The Making Of A West Pointer - The Big Picture
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ย. 2010
- National Archives and Records Administration
ARC Identifier 2569591 / Local Identifier 111-TV-321
Big Picture: The Making of a West Pointer
The story unfolded through the eyes of Cadet John Reed, future officer of the U.S. Army and now a "plebe" at West Point. (Documentary)
As a graduate of West Point (1977) and a professional Soldier, I really enjoyed this short film. I am very proud to be a member of the Long Gray Line. So much has changed since this film was made, and yet so little. God Bless The Corps, The Army and The Republic. JFA, COL US Army (Ret.)
jtankarmor Your comment hits it home! Can't wait till I apply!
God bless you sir, and thanks for your service. I hope to be joining the long grey line in two years from now.
@jtankarmor Thank you for the post and admire your service. This video despite being in black and white brings me back to a much younger self who admired, respected and desired to attend West Point and achieve the dream but was not successful in that regard. I did end up serving in the Army as a commissioned officer on Active Duty and then in the Reserves and the Guard but always felt something was missing from my West Point experience. now that I am retired have some regrets as well as memories conjured from this time over 37 years ago.
@@jephrokimbo9050 Thank you for your service in our Army! WELL DONE!! We all have much to be thankful for. God bless the USA.
Wow, this brings back memories. When I was a little girl (Army brat), I loved watching M/Sgt Queen and the Big Picture every Sat. P.M. I knew that I wanted to go to the USMA and make a career in the Army. Alas, I was born 12 years too soon, and it was never to be. But I still give thanks to all of you who have honorably served our nation and I give hearty cheer to those who were lucky enough to have attended any of the service academies, including VMI and The Citadel, too.
I enjoyed this very much also. Vietnam vet here.
RIP MSGT. STUART QUEEN. YOU PRESENTED THE BEST FACE OF THE USA WHEN VIET NAM WAS JUST A PLACE ON A WORLD MAP.
Thank God we still have young men and women who accept the challenge and opportunity to attend the military academies. We need them now more then ever.
The benefits are greater than before. Back then it really was a matter of "You do it casue you automatically live to die for your country" but now that people are asking the question "What are we fighting for if not to just come home to the snobbiness that sent us to war in the first place?" Now the incentive is the skills and discipline that leads to really well paying jobs and control over your life. It basically trains those who don't know what to do after high school and effectively gives you an "honorary degree" that you get paid for as well as a stronger chance of getting a well paying job, and they take care of you with pension IF you serve your full time. It's a fantastic deal for those who really don't know what they want to do with their life, and it's always an option provided you're capable. Sure it's tough...but the people who get through it are tougher.
"So much has changed...yet so little." Very true. USMA '86.
USMA '64 AND PROUD. 50 YEARS NOW. 'NAM. WE DONE GOOD. PRETTY MUCH THE STORY OF ME. THE CORPS AND THE CORPS AND THE CORPS.
+Jack Faddis You old gray hog you!!!!
Thank goodness they finally got coverage on the second day the first full day
I am very happy looking up this big pintura about USMA
Wow!! Look at those West Pointers back then. They marched like the US Marines (that's a compliment since the USMC is king of D & C). Now JROTC cadets march better than WPers. What happened?
Good question. WestPoint Cadets have totally lost the art of marching. Everyone of their parades is a shambles.
Could be what we see versus what we're shown. Back then filming was a big deal so they usually showed only the best of the best to set the stage, but it's highly doubtful that EVERYONE was pencil straight like this anymore than the idea that everyone is a lazy and incompetent soldier now a days due to the "era we live in". It's less the world has gotten softer and more the world has gotten more honest and the military needed to adapt to give us the motivation to fight for the country without the lies and "It's our duty, that should be reason enough" especialy when the ones telling us what to do never served a day in their life yet see our lives as disposable. So what were/are we marching for exactly? Convince the soldiers that it's worth it for them and all of us. Not the politicians and the sit at home crowds watching this in retrospect.
Less time is spent on the drill field today than in those days.
living in west point brings back good memories
They forgot Patton.
What year was this does anyone know? My dad was a 1955 USMA Grad!
What year was this?
