West Point

We stopped for a tour of West Point, the US Military Academy, located on the Hudson River. It's a 4-year co-ed academy. Candidates for admission must be between 17-23 yo, unmarried, intellectually and physically fit and must get a nomination from either a member of Congress or the Senate, the Vice President or the President of the United States. Tuition is funded by the Army, in exchange for 5-year active duty and 3-year reserve status post graduation. Candidates do not need to be from the US. Foreign candidates are funded by their sponsoring nation. 1300 cadets enter the academy each July and 1000 graduate.

Stop at the Visitor's Center to purchase your tour ticket and watch videos on the history of West Point and life as a cadet.

West Point motto--Duty, Honor & Country. 

Board a bus to take either the 1-hour tour ($14) or 2-hour tour (includes the cemetery, $16). Be sure to bring a valid ID--either a driver's license or a passport.

Main Cadet Chapel--a gothic revival architecture hosting the largest chapel pipe organ in the world (23,511 pipes).

The central cadet parade ground 

Prime leaf peeping on campus

West Point is located on the banks of the Hudson at a strategic bend in the river.

West Point Museum--admission is free.

Gold-plated pistol that belonged to Adolph Hitler. 

Copy of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender--World War II.

Interesting stories were told during the tour. One of my favorites was that MacArthur's mother moved into a nearby hotel overlooking the grounds of the academy apparently to keep an eye on him when he enrolled as a student.



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