The WPPC
of Oregon & SW Washington Newsletter

SHORT SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS

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West Point Report       Pointer View

West Point Parents' Club of Oregon
  & SW Washington Newsletter -October 1999

(add all new cadet's e-mails so they can get newsletter also)

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday, January 29th at ??
12:30 executive, 1:00 meeting
Contact Patty or Al Klascius by e-mail <klascius @teleport.com>
(503) 695-2824, for questions or to suggest agenda items

ARMY-NAVY FOOTBALL

     1944 Army 23, Navy 7 Game featured the nation's No. 1 vs. No. 2 teams. Three weeks prior to game, it was moved from Annapolis to Baltimore upon recommendation of President Roosevelt. The fans were required to purchase war bonds in order to purchase a game ticket. $58 million in war bonds were purchased as a result of this effort. An INTERESTING TRIVIA bit for a plebe
to supply to upper-class if a piece of such is needed.

ANCHORS AWEIGH FOR THE CORPS

The following is from a 3 December 1994 issue of the Richmond Times

Dispatch written by John Steadman of the Baltimore Sun. The article was in conjunction of the 50th anniversary of that Army-Navy game played in 1944 at Baltimore. It provides some interesting facts not known to many members of the Class and in addition brings back many memories.
     "Football, or even all of sports, never had an event to equal the circumstances that existed in Baltimore exactly 50 years ago.
     It was the only time Army played Navy when each was ranked the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country plus the fact you had to first buy a war bond before being eligible to purchase a ticket. Furthermore, because of railroad travel restrictions, the corps and brigade of the academies came to the game by ship.
     The entire mission was guarded by World War II censorship rules. Had German U-boats known of the trip down the Hudson River, and then hugging the coast line of New Jersey, they may have attempted to torpedo the USS Uruguay, and wipe out the 2,400 future officers it was transporting.
     There was a convoy of protection, six destroyers, which surrounded the troop carrier against such an attack. Meanwhile, Naval Academy undergraduates merely sailed up Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis to Baltimore and then marched to then Municipal Stadium, built on the same site as present Memorial Stadium.
     It wasn't until after the war that the almost spell-binding details of how the Cadets and Midshipmen made it to Baltimore for the 1944 kickoff were revealed by Harold Rosenthal, sports writer of the New York Herald Tribune. What happened was never talked about or discussed and known only to military personnel before Rosenthal related the secret scenario that unfolded.
     World War II was at its height. Railroads were moving supplies and men. It would have been a violation of national policy to utilize trains to carry the cadets and midshipmen to Baltimore. Thus, the precarious nautical maneuver, an approach by sea, was implemented.
     Army Coach Earl 'Red' Blaik, great as a man and football strategist, later said, 'I know there must be a moment in every coach's career which surpasses all the others….I believe the No. 1 moment for me came in that victory of Army's greatest over Navy's greatest in Baltimore.'
     To see the game, a fan was compelled to first buy a war bond to qualify as a ticket holder. A crowd of 66,658 was present, including Gen. George Marshall, Army Chief of Staff; Adm. William D. Leahy, Navy Chief of Staff; Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations; and Gen. H. H. Arnold, Chief of the Air Forces. A seat on the 50-yard line meant a million-dollar war bond had to be purchased. Fifteen boxes, bought by corporations and industries, were sold for that figure. Overall, the total war bond sale represented the most money accrued during World War II from any single event - an astronomical $58,637,000,
     It was the Treasury Department that came up with the idea of staging the war bond bonanza, succeeding in a brief 15-day period, with congressional pressure, to move the game site from modest Thompson Stadium at the Naval Academy to Baltimore where the capacity was three times the size as could have been accommodated in Annapolis.
     As for the game, it was an epic even though Army won by a deceptive score of 23-7. Two future Heisman Trophy winners, Felix 'Doc' Blanchard and Glenn Davis, were in the West Point backfield.
     Blanchard, in a momentous twist of irony, had tried to enlist in the Navy after his freshman year at North Carolina, but was turned down because doctors found he was color blind. Imagine if Blanchard had gone in the Navy and play there. History would have offered a diverse perspective.
     Davis, in reflecting on the game remembers Blaik telling the team in the locker room how Gen. Robert Eichelberger had wired him 'to win for all the soldiers fighting for us.' There was no denying the resolve as the teams took the field Davis is in agreement with Blaik that the Baltimore performance was historic.  It was Army's first undefeated season in 30 years. 'Of the many thrills I've had in my career, I guess the Army-Navy game of Dec. 2, 1944, was my greatest,' he says. 'We at West Point considered that victory the high point of our undefeated streak.'
     And on a distant battlefront, Gen. Douglas MacArthur learned via Armed Forces Radio what had transpired in Baltimore. He quickly dispatched a cable to Blaik that qualifies as a vivid example of the flamboyant MacArthur. His message read" "The greatest of all Army teams. We have stopped the war to celebrate your magnificent success.'
     After Army's win, the cadets hoped to celebrate in downtown Baltimore but had to march four miles from the stadium to the Baltimore waterfront, where they re-boarded the troop ship. They looked forward to a promised victory dinner but those plans, for most of the party, went awry.
     A freak storm, close to hurricane proportions, came up Chesapeake Bay, creating a chop that was so severe the men couldn't eat. They crowded the rails because the seasickness beset them. The only thing they rationalized at that moment was how pleased they were to be involved in an Army career, and not aboard ship, after graduation.
     It would have been the perfect anniversary setting if the 50th anniversary of the wartime game could have been staged in Baltimore, not Philadelphia, because of the symbolic significance. College football and the service rivalry never overcame so many difficulties to play a game. Even the most horrendous war in world history didn't stop them."

