World United States New York West Point

Mike and Roxanne travel east

West Point Oct 11, 2007

Oct 11, 2007

This is a down day, just waiting to head towards New York City. So today we are off to West Point. It is less than 30 miles from here and they offer tours.

We head out on a different road than we came in on and almost immediately there is a detour. Unfortunately it took us past our turnoff so we end up a little off the right wrong.

Not all bad, we drove past a sign that said, "Butter factory". It turns out to be the site of the first butter factory in America, dating from 1836. The building is no longer there but a plaque is.

We finally get to West Point and find the wrong gate. We got directions to the right gate and finally found the Visitor Center. We arrive about 15 after the hour and the tours are on the hour so we get our tickets and look through the Visitor Center. It is set up as an introduction to West Point. What you need to do to get in the Point and a video on the training, discipline, schooling and other aspects of the school.

In another area is a barracks room set up with the bed made, and uniforms in the closet.

One of the areas has a video on a day's activities: up at 6:00, breakfast at 6:30, classes, lunch at 12:00, more classes, dinner at 6:00, free time until 8:30, study until 11:30, back in the barracks and bed at 12:00 midnight.

We board the bus for our tour after our driver's license is scanned by security. Our first stop is the Chapel. It is the non-denominational chapel and is beautiful. No longer is chapel mandatory for cadets but over 80% of them attend one of the services offered.

The stained class windows in the chapel are beautiful and are the gift of each class to the Academy. The tradition started years ago when the cost of each window was $300. Many classes bought only one for their year but also one for a class in the past, often time a hundred years earlier. The last window to be inserted cost $20,000 but the maker continues to charge the original $300 to the class.

There is a candle in the middle of the chapel that is lit each morning in memory of all the war dead and MIA's throughout history.

West Point started in 1802 and before that it was a fort during the Revolutionary War. Every day since the fort began someone has raised and lowered the flag.

During our drive through the Academy we get to watch some cadets practicing golf, this along with tennis is taught to each cadet as an activity to use throughout their lives. This in addition to a team sport with all cadets must participate in.

We stand by the parade ground looking across at the Eisenhower and McArthur Barracks and see cadets on their way from class to their barracks as they prepare for lunch.

The Academy is built of local granite to look like it has risen up from the earth and even thought new buildings are going up all the time they still are made from the same granite and look like they have been there forever.

The Mission of West Point has always been:

"To educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army."

After the tour we visited the museum. The museum is considered to be the oldest and largest diversified public collection of miltaria in the Western Hemisphere. The first artifacts were captured British materials collected after the defeat at Saratoga in 1777. When the Academy opened in 1802 many Revolutionary War trophies remained to be used for cadet instruction.

After the Mexican War (1846-1848) West Point was designated by Executive Order as the permanent depository of war trophies.

We walked through the displays on West Point which showed the different types of uniforms worn throughout the years and held items owned by different dignitaries of West Point, from the polish patriot Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who engineered some of West Point's early fortifications and guns, swords, and uniforms belonging to Eisenhower, Pershing, McArthur, Lee, Grant, and Bradley.

Another display is on the "History of Warfare." And included different types of uniforms and items from coats of armor to the safety plug from the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb.

The "History of the U.S. Army" gallery details the contributions to the U.S. These exhibits start with the opening of the frontier, the Buffalo soldiers, the Panama Canal, the Manhattan Project and the race to space.

The "American Wars" display is a mini lesson in all the wars America has been involved in over the years.

The basement held the weapons from war clubs used by early Indians, knives, swords, poles, pikes, early rifles and pistols up to more modern day weapons. The bottom basement was an exhibit on larger weaponry life a WWI tank, and car. Small bombs are here and cannons of all types.

The museum represents the culmination of more than two centuries of preserving our military heritage.