United States Military Academy West Point - Howitzer Yearbook (West Point, NY)

Page 12 text:

T E I9 iz I-IOWITZER H illlge eililll ' Corps, not alone to the Corps of to-day and to those who have gone before, but to those that shall follow after. With the consciousness of this responsibility comes the deep respect and veneration for the men who, ,by their lives and deeds, made the name of VVest Point synonymous with Honor. In this awakening lies, perhaps, the reason for the conservatism of the Corps. hlarching abreast with this insight into the trans- formation of self from a boy to a man with a purpose in life comes a desire to be worthy, to so live that when he shall depart he may feel that the Corps is stronger all along the line than when he came. He looks for the means by which to achieve this end and in gilt letters on his cap he reads the words, Duty, Honor, Countryf, and in that motto is the heart and soul of his en- deavor. His quest is over, his road lies straight be- fore him, a road narrow and difficult in places, but leading upward, and he sets his face toward the crest of the hill. He instinctively looks to the past for guidance. This is but natural. VVhen the success of a.man in any business becomes known to the public it at once searches for the reasons by which that success was made possible. If it finds in his methods something new or of use to it, it is quick to seize and apply the principle to further its own interests. But here in the Corps when search is made for something to foster a higher spirit of manhood and cleanness one comes back to the place of starting with those three , words on which to build his ,.,' Q. castle. VVhat greater tribute H Q .,-. i ' i' ,,f can be paid to those who , -Qijis. E iggi'fi i . filet WOW the sffly than that 4. the guiding star which they 5 chose to follow should be the :'i' 5 brightest in the firmament to-day? It is no wonder that Wifi! '.- the Corps is slow to change, 'A T'-'if r ,N' that it seems to resent any C -' 1 'if h change in its customs or mode lui A ' C' ' 12

Page 11 text:

