The Days Forward

West Point Class of 1969

What West Point Means to Me

What West Point Means To Me – Pete Drower

West Point has meant three things for me – commitment, confidence and connections.

I was very young when I first talked about attending the academy. West Point was where people went in order to serve and to protect the country. As a cadet I felt that I had entered not just a profession but that I had also taken up a vocation – a vocation which required that you put country before self and that you give your best effort at all times.

The Army’s ethos was captured in West Point and its motto of Duty, Honor, Country. Even in civilian life these ideals formed my code of behavior. Whether I was working in Saudi Arabia or standing in front of a high school class in New Jersey I knew that I represented the academy and the country and needed to be sure that my performance reflected in a positive manner.

If West Point drove home the commitment to its values, it also gave me the confidence that I could meet the challenge. The cadet experience, stretching from befuddled plebe thru Buckner and on into “post-grad” Airborne and Ranger, showed me that I could reach inside to find what was needed to attain success. The experience also showed that teamwork was vital in any successful organization. I learned that in a tight situation teamwork could make the difference- “Cooperate and Graduate” was more than a slogan!

The time at West Point meant that I was more than an individual, I was part of all of the experiences our class shared at the academy and in the service. West Point formed a connection with my classmates and with the larger group of West Point graduates. The class identity has given me a sense of belonging to something larger than myself and a sense of pride. I am one part of a network of comrades. What I do reflects either positively or negatively not only on myself but on my class, on the academy and on the Army. Regardless of where our individual lives have taken us we have a desire to renew old friendships and acquaintances. It is more than a social connection, it is a shared identity.

What West Point Means To Me – Ray Dupere

Not counting obvious things like the birth of my kids, there have been three events in my life that I count as being both profound and life-changing. In chronological order the first was attending and graduating from West Point. The second was meeting my wife, Avril, which happened at a mixer during my Firstie Year at West Point (which story was told in “My West Point Love Story” on The Days Forward website).

And the third was coming to know Jesus Christ as my Savior which happened because of the witness of a roommate I had at West Point and my wife (which story was told in “From Crossed Rifles to the Cross” also on The Days Forward site). So, in one way or another, West Point has obviously been a hugely significant part of my life. And quite honestly, I doubt that my life would have taken the course it has if not for West Point. I’m sure that with almost every one of the civilian jobs I’ve had, the fact that I graduated from West Point was a major reason why I got the job. In some cases, I doubt I would have even been considered if not for West Point. In addition, people are constantly impressed when they hear that I graduated from West Point. I don’t think that is necessarily because I’m so unimpressive that they’re shocked to hear that even I was able to go there. Rather, I think that for everyday people who do not have a lot of exposure to West Point, they are routinely surprised and impressed when they come across someone who is a graduate. And of course, the education and training we received there were simply the best. While others were earning their college degrees with 120 credit hours, we were earning our diploma with about 180 credit hours. And we didn’t just take science courses, we took courses in all the various scientific disciplines. We graduated with a far greater knowledge base than your average college graduate then or now. In closing though, I think one final point needs to be made. When you attend and graduate from West Point you leave with this sense that you can do anything. Not a Superman kind of feeling, but rather the idea that whatever challenge might be thrown at you, somehow, some way, you will be able to handle it. If you can get through West Point, you can do anything!

What West Point Means To Me – Bob Ivany

Although West Point’s impact on me has been significant, it is challenging to describe. It has blessed me with lifelong friends, given me a persistent reminder to do my duty, provided me with a moral compass and inspired in me a desire to keep learning. This is how I would describe West Point’s impact on me.
When faced with a challenging decision throughout my life, I relied on my conscience to guide me. I would ask myself: what is the “right” thing to do? And what was “right” was formed, in large part, by West Point. When I had the courage to do the “right” thing, the result was always beneficial.
In addition to doing the “right thing”, West Point impressed upon me to do my best in whatever I was doing and to do so with a sense of caring about those I was responsible for such as my family, soldiers or students.
I developed a passion to keep learning. I realized that the world around me was changing and that I better continue to read, write and teach if I wanted to remain relevant.
It is ironic that after graduating I returned to teach cadets history and now, I return periodically to West Point to teach rising corporate leaders at the Thayer Hotel.
At this point in my life, I feel very fortunate to have had that compass in my back pocket and true friends whom I will cherish to the end.

