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue includes never-before published player interviews providing an in-depth look at this decade in baseball full of upheaval and change.

Available at Amazon.com

West Point Woman How Character is Created and Leadership is Learned

Sara (Fotsch) Potecha ‘83

The first classes of women at West Point faced numerous obstacles, yet through the cauldron of that experience they developed a formidable hardiness that firmly places them among the best of the best. West Point Woman is a leadership memoir that teaches principles through masterful story telling of one of the first women graduates. Sara will arm you with essential leadership skills needed to fight your “battles”.

Endorsed by both Generals and Executives.

Available at Amazon.com

Rebels of Mindanao

Tom Anthony ’64

An exciting epic that could be ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. Anthony gives insight into a part of the world most of us have ignored. While the US focuses on the Middle East, we ignore Muslim interests in Southeast Asia. As fictional characters collide, the question arises: what would happen if an Islamic insurrection financed from abroad occurs inside one of America’s oldest allies, The Philippines.

Available at www.authortomanthony.com

Parents Corner

West Point Parents Raise $2.4 Million to Support Margin of Excellence

During the Army vs. Miami (OH) football game on October 20, 2018, Quynh Bui P’19, Jill Sirna P’20, Kerri Moore P’21, and Wendy Davis P’22 represented West Point parents and presented a check for $2,400,000 to the Academy. LTG Darryl A. Williams ’83, 60th Superintendent, accepted the gift on behalf of West Point. Joining them on the field were Todd Browne ’85, President and CEO, West Point Association of Graduates, and Shelisa Baskerville, WPAOG Annual Giving Parent Relations Manager. This generous gift raised by West Point Parents will support Margin of Excellence programs, which allow all cadets to reach their highest potential. Thank you to all our parents and families for their incredible support!

Parents Club Tailgates Bring

a Taste of Home to Cadets

At West Point’s Family Weekend and Homecoming on October 20, 2018, West Point Parents Clubs (WPPC) from around the country hosted tailgates for cadets and their families. The WPPCs of Greater Houston and Northern Texas jointly hosted the 16th Annual Texas Tamale Tailgate (T3) immediately after the Army vs. Miami (OH) football game at the ’49er Lodge with country music, classic Texas BBQ and tamales. The WPPCs of Alabama, Georgia, Long Island, Michigan, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin also hosted tailgates with unique regional foods. WPAOG sponsored coffee hours on Friday and Saturday with apple cider donuts at the Family Weekend Welcome Center. Thank you to all the parents, families, staff and cadets who took part in a fun, foodfilled Homecoming and Family weekend!

Parents Host Old Grads Football Viewing Party

Wynne and Trey Wages P’21 (far left) hosted Old Grads in the Auburn, AL area at a watch party for the Eastern Michigan game on Saturday, October 27, 2018. The event provided Old Grads, spouses, and West Point parents a fun opportunity to meet and spend time together cheering Ted Wages ’21 and his Army Football teammates to victory. Old Grad attendees ranged in age from the Class of 1964 to two Class of 2018 graduates who are currently stationed at Fort Benning, GA. Go Army!

Photos: Anthony DiNoto/WPAOG; submitted

Parents Corner

Parents Clubs, USMA Library & WPAOG Fuel Studying Cadets with TEE Snacks

Starting on Sunday, December 16, 2018, cadets were hard at work preparing to succeed or “Beat the Dean” during Term End Exam (TEE) week. To help fuel their studies, WPAOG and several West Point Parents Clubs provided plenty of pizza and treats for cadets at Grant Hall. Staff of the USMA Library also teamed up with WPAOG and other Parents Clubs to provide snacks for cadets studying at the library all week. Thanks to all West Point Parents Clubs (WPPCs) who supported this effort: Long Island, North Texas, Southeast PA, Georgia, New Hampshire, Central Florida, Washington State, New Jersey, and WPPC of West Point serving New York and New Jersey.

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: Numerous readers who took the 2018 West Point Magazine Reader Survey.

“Great magazine. I absolutely love it.”

“I am amazed with each issue at what is occurring at WP.” “Really enjoy reading the magazine and staying connected to my alma mater.”

“I honestly think it is a good publication and generally covers an excellent spread of topics.”

“Really excited to see it in my mailbox. I sit down immediately and read my favorite parts. I feel connected again.”

“I think the magazine is a great way to ‘strengthen the grip.’ Honestly, before West Point magazine, I thought of USMA very little. I think about it much more often now and look forward to receiving each issue.”

“Was skeptical at first, but have grown to appreciate particularly those portions related to what today’s cadets do and learn via the current and future USMA programs.”

“I think you have done an excellent job of transforming the magazine over the past several years. Keep up the good work!”