Well addambongg, you seem to think you know a lot about the Military, I found this on a card at Arlington Cemetery last year. It reads, Never cry for a Fallen Marine, only cry if He falls in vain. We go where others wish they could go, We Serve where others wish they could serve, We do this so others can have the Freedom to Wish. Why We do it is not as important as the fact that We do it, We Thank ALL Americans who use this Gift of Freedom to live like no other Country on this earth.
Wow. I thought I hopped into a commercial from Starship Troopers. Poul Anderson did his research. More surreal than real.
Starship Troopers was written by Robert A. Heinlein--a Naval Academy graduate.
hey no offense former cadets,but does being born there and living there count?lo
I always imagined myself a straight and narrow cadet even memorized the Cadet Prayer by heart once. All I got is a high school cadet graduating Cadet Sergeant and combat soldier tanker in 3ID and 1CD. Cadet life then was easier intellectually, just Trig for FA. Now you need to be smart and know Calculus, Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Computers, Probability for a background in handling smart weaponry.
Seeing "chins in" and "shoulders back" brought back a flood of unpleasant memories. Ugh...
Did you quit?
@@rushsecure5995 If he did I don't think he'd be here typing that comment. It was unpleasant, but everyone knew that was the point, to get people who don't have it to ring the bell.
You’re not cadets until after the first year, when your recognized
The Citadel, Class of 1958
The Citadel is a great school! My brother graduated from the Citadel in 1978. Well done!
Nowhere is the date indicated.
well, I laid down my arms long ago when I was a pre-teen .. and began residing in a parallel universe where affairs of this planet seem petty .. but, yeah, thanks .. you're welcome.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE
The honor system now has become so bureaucratized that it has lost almost all of its worth. It's truly unfortunate.
It really is a shame, can't even trust the words of the president and highest positions given leadership has been turned into an internet spat. And if we can't trust our highest positions, might as well make the recruits the Generals of the army, at least they have nothing to lose telling the truth....
Also gotta love how these old videos talk about "Games and fun" as if it's SO illegal and unheard of for soldiers to be anything more than a cog in the machine or a number. There's a huge difference between discipline and lobotomy....
Looking at this awesome short film, I marvel at how sharp and lean EVERY single Cadet looked back then. And boy could they march. Standards have been dropped in the years since this film, as WestPoint Cadets can't march anymore. This is what happens when the Army goes woke.
Typo, Class of 1959
Walter Riviere Did you COL' Bill Murray?
Dear USMA. Please put the cadets back into Dress Gray. Stop killing the brand wearing camo to class and games.
similar to The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Training, education in the 1950's
NOT EVEN CLOSE....THOSE MEN FROM WEST POINT HAVE HONOR !
Nowadays daddy and mommy have to take the cadet candidates to the very gates of the Academy and make sure they have their nose clean 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
I guess it's okay if you can't make it into USNA.
hooah
RECOGNIZE AUTHORITY
three fiths ** ahaha
They're all white!
and male
Yeah the videos are well made, but it's clear they've been painted by hollywood to represent the beliefs of the time. I will say I have seen a few black instructors and one or two soldiers not being treated badly, (while the goof offs were mostly white soldiers anyway), but at the same time I do hear very nasty mysogonystic language from who are supposed to be the "Sensible ones". The number of times the "heroes" talk about actively pursuing women like trophies cause they're military.... even to this day many people still believe women shouldn't serve because they're "inferior" so what "land of freedom" were we fighting for the past 70 YEARS if people in high positions still believe that?
Would be awesome to have people understand that America is the continent that north, central and South America reside……the USA is not America…..the continent is, like wtf
This must be back when blacks were considered fifth eighths of a man.
That didn't stop one Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. Didn't stop his son either, Benjamin Jr.
Definitely didn't stop one Henry O. Flipper
@@chrismc410 were they at West Point?
@@chrismc410 looking through the documentary, I don't see people who look like the guys you're talking about. Interesting, isn't it?
@@ooluta7578 yes they were at different points in history
@@ooluta7578 flipper graduated from West Point in the 1800s. The US military was officially desegregated in 1948, and several Black cadets were in the school during the time frame this was filmed (1950s-60s). You don’t see that many since the US was 89% white at the time lmao.