Field trip to West Point Academy

On March 21, students took a trip across the Hudson River to visit the United States Military Academy at West Point. Our tour guide pointed out campus landmarks and helped us appreciate West Point's strategic location on the turn of the otherwise straight Hudson river. We were able to examine and touch segments of the 65-ton iron chain that stretched across the Hudson to block British invasions. Students role-played Continental soldiers, George Washington, Tadeusz Kościuszko and Benedict Arnold at different locations around campus. We also heard about student life, and the challenges of becoming and succeeding as a cadet. After a picnic lunch, we explored West Point's extensive military history museum, home to the pistols of Napoleon, George Washington, and Hitler as well as the shell of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb. Experiencing the history of West Point first-hand was certainly inspiring: perhaps we have some future cadets in our midst!