“The magazine is hands down the best and most connecting activity WPAOG has done since I’ve graduated. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

RESPONSE:

Thankyoutothenearly1,800graduatesandparentsofcadets whotookthetimetorespondtoourreadershipsurvey.Wewere thrilledtolearnthat95percentofyoufeelthatthemagazine helpsyouunderstandcadetlife,academics,militarytraining, andtheextra-curricularopportunitiesattoday’sUSMAandthat 91percentbelievethatitmakesyoufeelmoreconnectedto West Point. After all, this is West Point magazine’s mission: “…to telltheWestPointstoryandstrengthenthegripoftheLongGray Line.”What’smoreastounding—52percentofyoureportreading themagazinecovertocover!Inthiseraofmediasurfing,where industryexpertssayusersspendlessthan30secondsof“dwell time”onawebpage,forexample,thisispop-the-champagne news for us. Of course, there were some constructive criticisms ofourpublication,andwearelookingforwardtoaddressing theminourefforttoimprovefutureissues. 

STARTtheDAYS!

1-3 Yearling Winter Weekend USMA 2021 6 Post Night USMA 2019 7 Henry O. Flipper (1877) Dinner

15-18

100th Night Weekend USMA 2019 22 Brigade Boxing Open 28 USCC Founders Day Dinner

8-10

Plebe-Parent Weekend

9-17

Spring Break for the Corps of Cadets

16 West Point Founders Day 217 Years!

21-24

McDonald Conference for Leaders of Character

6-14

Foreign Academy Exchange Program

10-11

WPAOG Entrepreneur Summit

12-13

Sandhurst Military Skills Competition

17-18

Mission Command Conference

25 Grant Statue Dedication

27

Retiree Appreciation Day

Upcoming events suggested by West Point staff & faculty. Events for May 2019 July 2019 should be sent to editor@wpaog.org by Feb

For the entire calendar, go to WestPointAOG.org/calendar

 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.

Jacksonville, FL Mar 28–29, 2019

Washington, DC Jun 13–14, 2019

San Diego, CA Aug 15–16, 2019

San Antonio, TX Nov 14–15, 2019

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

Photo: Michelle Eberhart/USMA PAO

Consistency

Synonyms: steadiness, reliability

Antonym: Fickleness (found often in weather and financial markets)

Be Thou at Peace

LTC Henry J. Ebrey Jr. USA, Retired 1943 JAN

Col Russel M. Herrington Jr. USAF, Retired 1943 JAN

BG George E. Wear USA, Retired 1944

COL John W. Graham USA, Retired 1945

MG John A. Hoefling USA, Retired 1946

LTC Thomas W. Pardue USA, Retired 1946

Col William P. Reed USAF, Retired 1946

Mr. Harold W. Grossman 1947

Lt Col Conrad N. Lajeunesse USAF, Retired 1947

Mr. William J. Woldenberg 1947

COL Alfred A. Pabst USA, Retired 1948

Mr. William A. Carroll 1949

Professor Patrick Kimball 1949

COL Roland E. Peixotto USA, Retired 1949

Lt Col Jay Van Cleeff USAF, Retired 1949

LTC Allan P. Scholl USA, Retired 1950

LTC John R. Shaffer USA, Retired 1950

COL William A. Steinberg USA, Retired 1950

LTC Alan A. Frick USA, Retired

Col Bruno A. Giordano USAF, Retired

LTC Robert A. Howes USA, Retired

COL Dayton S. Pickett USA, Retired

LTC Keith L. Born USA, Retired 1953

COL Lowell H. Skidmore USA, Retired 1953

LTC Worth L. Wardlaw Jr. USA, Retired

Mr. Elliott W. Gritton

Deaths reported from September 21 — December 16, 2018

COL Maximiano R. Janairo Jr. USA, Retired

Mr. Daniel J. O'Mara

COL Myron W. Rose USA, Retired

Col John J. Beoddy USAF, Retired

LTC William E. Haas USA, Retired

LTC Everette G. Caldwell USA, Retired

Mr. Ernest L. Ruffner

LTC Richard B. Daluga USA, Retired

Mr. Dana G. Mead

Maj Gen Gordon E. Williams USAF, Retired

Col Charles W. Bond USAF, Retired

COL James W. R. Adams USA, Retired

BG Charles E. Getz USA, Retired

LTC Russell A. Hewitt USA,

George E. Wrockloff III

Past in Review Report: A History of Class Notes

By Keith J. Hamel, WPAOG Staff

From the beginning, the object of the Association of Graduates has been “to foster social intercourse and fraternal friendship.” This is easy to do when grads are gathered in one place at one time (say at a class reunion, for example), but encouraging communication between classmates who may be living in different states or deployed to various parts of the world is a daunting task indeed.

AOG’s first attempt at fostering a connection between distant grads came in the 1935 Annual Report when it published five-year reunion reports immediately following its report of “Contributions to the Endowment Fund by Classes.” The Class of 1880 has the distinction of being the first to publish the activities of its members to a

wider audience. “The Class of 1880 has been making rapid five-year strides toward the head of the procession on Alumni Day and this year it had little but scenery in front of it,” wrote Charles J. Bailey, Class President, to open his report. Bailey then goes on to detail how he has tracked down some of the class’s non-graduates, detailing the lives and careers they have had. Ten more reunion reports follow, from the Class of 1885 celebrating the 50th anniversary of its graduation to the Class of 1930 writing about its “first reunion,” each wittily highlighting the graduates present and the events held that made their particular reunion a great success.

