Ringing in the long gray line at West Point
Against the colorful mountains of upper New York and the Hudson River, last weekend at West Point first class cadets of the class of 2011, marched in step to receive their class rings and begin Ring Weekend—one of the most anticipated events in a cadet’s career while at West Point.
Now seniors or otherwise known as”Firsties,” the class of 2011 went to receive and wear their ring in anticipation of the coming years graduation.
As family of a firstie cadet we watched as the class of 2011 changed from their drab, gray class uniforms to the crisp and seldom-worn India Whites, belted with the red sash; - denoting a senior.
Since our son’s gradation from Handley High School in 2006, it seems odd that four years have passed when he received a phone call that from an Army Major telling him if he wanted a slot at West Point Prep school he needed to make up his mind and get back with him within 30 minutes; it didn’t take that long for Will to call back and request a slot. A year later in August 2007, as other cadets arrived as bewildered plebes. Since then, parents and cadets alike have counted down this 47-month experience.
The ring weekend is a time honored ceremony that marks a time of promise and a time of knowing that May is not far away. For most cadets after three years of seemingly endless tasks—cadets of the class of 2011 adapted the West Point lifestyle, and succumbed to the academic drills along with early morning runs and late night study sessions. At West Point for the class of 2011, within the daily formations and afternoon drills—most cadets know that as a cadet their life is about to end. They’re that much closer to the beginning of a new life as an Army officer. A new beginning, the Army life.
For the class of 2011 cadets honed their motto during that first summer training event in August of 2007, at “Beast Barracks,” as a candidate cadet, before becoming a plebe or Acceptance Day and the year that followed. Somewhere in the flood of West Point summer training before march back and Army lingo, each class chooses a motto. For the class of 2011, the cadets choose -“For Freedom We Fight.”
Some would agree, the phrase fits the mission these newly commissioned officers will face upon graduation.
Our son falls into a long line of military heritage. Like those before him, my father and my father’s father felt life to carry arms for one’s country a small sacrifice to pay. My great grandfather was in the Scottish Army facing Russian soldiers in the Crimean War.
My father served in two wars, WWII and the Korean war; as I have served in the Vietnam Era, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom wars. Our daughter served two tours in Iraq, and now our son, god willing will continue to fight for freedom.
Today Americans’ should recognize this country imminent danger as a place we face in this time of war. These days of uncertainly.
When this class of cadets joined, they don’t have the luxury of joining a peacetime military. Our son joined within the mindset of a war time soldier, knowing that in less than 10 months they could be on their way overseas to fight a war.
They joined to be leaders in that fight and came with the understanding that, in one way or another, to fight for the values America has chosen to uphold and protect.
In August 23, 2010 parents and friends gather at this time honored ceremony. With the many aspects of life at West Point, the ring ceremony is special; however, others have come before them and cadets know that they are not the first, in this long line of tradition of “Duty, Honor, Country,” nor will we be the last.
In the belly of the new library building completed for West Point which boasts of a the collection of old class rings, showcasing almost every class since 1837.
This new multilevel complex displays proudly the rings of Gens. Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, as well as other graduates who wore theirs far too briefly. Just a few feet from that display case, cadets of all classes gather daily to do their homework.
Upholding the “Long Gray Line linage,” the Class Ring Memorial Program has allowed graduates to bequeath past graduates rings to rising classes once those “old soldiers” have passed. Those bands are melted down and mixed into the new gold, so that as cadets receive their rings, they inherit a direct reminder of their predecessors’ loyalty and kinship.
With one of the Hudson Valley's most beautiful vistas as a backdrop, cadets slide their rings on for the first time. They spend much of the rest of the day putting them on display, sticking their hands out for family, classmates, and, most famously, the Plebes who, by tradition, swarm them to get a look at their rings while reciting what's called the "Ring Poop:"
#West Point has faced its share of criticism over the years. Some analysts have even argued that the military should close down the institution and saved the money it costs by focusing almost exclusively on ROTC programs at civilian universities.
As a retired Sergeant 1st Class after serving over 30 years I think that is a simple answer. Any soldier worth their weight in bullets will tell you that a West Point officer is dedicated to doing the mission without short cuts and without being subjected to favoritism. I think it’s because the academic and moral training are so instilled in a cadet that they look at leading in an honest light. And isn’t that what you need in great leader? It’s secondary to everything and that fact itself leaves little to draw a conclusion of which a leader would protect and defend the Constitution of the United States over everything else.
For my son that is his last year at West Point, he faces a tough and grueling future but a choice he has learned through due-diligence and hard work. In less than ten months he will be joining the ranks of the Army and it’s either get it done and or move aside, but despite the uniformity, I believe he will embrace the work ahead.
My wife and I watched proudly as he slipped that ring on his finger knowing he will be taking his place in the long gray line. It’s also an acknowledgment of the trust we place in his leadership abilities and those around him...
In the days when officers still rode to battle on horseback, officers lowered their swords and their rings showed the marks of years of rubbing against reins.
Today, most graduates leave their rings with loved ones when they deploy.
But these fine young men and women carry the spirit of the code that unites today’s young cadets with the thousands who came before them, —they hold a keen understanding of character and valor that West Point cadets cherish.
As the Class of 2011 moves ever closer to receiving their commissions in May, a ring will remind them of the unbroken fellowship across generations of service and sacrifice and of the long gray line.
The concept of the class ring was born at West Point. The Class of 1835 ordered the first rings, and though the class of 1836 chose not to follow suit, 1837 revived the practice and the line has remained unbroken ever since. In 1869, a committee was established to formalize the rings and now, after several stages of evolution, each bears the West Point crest on one side and the unique class crest and motto on the other.
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