RING WEEKEND AT WEST POINT

Posted By on August 22nd, 2010

My Place in West Point’s Ring Cycle http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703649004575437830598650428.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

By MARGARET LOUGH

West Point, N.Y.

Yesterday the first class cadets at West Point, also known as firsties, changed from their drab, gray class uniforms to the crisp and seldom-worn India Whites, belted with the red sash that denotes a senior. Surrounded by family and friends, we marched in step to receive our class rings and begin Ring Weekend—one of the most anticipated events in a cadet’s career.

Since we arrived as bewildered plebes in 2007, most of us have counted down this 47-month experience. After three years of seemingly endless tasks—early morning runs and late night study sessions, twice-daily formations and afternoon drills—seeing that ring is enough to know that May 21, 2011, is almost in sight. More importantly, we’re that much closer to the beginning of our new lives as officers.

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.

Associated Press President Dwight D. Eisenhower, West Point Class of 1915, tries on a 1960 class ring.

We honed our motto during that first summer training event, Beast Barracks, before plebe year. Somewhere in the flood of West Point and Army lingo, we chose “For Freedom We Fight.” Granted, that breaks with the tradition of rhyming the motto with the year (2008—No Mission Too Great). But besides the fact that nothing seems to rhyme with “2011,” the phrase fits the mission we face upon graduation.

Like the classes that surround us, we recognize our imminent place in the wars this country faces. None of my classmates joined with the mindset of a peacetime soldier. We all came with the understanding that, in one way or another, we would fight for the values we have chosen to uphold.

As with many aspects of life at West Point, however, we are not the first, nor will we be the last. In the belly of the West Point library is the collection of old class rings, showcasing almost every class since 1837. They include the rings of Gens. Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, as well as those of recent 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.

Other rings gain new life in future graduates. Since 2002, the Class Ring Memorial Program has allowed graduates to bequeath their rings to rising classes once they’ve 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.

Whether worn by newly minted firsties or long-retired generals, these bands are much more than mementos. My grandfather, class of 1938—who served in London and Italy during World War II—wore his ring until his death just a few years ago. That ring, and every ring I have seen on a graduate since, told stories of war and romance, victory and loss.

West Point has faced its share of criticism. Some analysts have even argued that the military should close down the institution and save money by focusing almost exclusively on ROTC programs at civilian universities. The question of what types of academic and moral training are best for officers is one that I’ll leave to others.

For those of us at West Point, we face a choice: sink under pressure or be an individual despite the uniformity. I believe most embrace the latter. Yet slipping that ring on my finger is also an acknowledgment of the trust I place in those around me.

In the days when officers still rode to battle on horseback, their rings showed the marks of years of rubbing against reins. Today, most graduates leave their rings with loved ones when they deploy.

But they carry the spirit of the code that unites today’s young cadets with the thousands who came before—that keen understanding of character and valor. As the Class of 2011 moves ever closer to receiving our commissions in May, our rings will remind us of the unbroken fellowship across generations of service and sacrifice.

Ms. Lough, a first class cadet at West Point, was a Robert L. Bartley fellow at the Journal this summer.

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