Robert F. Foley on United States Military Academy

“The honor code goes far beyond the walls of the Academy. West Point cadets are expected to be completely trustworthy just as West Point graduates are expected to make a lifelong commitment to honorable living. During the first week of New Cadet barracks, the West Point Class of 1963 heard an address by a member of the Cadet Honor Committee, who said: "Honor is not something that can be put on or taken off like your dress coat. It is as much a part of you as your heart and goes with you wherever you may be. When we say that a cadet does not lie, cheat, or steal, we do not mean just at West Point. We mean anywhere, anytime and under any circumstances."”

“Recruited by 15 colleges, I made campus visits to The Citadel, Providence, and Holy Cross before Jack Riley, the West Point hockey coach, read an article in the Boston Globe about a state championship game in which I scored 44 points and collected 28 rebounds. He gave the newspaper clipping to George Hunter, the West Point head basketball coach, who invited my parents and me to visit the academy. I was not at all interested in a military school, but my father and mother wanted to see the campus because they enjoyed watching the TV series The West Point Story with Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Clint Eastwood. After we drove to West Point, I walked the grounds of this historic institution, had discussions with Coach Hunter and members of the Army basketball team, and met with All-American players Pete Dawkins and Bob Anderson. I came away impressed with West Point's history, tradition, and institutional values. After returning home and reflecting on the last passage of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken," I was positive that I wanted to be a cadet at the United States Military Academy.”