Big Picture: - Duty, Honor, Country (Story of West Point - 1952)

The story of the United States Military Academy, West Point. The Program describes the origin and mission of the Academy.
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It presents a comprehensive view of the life of a cadet from the time he enters West Point until his graduation as a Bachelor of Science and a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army or Air Force. The ranking cadet of the Corps, Cadet First Captain, Knox trophy recipient Gordon D. Carpenter (Class of 1952), of Silver City, New Mexico is interviewed.
Big Picture: Duty, Honor, Country - National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 2569456 / Local Identifier 111-TV-186 - DVD copied by Master Scanner Liz Pruszko. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. U.S. Army Audiovisual Center. (ca. 1974 - 05/15/1984).
Public Domain

[@ivi122]

My son who just graduated high school is at West Point right now. He is a Plebe and I love watching how it was back in the days. I love absolutely love these old videos about West Point

[@jephrokimbo9050]

Good Luck to your son. Yes, the old videos give a representation of what Life was like back in the Old Corps.

[@realasadoughnut]

My father Arthur Martin ( rest his soul) graduated West Point in 1952. I have his class ring still. These kind of videos make me miss him.

[@76MUTiger]

Brion, my father was also class of '52. He is interviewed in the last 3 minutes of this film. To my surprise, he has a little bit of a country/southern accent that I never heard in him. It was great to hear him as a 24 year old.

[@robertisham5279]

@@76MUTiger Was that your father? 26:22

[@FaydsterTV]

I look through social media and see most of the people that get accepted don’t feel like they’ve been gifted one of the greatest honors this country can bestow upon you. If I got accepted I would be ecstatic to the point of almost being brought to tears. Be grateful for what you have received.

[@MarioMastar]

Propaganda and hyperbole often make these things seem like everyone gets the greatest honors, but then you realize you're not the main character of a hollywood adaptation of what it's like to be accepted, you and 680 other students who clearly aren't the "type of person" the higher ups are looking to promote. I'm not saying that the schools are racist, but rather even back then it was very clear they were trying to promote a particular image of a top ranking graduate based on appearance and not on merit. No one's proud to be "Accepted", they're proud of what they Accomplished, and that usually comes far after the fact. Not at the awarding of the degree.

[@76MUTiger]

Thanks for posting this video! In it I could see my father be interviewed at the end. Gordon Carpenter was from Silver City, New Mexico and graduated First Captain of Cadets. I have read letters he wrote to his mother. In the beginning, they seem to have been written by Gomer Pyle, they were so "country" and "gee wiz." In the fourth year he was erudite, citing Churchill and Greek philosophers -- to his mother! I'm sure this transformation was all too common among the cadets.

[@ronaldlavender1137]

Great Story! We are proud of the LGL!

[@johnf.kennedy7339]

Have a long long, life long and continuing appreciation for West Point; some of these old documentaries and books even provide a perspective on West Point that is both relevant and topical to the training cadets at West Point receive today. Granted there have been changes to the overall structure of the Academy, this documentary provides ample insight and must say learned a thing or two I never knew. I became a novice historian of West Point over the years. If anyone can spell out the two names of plebes in this video, that would be appreciated?

[@mjspice100]

8:49 one of the handy teaching methods…. the overhead projector, later superseded by PowerPoint. For decades it was death by overhead projector, now it’s death by PowerPoint…

[@dimwit818]

If the incoming plebes were the class of 56 look to see if u can find Norman Schwarzkopf in this film.

[@valereirenfro9040]

Can't understand the negative comment on here. I wished that I had the chance to attend. I am an Army veteran honorable discharged. Duty honor country. Military needs to treat it's soldiers better. I'm just saying.

[@AudieMurphyAmericanLegend]

Valerei Renfro don't have to worry about that negative comment that I overlooked. I have removed it. Thanks

[@MarioMastar]

@@AudieMurphyAmericanLegend Might remove mine too. If the comment was just some kid insulting the military in general I can understand, but if it's a critique of the presentation of the system not matching the reality, the censorship just reinforces the propogandistic nature of these schools and why they have the reputation they do. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure West point is a wonderful school and I have nothing but the highest respect for those who went there and serve, but living the past does a massive disservice to the results of the school as it evolved to the present. It's not about the ribbons and the pristiege, it's about what people accomplished that allow us these freedoms we have today.

[@starguy2718]

He. Could. Go. All. The. Way. 15:59 [Kudos to Chris Berman]

[@louislungbubble]

The hobbies have obviously changed over the years but I am curious to know if the model railway is still there....I am thinking not these days .

[@richardloehwing7207]

louislungbubble 7

[@chaddnewman2699]

Oddly enough, that model railroad still existed when I was a plebe in the ‘90-‘91 academic year. It was located in an unused garret room above the fourth floor of Pershing Barracks (the building from which you see the plebes exiting to their families’ cars for their first summer leave). We would access the old model railroad club room from a window on the roof of the barracks, having accessed the roof through an old elevator shaft. The model railroad was built to resemble the Hudson Valley and included a model of West Point, itself. We found a log sheet indicating that the last time the club met was in, if I recall, 1977. We plebes would use the room as a refuge from the upperclassmen. A few years later, an officer discovered the room and removed all vestiges of the old model railroad. Thanks for bringing this up. Prior to seeing this video, I hadn’t thought of that old room in decades.

[@bukopie3906]

Where's Martin Maher?

[@ronaldlavender1137]

Maybe deceased by thid time.

[@jephrokimbo9050]

Master Sergeant Martin Maher served for 30 years in The United States Army at West Point and retired from the Army in 1928. he served an additional 18 years as a civilian employee in the Department of Athletics as an instructor and finally left West Point in 1951. he also served 2 years as a waiter in the mess hall for 2 years prior to joining the Army. by the time this documentary was made more than likely he was living in New York City on his retirement pension. he passed away in 1961 at 84 years of age. he is buried in the West Point Cemetery in "Spanish American War" section where a number of graduates from that era a buried.

[@ericjohnson4091]

It was very white in 57. Thank goodness times have changed

[@whiteclifffl]

That seems extremely racist.

[@MarioMastar]

@@whiteclifffl History makes it hard to appreciate these universities knowing it only applied to one small section of the country. Racist or not, was this school really for the best interest of ALL US citizens, or just one group at the rest of our expense? We can't ignore the fact that there's room to improve and now EVERYONE can serve proudly.

[@whiteclifffl]

@@MarioMastarIt’s very easy to measure the effectiveness of any institution by their finished product. Have West Point’s standards improved?

[@bill2066]

NOT ANYMORE> That place is a JOKE

[@AudieMurphyAmericanLegend]

You are right. It's a shame that our academies have turned into just another left wing school. Patton et al would be ashamed