1 Y' Y I 'Q - .. V rs' assi- 0 H Eiavggxl :lit- 1' ' 11 E 1 9 I2 --y 1101111112111 'r-' . 'q'1 1 p1 f -' , ' . . . , NIJ' ',1bj.1g1?k .. 111s forgettul11ess of 11er care. As tl1e ' 1. ' '-. 1 ' 1: w , , . '-fl2..'-, Q V f h.Wgi q?1i .'i'14 fig?7'f lnghest tribute man can pay to his A' 2'-1-'11 1 1' '. 1 '-1'5 - ' - - - 1 l vw Q ., ,g11:: l, -11-if'f1,g,7E4+,. 1. I' mother IS to lav 111s aclnevements at 11er . -1 . ,171 ,, 'R .- 1 if-L 1 'fd'-. ',-- .11 24- , 1 6' feet, so t11e best acknowledgement of me -rbi' gratitude a graduate ea11 make to t11e 1 ls- . 1- IY '71 'fif.1'Yx 41 i - - . . swag: 7-gt.: gi, 1Xcade1ny is to do 1118 duty as he learned .1 g5:Q1T5:g23g,'5'1'9'p,9'P 12 it l1ere. If, having 110110 t11at, honor or ' 35:5 fame shall co1ne to 111111, l1e will feel tl1at 1 ' -1:11, . y 1 -fel. to h1s Ahna Mater belongs the glory. HE Corps is at once one of tl1e '- . ' -KS ,lf ,. , -'V IX Q' .' 5-fifsi . iv Q Q? most de111ocrat1e and most conserv- t41 f:11iw?'4-'-ffi , Reis -91:4 ative bodies 111 t11e world. T l1e causes wl1ic11 l'J1'l11g t11is about are many and varied. In tl1e first place, its lllCllll'JG1'S co111e from every State in tl1e UHiO11, bri11ging'wit11 them the ideas and customs of their birthplaces. O11 arrival llG1'G G?lCll 011075 whole conception of t11e social systemvof life is s11attered and l1e is lost O11 a sea' of eo11flicti11g eniotions. He lC?,L1'US that l1is own personal record has been swept away a11d, so far as tl1e Corps is concerned, he l1as no pastg t11at hc has absolutely a clean sl1eet 011 which to write 11is worth, that his destiny lies i11 his own hands, a11d that Wl1CtllC1' or 11ot l1e shall leave behind 111111 a clean record of hardships patiently bor11e and duty well do11e rests solely with himself. The hard 'lesson t11at l1e himself 111ust ever be subservient to the good of t11e w11ole is early broug11t 1101110 to him. Slowly but steadily from out t11e chaos and confusion l1e evolves a new creed of life. He feels the intangible forces of the past lightly at Hrst, but ever growing stronger. Daily grows t11e current in his life, deep, resistless, flowing through a11 unknown land, carry- ing him 011 and 011 till 0110 day l1e awakens to t11e fact t11at he has fou11d himself a part of t11e Corps, , - 4 --1 L !!-1155 w1 ' ' 1 that unl-:nown to 111111- g . 'fj , ae:'1: 'r, 1 - A ,.1 . , . self l1e l'l2LS entered '31,,i?,'-' 1 . 5E:,3'f5Z+11f1 -,fa - 1 1 . ?,,5.,M'.gs1'i , 'f:1.1g111' 1 -1 .29 1, into tl1e l1fe of a body 1,53-,-. ' rip 3, rzfi fi 1-121. . . . . V V I -, 5,21 A1 'wr' -:L .15 'jr j.- - Lf- -1 '-1 5 which IS Greater tlltlll Q-1F1!'1A '5t f 1' A- .115-JQSQ.,-Y ,, 5 - wif , 1 fs' if .-fhfiftffff :fy g fa - 1 11 ' - 'vin f - ,Ul,1-45- -1 1 ' ' ' --., -...sitji-1:1.,'1, f' 1 '1'tf1F W Q.. y fvffhif . , , 1 , -,V his ow11 a11d, yet, of 1g,7s:'Qi5gzq'g5:fj1,-,L41?-1111 1 . ' -ps-'11 1 - ' - 1 'V55'31?f -'1J'?',f'f'f'f ff? lf f .- 'X:1 1-Q11 1- f ' 'icff' 1 .1 171 ,fl -f 'ae which his l1fe forms a EH: 1-. f-:f1f-ffgryff-J 'ii-4-E,:115,E , J 11- ,i ' 1 2-5' f.L 2ff27,jg.?5:'N1' f,Zjfir1-. M ' ' Part- HG aWH1kG11S to 31,1241 iaith. , . , ' 1 . , '.f11'Q-f1',,i,...s:'j1f11,151 1 11, , ' L- -1 1 ?52'.g,j'-: g'1j,f':'y... -'f-f .. 1 ,Q a sense of t11e responsi- 11, wg - - - 1' ailing--1'1f 1 My ,e 1 ii J :12-,f'.a-f,sf:-,3-- blllfy Wlmh has 100211 ' if - V' - i It .1 1.' .r. - , '4.f p1im i' 'FQ thrust upon bmi, 3 fe' 1 -1 sponsibilitv to the 31. ' 1 A ' - . f x : evil -' 'wr' .V , ' 'e1':,-'wiz-can-11.-H 11 . 1

Page 13 text:

