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| Duty•Honor•Country |
Our first stop on the tour was Cadet Chapel...
Most everything on campus is built in what they call "military gothic." Mainly, all the buildings look like castles. Their mascot is the Black Knight. The chapel is beautiful...
When the academy was founded and until the 1960's attendance at chapel was mandatory once a week. Then in the late 60's they were forced to repeal that, however, it is still STRONGLY encouraged. They also have a synagogue and a catholic church, the chapel seen above is protestant, interdenomational.
No one sits in this pew. this candle burns here in honor of all the soldiers missing in action or POW. It will not be extinguished until all are accounted for.
This is looking up just inside the entrance above the door. These are the "small pipes" from the organ. The larger ones are concealed along the walls toward the alter. It is the largest church organ in the nation.
The piano was too much for me, I can't imagine trying to play this thing!!
This is the parade field with the barracks behind.
This is the mess hall...very fancy mess hall!
This is view from campus! Seriously not the same as the view I had in Commerce, Tx.
During the Revolutionary War George Washington had the army run an 80 ton chain across the river to keep British troops from being able to come up the Hudson and take over the Fort. Thirteen links of that chain are still at West Point.
My kiddo here has had his eye on West Point since he was in second grade. Today they explained that each year 14,000 people apply. 1200 are accepted. They must have a strong academic record, play a sport, have at least one letter from a Congressman or higher, and be actively involved in church/voluteer opportunities. They emphasize being extremely "well-rounded." You cannot be married, or have any children. If accepted you may not marry before you graduate. She said there are always LOTS of weddings the weekend after graduation! Side note: On graduation day when cadets toss their hats, they do it for two reasons. One is that they are done! And, the second is that they never have to wear that hat again! So, tradition is that once they toss their hats, the small children present at graduation get to run down on the field and grab a hat for a souvinier. Inside the hats, cadets tuck a small note and either cash or a Toys R Us gift card. I love that!
Cadets have to pay a one-time uniform/supply fee of $2000 and the rest is paid for....books, tuition, housing, meals, and medical benefits for a full 4 years. That is one HUGE schloarship. In addition, they are PAID a small weekly stipend for "incidentals." I say the boy has set himself an excellent goal! I'll write the check for two grand with joy!
They go to school 9 months of the year and they do their military training for 2 months in the summer with one month off spread throughout the year. They must also play a sport. All cadets play on a sports team, and the sports complex is amazing, state of the art. One of the best in the nation evidently. They have a huge sports medicine program, hockey arena, baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis, swimming, lacrosse, softball, volleyball, gymnastics....and football of course. Go Army!
The lady giving the tour was a former teacher and we were immediately kindred spirits. She took a shine to the kids when they were in the chapel because they were so interested. The rest of the tour she would ask them questions and include special stories and tidbits for them. This was a statue of General Somebody ( I honestly lost count of all the Generals!), who evidently taught every West Point grad that fought in the civil war. Legend has it that if you dress in your full dress uniform on the night before finals and come out and spin his spurs, then you'll pass your exams!! She had Scott hold up each of the kids so they could spin the spurs for luck!
The pictures here don't do the place justice. There is no way to describe how beautiful it is, and how the sense of honor, history and tradition pervades the entire place. It really embodies all the values I'd like to instill in my kids. It was seriously off the beaten path, but worth every mile!
We made the rather quick trip from there into the New York City area after lunch. We decided to stay in Brooklyn, since we always stay in Manhattan. So, we all got to drive across the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time!
Staying in Brooklyn was a definite win. The hotel is very nice, the room is huge, and if you've been to NYC you know that huge rooms don't exist in Manhattan. We walked around for awhile after we checked in. Scott stopped at each bakery and bought his required black and white's. Then we walked along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade which is a park that is just above the waters edge. We could could see the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, New Jersey and downtown Manhatten. Very pretty. We also walked under the bridge....
Juniors is a tradition for us when we are in New York. Dinner the first night is ALWAYS at Juniors in Times Square. Since we were in Brooklyn, it was only fitting that we eat dinner at the original Juniors that opened in 1950.
Tomorrow we are going to do some exploring here in Brooklyn...which is huge. Little known fact: If Brooklyn were a city unto itself instead of one of the 5 boroughs of NYC, it would be the 4th largest city in the U.S. So, there is plenty to see and do right here. Since Scott was born here, and his parents grew up here, we are going to go see the buildings where they grew up and the synagogue where his dad was Bar Mitvah'd. I'm a firm believer in not just knowing history, but knowing your OWN history. After our tour of Brooklyn we will be heading out to the Hamptons!!
Brooklyn Blessings,
Leslie
1 comment:
West Point is amazing!! Keep those goals set high, you can do it!!
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