I was hoping for Saturday’s rain.

I wasn’t looking for a torrential downpour, just a little sprinkle for the Class of ‘01’s commencement exercises.

They needed some rain on graduation.

See, the academy has the class the stars fell on. For a few weeks back in the summer of ‘97, the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2001 was the class the rain fell on.

Ever since, I’ve thought of them as that damp class.

They learned early to use their rain gear and the necessity of changing their socks.

Their parents learned to bring umbrellas. And raincoats. And dry clothes to change into.

Those of us in uniform expect to be cold or wet or cold and wet at least some of the time, but it looked for a while like maybe the class should have chosen "2001, Where’s the Sun?" instead of "2001, ‘Til Duty is Done" as its motto.

Marchback?

It rained. And rained. And rained. Right on the K-pots of the Army chief of staff and the class and cadre and on the spectators lining Washington Road.

It was good training.

Acceptance Day?

It didn’t look like rain. There was none in the forecast. The umbrellas and raincoats people didn’t have wouldn’t have done much good against what Storm King Mountain hurled out over the Plain, anyway.

What a downpour.

More good training.

As the wind blew the hats off cadets and generals, the cadet narrator for the parade uttered two sentences that I will forever associate with the Class of ‘01: "That concludes today’s review. Third and Fourth Regiments, execute an about face and return to the barracks."

Yeah, I was hoping for a little rain for graduation. It was fitting for USMA ’01 to march in wearing raincoats.