What West Point Means To Me – Joe Gelineau

West Point. Duty Honor and Country. The Long Gray Line.
These words never fail to reverberate in me a profound sense of reverence each time spoken or heard. The reasons are many, but four stand out:
I. West Point was a goal I never imagined attainable as a youth growing up in Corsicana, Texas. My Mother immigrated from French Canada after marrying my father, a traveling salesman, and followed him to Texas. We were four kids, and my mother, as far back as I can remember, single-handedly reared us, for my father died young. Mom taught French around our breakfast table to supplement a meager Insurance allowance after his death. She told us kids: “Study and do your best and try to get a scholarship to college. I know you can! ” As a youth, I aspired to be a soldier, and to follow those heroes who led our Country in battle, especially those who had graduated from West Point. There must be a way, I imagined.” After all, a poor youth from the Mountains of West Virginia, Audie Custer, had done it, graduated and became the famous George Armstrong Custer.” I had read and almost memorized his biography in my adolescent years. Some elders from our town admired my mother for her diligence and enthusiasm in the face of hard work raising us kids, and collectively decided to support me in my dream. They provided the contacts, all I had to do was study hard and hustle hard and never give in…and at night I never finished my prayers without “Please Lord, help me get into West Point!”
II. West Point provided opportunity. It was my duty to use it to the best of my ability to further an education, establish a character, and perfect the skills necessary to serve the Country well. It was not easy. I was not always up to the task. My classmates and upperclassmen were a source of inspiration along with the talented and experienced faculty of officers. I perfected the mantra “learn it, do it, evaluate it, correct it, try it again!” Four academic terms and four training summers passed, and I graduated as a Field Artillery Officer. I applied the lessons of Bonaparte and left for 3rd ID in Europe to “march to the sound of the guns.” From there I found that the Air Cavalry particularly attracted me and I opted for Rotary Wing pilot training. Serving in the Air Cav with the 101st Air Mobile was a great experience, continued with the 3/158th Helicopter Squadron in the Delaware National Guard.
III. West Point has formed the foundation of my approach to life ever since. Lead and Follow. The two are inseparable. One cannot effectively lead if he knows not how to follow. I have applied this through my years in active duty, and the years that followed in Corporate business and the National Guard. Most importantly. I applied it and continue to apply it in the relationships I keep with my children and their children.

My son has followed on and built on a remarkable military career as a Special Operations Officer and a decorated combat commander in Middle Eastern theaters of war. He served as an Instructor in Department of Physical Education at West Point for 3 years and my first grandson was born in the old West Point Hospital on Post. In 2016 I proudly attended his promotion to Full Colonel after only 20 years in service. Most recently, he has been assigned to command Operations for the Cyber Forces Command. I am confident that his sons and daughter, as well as my daughter’s son and daughter, will follow and lead as their parents have done, and as I have done.
IV. West Point, in these passing years, is a source of deeply held memories. My classmates are still my best of friends, and we share memorable occasions by attending the various graduations and marriages and births. The words, West Point, Duty, Honor Country, and the Long Gray Line bind us indefinitely into the future.

What West Point Means To Me – Denis Gulakowski

When the Average Joe hears the words, “West Point”, one of several images may come to mind; the Revolutionary War fortification protectively overlooking the Hudson River, the Gothic architecture of the Cadet Chapel, the expansive Plain hosting a full-dress parade of cadets, or Michie Stadium perched next to Lusk reservoir on colorful fall football weekends. These images might also explain, “what West Point means to me”, were one to ask the Average Joe. But West Point graduates are not the Average Joe when that phrase is posed to them.
West Point means many things to me, generally broken down into two time frames: at school and post-graduation. From the former, I remember general camaraderie, frenetic and grueling schedules, challenging academics, first-rate military training, muted pageantry, quality personnel and a sense of history. One of the major national issues of the time for our country and most certainly for us and our immediate futures, was the Vietnam War. While we were not exposed, for the most part, to daily media and the political unrest generated by the war, we were able to appreciate a different side of the war than the GAP (Great American Public) received. Also, from the former I remember specifically meeting and dating my now wife JoAnne, who participated with me during Firstie (senior) year including the Ring Hop, getting my Corvette, exploring Flirtation Walk, KDET record hops and graduation.
Throughout the years since graduation I experienced a series of different assignments, different homes, different locations and interactions with different people. Surprisingly, during most of those times, I didn’t serve directly with classmates, with one exception at Fort Belvoir, VA. Being exposed to colleagues whose source of commission and formal civilian education were different from mine, actually made me appreciate the West Point experience more. Not everyone with whom I worked had the same approach to, nor method of mission accomplishment, which, in some cases, made the situation more challenging.
The skills I learned at West Point and polished over the years have served me well.