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                         May 30, 2003

Story and photos by Spc. Eric S. Bartelt
Leisure Editor

Duty, Honor, Country -- those words rang true to those who walked-the-walk for many years in the military after their formative years were spent at West Point.

Tuesday was an exclamation point for those alumni who returned to take part in the annual alumni ceremonies.

Although it was an overcast day, eyes were beaming bright from the faces of the alumni who graced the Plain during the march and wreath-laying ceremony. For many of them, the event brought back fond memories.

"It means a great deal to me to be back for the ceremonies," said retired Gen. Edwin H. Burba, class of 1959, and one of five grads chosen as recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Award. "When you’re out here (on the Plain) watching the cadets come across the line and the colors going forward as the Star Spangled Banner plays -- I can remember sitting here as a cadet, first as a plebe and then each succeeding year, and being a part of all this -- this is very, very meaningful to me."

For alums like retired Col. Jack Novak, class of 1943, it was like coming home again.

"It means everything to me to be back here," said Novak, who flew missions over Germany in a B-17 during World War II. "My dad coached track, basketball and cross country here for 25 years, and I used to live in Cornwall.

"For me, it’s like coming home again for both the Corps and getting to see old friends in Cornwall."

Novak said his West Point experience has sustained him throughout the years.

"I’m 80 years old now, and the Corps has been 60 years of my life and the most important part of my life," he said. "Coming back brings back old memories, and the ceremony at Thayer Monument was amazing for me.

"The feeling I had, and the tears that came to my eyes just thinking about how we’re getting close to the beginning of the line which is also the end of the line -- it’s pretty heart-rending to do this."

The beginning of the alumni line for the wreath-laying -- which is in honor of Sylvanus Thayer, who is called the "father of the military academy" -- was led by the oldest living West Point graduate in attendance.

Retired Col. Michael Buckley Jr., class of 1923, who, at the age of 101, strolled with the use of his walker accompanied by Cadet First Captain Ricardo A. Turner, to lay the wreath to honor Thayer.

After the ceremony, both alumni and cadets marched to the Plain for a Review and the annual distinguished graduate ceremony.

Burba, who joined retired generals Walter T. Kerwin Jr., Carl E. Vuono, Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore Jr. and John A. Hammack as distinguished grads, was honored by the award, but noted his success came from what he learned at the academy.

"This military academy means everything to everybody who has been here, it’s what gets you through the tough times," Burba said. "My professionalism started here and it stayed with me my whole career -- the commitments, the integrity, it’s something I never forgot.

"This place gives you professional military ethic and teaches you what soldering is all about and that sticks with you. You may not realize it at the time, and sometimes you don’t realize it for years afterwards, but it’s your underpinnings that stays with you the whole time."

Burba, who retired as the commander and chief of Forces Command in 1993 after 34 years of service to the Army, offered some advice to the next generation of Army leaders.

"Always remember your honor, first and foremost, and remain committed to your soldiers," Burba said. "Don’t lead from a distance, be right there in the middle of them out on the range, inside the tank, inside the firefight, wherever it is -- be with them. That rubs off on your soldiers, and they’re the ones that make you successful."

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