Notable Alumni
An unofficial motto of the academy's history department is "Much of the history we teach was made by people we taught." Graduates of the academy refer to themselves as "The Long Gray Line," a phrase taken from the academy's traditional hymn "The Corps." The academy has produced just under 65,000 alumni, including two Presidents of the United States: Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower; the president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis; and three foreign heads of state: Anastasio Somoza Debayle of Nicaragua, Fidel V. Ramos of the Philippines, and José María Figueres of Costa Rica. Alumni currently serving in public office include Senator Jack Reed, Governor of Nebraska David Heineman, and Congressmen Geoff Davis, Brett Guthrie, Mike Pompeo and John Shimkus.
The academy has produced many notable generals during its 210 years. During the Civil War, graduates included Hood, Jackson, Lee, Longstreet, Meade, Sheridan, Sherman, and Stuart. George Armstrong Custer graduated last in his class of 1861. The Spanish-American War saw the first combat service of Lt. (later, Brigadier General) John "Gatling Gun" Parker, the first Army officer to employ machine guns in offensive fire support of infantry (In 1918, Parker would become the only Army infantry officer in World War I to win the Distinguished Service Cross four times for valor in combat).
During World War I, the academy produced General of the Armies John J. Pershing. West Point was the alma mater of many notable World War II generals, Arnold, Bradley, Clark, Eichelberger, Gavin, Groves, MacArthur, Patton, Stillwell, Taylor, Van Fleet, and Wainwright, with many of these graduates also serving in commanding roles in the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, notable graduates general officers included Abrams, Moore, and Westmoreland. West Point also produced some famous generals and statesmen of recent note including Abizaid, Clark, Haig, McCaffrey, Schwarzkopf, and Scowcroft, Austin, and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, retired General David Petraeus.
A total of 74 graduates have been awarded the Medal of Honor.
West Point has produced 18 NASA astronauts, including five who went to the Moon. Other noted alumni include Jim Kimsey, founder of AOL; Bob McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble; Alex Gorsky, CEO Elect of Johnson & Johnson; Keith McLoughlin, President and CEO of Electrolux; Alden Partridge, founder of Norwich University; and Oliver O. Howard, founder of Howard University. West Point's contributions to sport include three Heisman Trophy winners: Glenn Davis, Doc Blanchard, and Pete Dawkins. West Point has produced many high government officials, including Brent Scowcroft, the former National Security Advisor under Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush, and Eric Shinseki, the current Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Among American universities, the academy is fourth on the list of total winners for Rhodes Scholarships, seventh for Marshall Scholarships and fourth on the list of Hertz Fellowships. The official alumni association of West Point is the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG or AOG), headquartered at Herbert Hall.
Read more about this topic: United States Military Academy
Famous quotes containing the word notable:
“Every notable advance in technique or organization has to be paid for, and in most cases the debit is more or less equivalent to the credit. Except of course when it’s more than equivalent, as it has been with universal education, for example, or wireless, or these damned aeroplanes. In which case, of course, your progress is a step backwards and downwards.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)