The Days Forward

West Point Class of 1969

Suzanne Rice

What West Point Means To Me – George Coan

Many USMA cadets (and their parents) treasured memorabilia acquired during the cadet’s years at West Point—the “tar bucket” dress hat, cadet saber, etc. Each item brought back memories of a special event, a unique set of circumstances, a personal relationship. My item was a tie tack.
I was fortunate to be on the Army baseball team for my four years at the academy. Officers and Coach Tipton continually taught and mentored us not only on baseball skills but also how to be leaders especially when circumstances didn’t go our way. We bonded as teammates in the crucible of Doubleday Field.
Each spring five major sports—golf, tennis, track, lacrosse, and baseball—competed against top-notch opponents to include Navy. During the spring of our firstie year, not only did the Army teams face tough competition but also extreme weather. As graduation neared, the Army baseball team faced Navy on our home field.
As one team mounted a seemingly insurmountable lead, the other responded and took the lead. In the ninth inning, Army was ahead and only needed one more out to beat Navy. With the bases loaded, the Navy batter hit a pop fly to the Army first baseman. We inwardly let out a victory scream; our first baseman, a very fine fielder, had this in the bag. He camped under the ball and then proceeded to drop it. The runners flew around the bases and Navy took a one-run lead. We were devastated.
Bottom of the ninth, Army gets runners on second and third but there are two outs. Navy needs only one out to defeat Army. The Army batter strides to the plate and proceeds to hit a hard grounder up the middle, past the pitcher, beyond the dives of the two Navy middle infielders, into the outfield for a single. Two runners score and Army wins by one run. And yes, you guessed it, the Army batter was our first baseman—from goat to hero!

Oh, the tie tack. With the baseball team’s win, Army completed a “clean sweep” of Navy in all five spring sports in 1969. The athletic department awarded each spring sports player a tie tack that had a broom sweeping Navy. For me, that tie tack symbolizes what it means to be a leader in the midst of difficult circumstances. And that is what West Point means to me.

What West Point Means To Me – Harry Dolton

Looking back now from fifty and fifty-four years when I respectively graduated from and entered West Point, there are two clear areas of the strong impression West Point has made on me—the institution itself and the people encountered. Some things in life do fade with time, but the strong influence of the West Point experience isn’t one of them, then or now!
Even before seeing West Point, its reputation as a unique training ground for national leaders was well known in our country’s history, especially for leaders in wartime. The popular TV series in the late 1950s, “The West Point Story”, was another great source of wider knowledge about the Academy, as were a popular series of books about cadet life. Finally, the annual Army-Navy game was another glimpse into the image and mystique of West Point. All of these advance insights, however, paled in impact when compared to the firsthand influence of actually becoming a Cadet. Over the four-year period of being there, West Point as an institution served to both inspire and to transform in fundamental and lasting ways. The tenets of Duty, Honor, Country as well as the overriding attitude of service to the nation seemed to become inseparable between the institution and the Cadets.

While the institution of West Point itself loomed large, in the terms of lasting influence it was the people of West Point who made perhaps the most lasting and certainly living impression over a lifetime. The faculty and staff at West Point were highly qualified and dedicated to their mission, and without question had a significant impact on all of us over four years. Additionally, the upper classes of Cadets, who were our leaders and role models, had a very personal influence on our development, usually in a favorable direction.
Finally, in terms of a persistent influence in our lives, it is fair to say that it was the relationship developed with our contemporaries—our West Point classmates—that has had the greatest meaning. Time spent together in the crucible of West Point coupled with years of service as well as informal friendships over an extended period has cemented ties and made the West Point experience a fundamental core in our lives.

What West Point Means to Me – Art Nigro

West Point was a survival exercise for me.
Never be first, never be last, and keep your head down. That was my motto.
I can’t say I enjoyed my 4 years there and often feel that I missed the entire college experience. However, I graduated feeling that I could handle any situation that arose, and I went on to practice the Cadet Honor Code both at work and at home. As a general manager, I taught the honor code to my staff in hotels around the world, and it played a central role in our success. It is a great code to live by.
Undoubtedly, the best thing about attending West Point was meeting Sheila, my wife of 49 years now, when I was a platoon leader at Beast Barracks. If there was such a thing as a good year at West Point, it was that last one. We had a few privileges and got our cars in the spring. It was a good time to have a corvette, a wonderful girlfriend, and lots of buddies in Company C-3.
Since I went into the Air Force and got out after 5 years, it became difficult to keep in regular touch with my classmates, and I regret that very much. We were an eclectic bunch of characters in C-3, and it is great to see how well everyone has done in life. On the eve of our 50th reunion, I look forward to seeing them again and catching up.

It is safe to say that if I didn’t go to West Point, I wouldn’t have met Sheila and had such a wonderful family of which I am proud.

What West Point Means To Me – Guy Miller

Ol’ Weird learned the tools he needed for life while at West Point. He even earned his nickname there.
Besides a tremendous foundation in math, the sciences and engineering, we all got well-rounded in English and other foreign languages, law, psych, sosh and history, plus a few electives. By graduation, every last one of us had upwards of 200 credit hours, a genuine BS degree so broad we were qualified to be admitted to virtually any graduate program at any university in the country. Civilian professors were thrilled by our study habits and discipline, as we knocked out program requirements with astounding effectiveness.
My own personal appreciation of our cadet academics came in 1987, when I sat for the Engineer-in-Training exam. Having been out of school almost two decades, I showed up for the open book exam with nothing but a single yellow reference book and my old slide rule.
Kids I was taking the exam with arrived with shopping carts full of reference books, notes, texts and marvelous programmable graphing calculators. Never even having seen a slipstick, they were astounded when I showed them the technology that put a man on the moon. Most of them busted the exam, but dang if this old fart didn’t max that sucker! Many thanks to our Alma Mater.

What West Point Means To Me – Bruce Wheeler

What has being a member of the West Point class of 1969 meant to me? My moral compass continues to be aligned with The Cadet Prayer.

The friendships from cadet days and subsequently through assignments, mini-reunions and other activities and experiences have been rich and treasured. Cycling, skiing, safaris, as well as the cruises, a cup of coffee or wine with classmates has led me to appreciate the depth and breadth of shared life experiences with our class family. When I stood at Trophy Point on July 1, 1965 and subsequently at parades and in the reviewing stand, the memories leave me humbled and thankful for being a part of such a great class and institution.