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John Lawrence Schick
John Lawrence Schick was born on 23 November 1931 in Kansas. He received a Congressional appointment to West Point from Alaska and entered on 3 July 1951. He was in Company G1, played hockey for four years and was a Cadet Captain and Regimental Training Office his first class year. He graduated on 7 Jun 1955 and was commissioned in the US Army in the Armor.
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How I got my appointment to West Point
John's 'How I Got There' has to be based on my nebulous memory of his admissions stories as all our family history records were lost in the San Diego firestorm of 2003.
John's parents, Brig. Gen. and Mrs. L. E. Schick, were stationed at West Point in 1936 until WWII and again, permanently, in 1946 where Col. Schick was the professor of MT&G. John went to Highland Falls High School and graduated in 1949. He always planned to go to West Point; he applied, qualified and received a 1st Alt. appointment. The principal accepted so John went to Braden's Prep School in Cornwall-on-Hudson. He applied again in 1950, received a 1st Alt. appointment, the principal accepted, so John went to Lehigh University in PA.
With some sense of frustration, knowing in the previous year's both principals had resigned early in plebe year, Col. Schick called a WWII colleague, then the Governor of the new state of Alaska, and secured a principal appointment for John. I think it was a tough call for John to leave Lehigh, where he was thoroughly enjoying college life, but he made the decision and in the summer of 1951, joined the Class of '55.
Tommy wrote incoherently on 'How I Stayed There', but John and I could still relate. Our parents were dear friends and neighbors at West Point, living in Qtrs. #63 and #65 in the Lusk area. Being a Cadet and having your family home at West Point can have its pros and cons, and having your girl living next door can compound them, but John successfully managed the situations with his usual savoir-faire. There are so many fond memories of those Cadet days and the beginning of our 52 years together.
Ellen Schick
22 AUG 2010
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