When Assembly magazine began in April 1942, it devoted seven pages of its 24-page

inaugural issue to reports mailed in to the AOG from class secretaries. The new feature was aptly named “Report,” and the editor of Assembly, Harry Storke ’26, considered this section of AOG’s newest publication to be “vitally important” to the Association’s mission. “We hope that all—individuals as well as class secretaries—will cooperate by sending in those little flashes of information which will make ‘Report’ a success,” the editor noted. The first “Report” was a mix of announcements pertaining to a particular class and submitted personal material. Examples of the former were on the shorter side and include “greetings” from AOG to the oldest living graduate at that time, Brigadier General Samuel Tillman, Class of 1869, and numerous “[name] is…” notes (relating to residences, military postings,

Above: Class Notes have taken on many forms in the history of the Association of Graduates, including as a department feature titled “Report” in Assembly magazine, first appearing in its inaugural issue, April 1942.

work duties, etc.). Examples of submitted personal material ran much longer, were more conversational, and contained more privileged details about the lives of graduates in that class. Consider this note from the Class of 1924: “Denis Mulligan was here over Labor Day week-end [sic], out from Wright Field on business with the Boeing Co. in Seattle. He mentioned possible matrimony, but none of us took him seriously after 17 years of single blessedness. However, he returned last week for more airplane business, and lo and behold, had with him the blushing bride.”

Forty-five out of a possible 72 classes had notes in that first issue of “Report,” and the feature seemingly grew with each subsequent issue. Four years after its first appearance, the feature was claiming more than half the pages in the magazine. In the July 1946 issue of Assembly, for example, “Report” ran a total of 29 pages. Pictures are part of the reason for the increase. Beginning with the April 1943 issue of Assembly, “Report” started to include pictures with class notes, one of the first being a wallet-sized photo of William Hardigg’s, Class of 1911, 16month old grandson (shown at right). Larger pictures started appearing in the July 1945 “Report.” Like the aged black and white photos that dominate school lobbies’ display cases, these likely professional photos show classmates posed (one row sitting, one row standing) at their five-year reunion dinner. Two decades later, it was rare to find a page in “Report” that didn’t contain a photo of some sort, either candid or posed.

With pictures part of the equation, “Report” began to take on an early email, present-day social media tone, with some stories and pictures being submitted and published purely for their entertainment value. In the spring 1962 edition of “Report,” for example, Ken Zitzman ’32 mailed in a French newspaper photo of a horse that ended up in a car when the car hit a farmhouse (shown at bottom, left). Grads posing with a fish on the line and stories about “the big one” also appeared from time to time. Finally, weddings, births, and (unfortunately) classmates’ deaths cropped up again and again in each issue of “Report.”

In its 1964 summer issue, Assembly changed the name of “Report,” now routinely running more than 50 pages per issue, to “Report…from the Classes.” By this point, perhaps

demonstrating the familiarity of this feature among grads, class scribes were becoming increasing casual in their reports and submitting some eye-opening stories amid ones dealing with promotions or current assignments. Consider this blurb from the Class of 1952 in the summer 1971 “Report…from the Classes”: “Lou Beasley became ill in mid-Apr. while serving as Proj. Manager for ‘Cheyenne’ [the television show]…But as…the photograph verifies, Lou never lost his stride. He moved his wall picture and his phone into Walter Reed and began conducting business as usual…note particularly the copy of Playboy, the bottle of Cutty Sark…and the attentiveness of the hospital staff” (an accompanying photo shows a bare-chested Beasley in sunglasses with his arm around a nurse).

Assembly hired Beth O’Hara as Class Notes Editor in the spring of 1995 and officially changed the name of “Report…from the Classes” to “Class Notes” in its July/ August 1995 issue. By this time, there were more pictures on the page than text (and occasional illustrations and poetry from the Class of 1954’s Company M-2). At the turn of the millennium, Class Notes were still going strong, dominating roughly 80 pages each issue and with two editors working on the feature (each working with approximately 40 classes); however, with less than 20 percent of the Long Gray Line continuing to subscribe to Assembly, it was no longer financially possible to print Class Notes, once described by Julian Olejniczak ’61, the last editor in chief of Assembly, as the “heart” of the magazine. Assembly ended its 69year publication run in the fall of 2011, but, with a transplant to WPAOG’s website, Class Notes kept beating strong.

Today, 78 Class Notes web pages, ranging from the Class of 1940 to the Class of 2018, can be found online on the WPAOG website at westpointaog.org/classnotes (a login is required for security). Naturally, digitizing Class Notes has brought changes to the process, but all for the better. For one, rather than having notes get stale while waiting months for publication, online Class Notes get posted within a week of submission, sometimes even the same day! Furthermore, with print costs no longer a factor, there are fewer limitations on the number of words allowed in the post itself. Finally, whenever a class has updated its Class Notes page, WPAOG’s broadcasts this information via its communication channels. Despite these changes, the mission of Class Notes stays the same: “to foster social intercourse and fraternal friendship” and to make the Long Gray Line the most connected alumni body in the world.