The Black Knight

(import image)
     Prior to 1941, the West Point football team had a less than stellar record.  Their game was poor, their uniforms were a drab gray with a leather helmet, and they did not even have a full time coach.  In fact, for the 1939 and '40 seasons, a Captain Wood coached football in the fall, and the joined his regular Army unit for the rest of the year.
     The Academy decided it was time to have a full time person to guide and transform the football team, so they hired Col Earl H. "Red" Blaik, a former alumnus, who was coaching at Dartmouth.
     Col. Blaik, whose era at the Academy lasted from 1941-1958, turned the West Point football team around.  They became impressive not only in their play on the field, but also in their appearance.  The team was a powerful force; by 1944 they were averaging 56 points per game, and seldom were scored on.  The Colonel also dramatically changed the team uniform by introducing the black jersey with the gold number, the gold hard helmet, and gold pants.
     About the time of the 1944 season, a sports writer for the New York Times dubbed the cadet football team, "The Black Knights of the Hudson".  It seems that the "Black " referred to the black jersey, and the "Knight" related to the military installation as well as reflecting the medieval gothic architecture of the Academy.
     The colorful name stuck, and while it initially referred to the football team, it is now a name and a symbol that represents all the sports teams at West Point.

The Coat of Arms

     Thomas Jefferson established the Academy in 1802 with his signature, but it was not until 1898 that it had an escutcheon.  Sometime prior to 1897, a board was appointed to design an official coat of arms for Academy documents, insignia, etc.,   There were several tentative designs drawn up.  Stanford White, a noted architect and artist, enhanced and refined the one selected by the board labeled "Original Basic Design".   West Point used the final design, entitled"Coat of Arms Adopted in 1898", for many years until the War Department altered it in 1923.
     In accordance with regulations, the Academy submitted it's Coat of Arms to the War Department in 1922 for approval.  It was then that an officer knowledgeable in heraldry noticed that the eagle and the helmet faced to the sinister side, implying something ominous or evil, rather than to the dexter, as it should be.   Furthermore, the sword might be taken by some as a bar sinister, indicating illegitimacy in the 'family' line.  In time the Academy implemented the changes in the Coat of Arms, although you can still see the original version on some of the older buildings.
     The Coat of Arms consists of the Academy Emblem (the helmet of Pallas Athene, the symbol of wisdom and learning) superimposed on a Greek sword (the symbol of the military profession) on a shield bearing the arms of the United States, surmounted by the crest (the American eagle carrying laurel and oak leaves, arrows, and a scroll bearing the Academy motto).  The colors of the color version are from the U. S. Coat of Arms, and the black, gray and gold version worn by West Point teams in intercollegiate athletics is a tradition that goes back to 1899.
     A point of clarification in terminology:  The Academy Seal is different than the Coat of Arms.  The Seal consists of the emblem mounted on an oval Greek Shield.  Around the edge of the shield is a ribbon with the words Duty,Honor, Country, U.S.M.A. on it, and in smaller letters on one side of the shield are the words West Point, MDCCCII.  The Academy uses this seal on many official documents.

From March 1995 edition of our club's newsletter

1999 Oregon/SW Washington Club Officers

President: Al & Patty Klascius (Chad ‘01, Craig '02) klascius@teleport.com
V-President: Richard and Susan Adams (Matt '02) adams@proaxis.com
Secretary: George & Evelyn Mears (Dwight ‘01) egmears@casco.net
Treasurer: Wayne & Carol Hatton (Sarah ‘00) sarahpdx@aol.com
Historian Suzanne Olsen (Michael '03) kentolsen@home.com
Newsletter: Al & Patty Klascius (Chad ‘01, Craig '02) as above
**Please feel free to contact any of the above with questions, suggestions, corrections or for "free" advice.  Your  newsletter editors regret any errors, and appreciate notification of such. Thank you. **

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