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10 2 Upon the Fields of Friendly Strife The physical rigors of West Point life were soon matched by academic rigors . At 5:45 a.m. sharp, the bugle reveille and roll of drums began. Cadet Clarence J. Lokker penned the hazy morning scene: “Like some medieval, walled fortress, the sullen buildings stand out grotesquely in the early morning gloom. . . . There is a flash, a long echoing rumble of sound, the shrill brass of bugles, the reverberating cascade of drum beats in the area. Like the sudden parting of a curtain dawn has flung open a new day.”1 Cadets dressed quickly. They had five minutes before emerging into the dim light of the area between barracks. Briefly forming ranks, they uttered guttural responses while getting the once-over from a tactical officer searching for the slightest of infractions. Emptying the area, they returned to their rooms to shower, shave, and dress again before the 6:45 bugle playing “Mess Call.” “Then the long lines file into the mess hall,” wrote Lokker, “and seethe out again, momentarily lost in other gray buildings now taking shape in the growing daylight. Another bugle—first call for class, and gray ranks again shape themselves and disappear into the yawning portals of stern halls.”2 The cadets broke off into groups of a dozen to march to their first classes, and for the rest of the day—whether from hall to hall or field to firing range—they were always in marching formation. In class they began studying the greatest military battles and strategists. They trained in chemistry and physics, studied electric advancements that turned warfare on its head, and began viewing machinery in motion as a multitude of forces acting under natural laws. They were taught to speak and write clear, forceful English and studied constitutional law and foreign languages. And while they received training in complex engineering, they also received instruction in rudimentary topics like military hygiene, the Army not wanting to lose campaigns to disease. There were few lectures. Instead, cadets were handed reading assignKazel -Wilcox - West Point.indb 10 3/19/2014 5:40:08 PM upon the fields of friendly strife ★ 11 ments each night from which they were to determine relevant questions. So overwhelming was the volume that Ed Rowny read with a flashlight past curfew and soon needed glasses nearly as thick as milk bottles. In class cadets had half an hour to ask their questions before being quizzed. Writing answers on the blackboard, each was careful not to glance over a shoulder at an adjacent classmate, lest they commit an honor violation. They were graded every day on every subject and ranked monthly. As the months progressed , top achievers were labeled “starmen,” earning gold stars that they wore on their collars. The teaching methods were unorthodox, but then the goal was not to produce ordinary officers. At times, Charlie Fletcher fretted: If I don’t make it here, I’ll be back on the farm looking at the rear end of a horse. I’ve got to work harder, smarter. Solutions are not enough. I have to understand the approach to the solution. Fletcher’s great-grandfather had been a pioneer, and young ­ Charlie wanted to be one as well—but not with hay and horses. In 1829 his ancestor built a log cabin in the woods of southwestern Michigan before returning to Detroit, collecting his family, and fording rivers to drive their livestock to the new outpost of opportunity. Charlie’s father had been a pioneer as well, earning a degree in electrical engineering when the light bulb was still in its infancy. Fletcher wanted to tread new paths and had good genes to draw on, easily absorbing highly technical issues. He was increasingly drawn to complicated things that flashed—whether electric or explosive. Fletcher, for all his youth, was proving to be an intellect with West Point’s grooming. But even average cadets were driven to succeed by an above-average admiration for West Point. About the only respite from the cadets’ grueling regimen was Saturday night hops, when young ladies in gowns flocked from New York City to dance with the men in gray. Others came from states away, from Army posts where their fathers were stationed. Jim Forsyth, considered one of the better-looking elements of the class, with his high forehead and piercing blue eyes, collected female hearts among them. Tall and fair-haired George Johnson filled his dance card as...

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