Arriving early was a priority. Vice President, Joe Biden, was the graduation speaker and security was tight.
We sat sweating in the stands, working on our tans for quite awhile. It was hot. Besides buying a lot of water, Dad and I both bought West Point hats to shade our faces. By the looks of my nose, it was only partially successful.
After the official ceremony, there was one last official thing to do: the commissioning of the 2nd Lieutenant.
My dad's first cousin wanted to attend graduation at West Point. A former officer himself, he could administer the oath. He did such a nice job that this private family ceremony left me wiping tears, and I don't think I was the only one.
His mom and dad pinned on his bars while little sister looked on with the American flag.
West Point nephew had a lot of proud family. Grandpa and Grandma B, his siblings, and three of his cousins were in attendance.
From now on, the 2nd Lieutenant will be in army blue.
Three generations of the men of the family
I'm pretty proud of this guy.
And now he's going to learn how to fly helicopters.
Well, after five weeks of splitting his time between the farm and the Big City,
then he's off to pilot helicopters.
I imagine that his aunt won't be the only one praying.
4 comments:
Okay~so I read your blog earlier this AM and had to get back on and take a break from cleaning because all I could think about was how in "An Officer and A Gentleman" when Mayo graduated after all that hard, hard work.....he had NO family there to celebrate with. Cousin H is so very, very loved and lucky to have had such a cheering crowd present.....not to mention all of us cheering for him from afar! xoxoxox JKO
I have so enjoyed the pictures of your trip and the West Point graduation. I absolutely love the picture of your dad, brothers and nephews!
Many, many times I have had tears streaming down my face as daughter K participated in military events. My (new) goal is to be present when she promotes (her two promotions have been while in Kuwait and Guam). Cousin BJB
My in-laws live in the place he's going to learn to fly. FIL used to be a safety officer at that post. Let me know if he needs a local for anything! :)
Such a handsome man and great photos. Should I recognize that 2nd cousin performing the commissioning ceremony? Email or FB if I should. So glad you got to attend.
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