The Long Gray Line

     Moving. Breathtaking. Revolutionary. I am only 41 pages into The Long Gray Line: From West Point to Vietnam and After-The Turbulent Odyssey of the Class of 1966 and the book has already pulled me in. To read this book you need to have background about what is going on in our country and our military in this time period. Hopefully the quick facts I give you will help. 

     The Long Gray Line refers to the men in our military and the traditions they uphold. General Douglas MacArthur referred to this in his last, and most famous speech at West Point, 'The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words - Duty - Honor - Country." The cadets in the book arrive in '62 and graduate in '66, becoming the first class out of West Point to feel the full force of the Vietnam War. My grandfather was at West Point during this time. 

     My Papa is awesome. He graduated with the class of '66 and served in Vietnam at the end of the war. When the cheating scandal involving the class of '77 broke, he was appointed attorney to represent some of the accused cadets and defend them. He strongly felt as though West Point wasn't owning up the flaws of their system. He became a controversial figure on campus for defending them, and he and my grandmother were quickly uninvited to events, and shunned by fellow military officers that thought he was betraying the school and its ways. While at West Point, he was able to witness General MacArthur's speech. He is an amazing grandfather and I love knowing that he had an important part in history. 

     Page 509. Paragraph 2. I'm not there yet but I have already read it a million times, "Lincoln was now the most controversial figure at the academy for his public insistence that West Point had turned a blind eye to the full scope of the scandal." This is followed by a paragraph about my grandfather, Arthur F. Lincoln Jr. My grandfather is mentioned in the book only briefly, but plays an important role to the story. If he had not defended the cadets, they would have had a much harsher punishment. He gained respect from the cadets, but upset the academy for shedding a bad light on their ways. The light needed to be shed. I am proud. 

     This book follows the cadets of '66 through the academy, through the war, and into the years after. They have played such a huge role in our history and should still be respected and revered today. I am so grateful for the service they have given to our country. I am so grateful for the code they have held themselves to. I am so grateful that my grandfather has done what he felt was right.