"The Impact of an Institution"

The thick steel door, standing twice my height, slammed shut with an eerie finality. Everything seems to have an inflated, even ominous importance when one is a plebe at West Point. Standing just outside Cullum Hall on this windy night, I relished a rare moment of solitude. At the United States Military Academy, one spends virtually every minute of every day in the company of others. Studying, sleeping, marching, showering, running, eating, training, testing, sweating -- you are never alone. A plebe's schedule, in particular, mandates group activity. No fourth classman can make it alone, because many tasks, even one as mundane as delivering upperclass laundry bundles, require the help of one's classmates.

Architecturally, West Point is the kind of legacy that any architect might have dreamed of leaving behind. The warrior's ego carved into thick, unmoving granite. As my eyes took it all in, I began to understand why so many had felt compelled to voice an opinion on what West Point should represent, or unleash some accolade for her spirituality, tactical significance, beauty or institutional excellence.

General Patton, Class of 1909, called West Point "a holy place." George Washington, during the revolution, deemed West Point "the key to the continent." Charles Dickens said of the Academy, "It could not stand on more appropriate ground, and any ground more beautiful can hardly be. The course of education is severe, but well devised and manly…" And President Andrew Jackson stated categorically that West Point was "the best school in the world."

Unknown to most Americans, West Point is the oldest regularly garrisoned military post in the United States -- continuously occupied since January 20, 1778. In 1802, only two years before Napoleon became Emperor of France, Congress established the United States Military Academy at West Point. Annapolis, the Naval Academy, would not appear until 1845; the Air Force Academy not until 1954.

What most Americans do know, however, is that Benedict Arnold -- the most infamous traitor in American history -- tried to sell the plans of West Point to the British for 20,000 pounds sterling and a commission in the British Army.

I stared at The Plain as I continued my solitary walk. On this very parade ground Baron Von Steuben had drilled American Forces in preparation for the Seizure of Stony Point. Just hours ago, I had marched in a parade on the same field.

Marching is a big part of West Point's public persona, but academics are the top priority. West Point is the nation's first engineering school. It was the only engineering school in the United States for nearly 20 years. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was not founded until 1824 and graduated its first class of civil engineers, four men, in 1835. many of Rensselaer's textbooks originated at West Point. It was not until 1847 that engineering programs were established at Harvard (the Lawrence Scientific School) and Yale ( the Sheffield Scientific School), and when they were, both were established and run by West Pointers.

I glanced back at Doubleday Field, named after the West Pointer sometimes credited with inventing the sport of baseball. He also had fired the first return shot from Fort Sumter in 1861 and fought at Gettysburg. Just one more of so many graduates serving as role models for those of us in newly issued gray. Lieutenant General Dave Palmer, former Superintendent, was fond of the phrase, "Much of the history we teach is made by those we taught." But it was President Theodore Roosevelt who pulled no punches at the Academy's centennial celebration when he said, "This institution has completed its first hundred years of life. During that century, no other institution in the land has contributed so many names as West Point has to the honor roll of the Nation's greatest citizens." President Roosevelt would witness only a small part of the legacy that was West Point. Academy officers would achieve prominence for many years to come. One feels somewhat strange being associated with this group. It has a way of creating enormous, possibly unrealistic, expectations. I went back in memory, trying to take measure of all the leaders who had left foot prints on the path I now walked. It wasn't difficult; as plebes we are required to memorize the legacies of many of those who preceded us.

The military leaders were the first to come to mind. In the Civil War there were 60 significant battles. Fifty-five of them were commanded on both sides by West Pointers; the remaining five had a "grad" commanding one of the sides. The Union forces utilized Grant, Sherman, Meade and Sheridan, to name a few. The South claimed Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, and Braxton Bragg among their many. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, was West Point Class of 1828.

During World War I, 34 of the 38 corps and division commanders in France between 1917 and 1918 were West Pointers. General Pershing, Class of 1886, commanded the American Expeditionary Forces.

World War II dubbed West Point's class of 1915 the "Class the Stars Fell On." Fifty-nine out of 164 graduates would reach brigadier general or higher. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, both from that class, would achieve five-star rank. James Van Fleet would later become Commanding General of the Eighth U.S. Army in Korea. Of the five men ever to hold the rank of five-star general -- Arnold, Bradley, Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Marshall -- four had been West Pointers (Marshall was V.M.I). MacArthur went on to become the most decorated soldier in American history. His 59 decorations, 16 oak leaf clusters, and 18 campaign stars included America's highest award, the Medal of Honor. The Long Gray Line's other World War contributors included Patton, Clark, Stilwell, and Wainwright. And I was reminded of Leslie Groves who commanded the Manhattan Project. Half of the division commanders in WWII were West Pointers, including Gavin '29 and Ridgway '17 with the 82d Airborne an McAuliffe '18 with the 101st at Bastogne.

West Point is so quickly associated in the mind with the uniformed military that most forget its impact on civilian America. Putting aside the ascendancy of Grant and Ike to the Presidency, West Point has left few trails unexplored. Over 100 West Pointers have been members of U.S. Olympic teams, and three have won the Heisman trophy: Glenn Davis, Felix "Doc" Blanchard, and Pete Dawkins. Seventy-Four have been awarded Rhodes scholarships, making West Point the fourth ranking source of Rhodes scholars in the nation, even though graduates were not allowed to compete until 1925.

West Point's contributions in space exploration are often overlooked. Six of the first 130 astronauts were graduates. This group included Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, Apollo 11 pilots who were part of the first manned landing on the moon. Aldrin was the second man to walk o