p317  Chapter Nine
Spirit of West Point

No one can come in contact with the United States Military Academy and its people without soon becoming aware of the spirit of West Point. Though wholly unique, it is made up of elements quite familiar to every American.

The West Point spirit is encountered at once by every cadet as he enters the Academy. If he is to succeed, he must grow into it and become a part of it. As he does so, he realizes that the motto of the Military Academy, "Duty, Honor, Country," is not one simply for school days but for the whole of his life in the service of his country as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. His acceptance of it becomes a pledge of faith in the principles on which this nation was founded, and of willingness to defend them.

His cadet years are in many respects the most important of an officer's military career, for they are the years during which he gains not only the technical knowledge required but also the development of character which is the primary objective of cadet experience. As once expressed by former Secretary of War Newton D. Baker: "Men may be inexact, or even untruthful, in ordinary circumstances, and suffer as a consequence only the disesteem of their associates, or the inconveniences of unfavorable litigation, but the inexact or untruthful soldier trifles with the lives of his fellow‑men, and the honor of his government; and it is, therefore, no matter of idle pride, but rather of stern disciplinary necessity that makes West Point require of her students a character for trustworthiness which knows no evasions."

West Point develops character in many ways. Young men entering the Academy from all parts of the country and from all walks of life must pass entrance examinations. The best mentally, morally, and physically qualified among the many thousands who seek appointments are selected. They represent many different backgrounds from which they have acquired their individual concepts of the fundamental elements of human character.

 p318  The will and determination to live the life of a cadet, to observe the hard and busy schedule of study, drill, and athletic training, to accept strict discipline, to assume responsibility and authority when charged, are the foundation of the process through which character is built. As the relation­ship of thousands of daily experiences gradually comes into focus, the cadet finds that he is learning to obey without shame, to command without arrogance, to serve without prejudice.

Character is of first importance at West Point because the first requirement of a soldier is fidelity to his country and its cause. The policy of the United States in the past has been to maintain a small standing Army in time of peace. This has placed upon the Regular Army the great responsibility of maintaining itself as an efficient nucleus from which a large citizen Army can be mobilized and trained for war within a short time. This responsibility has fallen largely upon the corps of professional officers who have elected to devote their lives not only to fighting in time of war but to keeping the military establishment on a ready footing in time of peace.

It is for such service that the Military Academy develops in its cadets the soundness of character and objectivity of viewpoint which insure that the leader­ship of the Army will always be faithful and competent. West Point knows that technical qualifications are not enough to meet the requirements of officers to whom the lives of American soldiers and the fortunes of the nation itself may be entrusted at any time. It does its best to insure that such responsibilities will be kept in worthy hands. Its graduates, for their part, have kept faith in a way that prompted General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower to state shortly before victory in Europe in 1945: "In a very real sense every officer serving throughout our Army of more than 7,000,000 men is in effect a graduate of West Point or, at the very least, the beneficiary of its teachings."

The spirit of West Point, though remaining undefined in the narrow medium of words, exists wherever the influence of the Military Academy has reached through its graduates. It is the living force that has made West Point in so many respects the "key to America."

 p319  The Corps

The Late Bishop Herbert S. Shipman

Former Chaplain, U. S. M. A.

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