In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

153 Epilogue ON OCTOBER 18, 2012, a beautiful autumn Thursday in New York, the West Point Corps of Cadets stood at attention on the Plain, the parade ground at West Point. There, accompanied by my family, friends, many former staff, and the West Point faculty, I reviewed the corps as it passed in formation. Then I joined the superintendent, Lieutenant General David H. Huntoon Jr., in inspecting each company. The formal parade was just one of the activities surrounding the granting of the Thayer Award—but easily the most impressive. Following the parade, the corps assembled for dinner in the vaulted gray stone cadet mess hall. There, beneath the platform from which Douglas MacArthur told the world that old soldiers never die, I spoke to the cadets who will be the Army’s future leaders. I told them of examples of great West Point graduates who had preceded them into the profession of arms, of Hector Polla and William Hoge and (to his surprise) Arch Barrett, who was there at a front table. I recommended that they study the Constitution, the art of war, and their military specialties. And I reminded them of the great value of taking care of their troops and their families, and the importance of listening to their sergeants. But most of all, I thanked them—for their service to America and the kind honor they had been a part of granting to me that day. And I concluded: During the sunrise of my life, it was my dream to come to West Point. That did not happen. But now, as the sun dips toward the sunset , I am at West Point. No graduate with brand-new second lieutenant bars could be more thrilled than I. I will cherish this medal as if it were my diploma. ...

Share