J! !. ! 1 . 'Q-I' Q? I fa- . E 1 TH E I9 iz I-IOWITZER of living. For more than five-score years strong men who created their creed from these words, living true to that creed, have made the name of West Point honored and respected throughout the world. Are customs and traditions which have accomplished t.hese results to be lightly thrown aside? Are the lessons learned in this time of so little value that they should be forgotten or discarded, to follow a careless inspiration or idle prophecy? There can be but one answer to this. No man in full possession of his faculties would throw away the time-tested precepts hy which he had won success and recognition in the world of men, until he was absolutely certain that he had found not merely a substitute but something bet- ter. There is the key to the strange reluctance to change: the antipathy to all which mifrht set ,fam-. 1 rw.-sy .. i -. ft- . .pig Terri' 523.415-,gvliy gui f-ffnx V.. ' 4: ig -- Age ' we 1:-Jl.i,'i' 'f 1' 5 W1 'J' ,X--I . ., 'wi , A , sa' ffgaf , -. . A xy' ' I .g s . ,f , ., . .,. . Wg, -X K fy- -' , rf ,k it itE?5f?g ' l .gi u C Wl'w7'FJ -ft' Q ,- e 4 ,gf E gf- ':fWf!5QrLs,2 'Re q fe 5 T -i- . I S. - Qsfexi sk' .. . .. . 'tim lllllllE'lESiE5 llllllil lEiS!f5t'!lBl llllfgifl il A i x N I -li-4 E :sew:goEetaiofiiiittttii-eiitiisflffftiifii: '-ai --is-11: I- ft FY- 1 ,.:-Q52 , N , 1:14, . V fs. I , ,, ., ...W ' D 1 4 the Corps in new and Zll1Cll paths. The Vorps can conceive of no new anns or ideals by which its own future can he made more secure. Instinctively it recog- nizes that its safety lies in the observance of every custom, every tradition by the help of which the long assaults of time and change than honor shall he' known, gray line has thus far proved invul-nerable to the Until the day shall come when some virtue greater when the word country ceases to cause a thrill in the heartsof its sons, when Y 1 l i there is a nobler feeling than 'f A i ' . . ,- f --.- 4 ? I csslg N. I .. J N ..Yf --1. A- V Il I 'RQ 53? N a.-A '5 M-gg'-v :jr Sim, PM .as 1 nr v J 993555, 'ff ,AQ F xi-af: 'iw 99 if fe?-+-iif'ei.fDf W 5-.:--'- J l 2 ,ull L' 5357 it s .4-f l ,? I it gina 1.625 Z ...nu an x R ifkgilfixglf, 'QQ R15 - 5 , - 'J 545' X ' . ' J -. T 4:5 ' . 6 ' 2 ' ig - -at X Qz5,,::HQ- . 1 A or T 6. ,'uf'Z' at :r,':f3gig.f,p ., ' 4- V -s -'21-iiilaf' X 3i '.0-2'-It rf- 'f Lu HQ: X la ,Zi f ff l 51: 'sipwzilif -F if r l.f5:f ,5T'?3?E5lii6? ' a iPc,i'511-fi Q'gl l'3 pf' 'Y 5 iz bgiatzf-we-:H-z -' 6 aqs.:.v:.-.:.,-5-sw.rq4:,p11f: ' ..gfff-rrwff .if-5 -- 5. 5 .?z.1ff---.fbwmiff f -nifnqggid,g':g,37:,:vz-4.33-iq' ' 52:21 1 -'mfg iff' 1: ' ,Riff-, 'Me' 1-. 27:.1'1'::' :ef 'fi - 5259252114 ,::'::s-:J ,..,g -- - fe JH: ' -. , ' ifiiimt If-f-1: ' 2 .ea gjzvf - gswfr'-ffm':.1's1 :I-fc . F.-,..-.,, Q- fp .'.,.5 5.11 3- ,gentv -'V :sz fi f'.-Q,.0a'4- , PJ 'Q-.,-gg v - H 1 fa-49 .N--rx' E' V135 V ip pi fri.: ,. S- ., - ' nf -1 'W ' , ki ' ' A ' 44:21, 4- ' -v..L,sa ,:se - i pg -ww' 1 wr. . 'f' ' 1 init-H-r ' Q - 4 M ' QI . , . ' f-'H --0 , W1-+24-1 ' .e T 1.9 , aa 13 ix Vi ,ff that of duty well done, until that day shall dawn the Corps will turn to the past for inspiration to keep its record untarnished. This does not imply that the heights have been won and the struggle ,is over. The Creator in His providence saw fit to give to the world some ideals which are yet far from actual realization, which, perhaps, can never be attained. It is well for all