Let’s Go To…(June 2011) – Westchester Family

United States Military Academy at West Point

Located on the Hudson River in Orange County near the town of Highland Falls, the United States Military Academy at West Point is the nation’s premiere military undergraduate institution. Each year, approximately 1,000 cadets graduate and are commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Guided Tours

The campus is not open to the public for self-guided tours, however, several guided tours are given each day, and my 7-year-old daughter and I recently drove out for a visit. We pulled into the parking lot, quickly entered the immaculate Visitors Center, and made a beeline to the desk of West Point Tours, the only company authorized to run guided tours of West Point. They run a one-hour tour and a two-hour tour, but since I didn’t know how my daughter would hold up for a full two hours of military history and sightseeing, we opted for the shorter tour.

Stepping up to the booth, we encountered the first rule of military life – be on time. Though we arrived a good two or three minutes before the tour was scheduled to leave, we were already running late, as they try to board the bus 10 full minutes before the start of the tour.

All Aboard

Once on board, we were asked to refrain from taking any pictures until we’d traveled to less secure areas of West Point and were given the go ahead from our guide. The ride itself was comfortable and incredibly informative. Our guide, a veritable scholar of the history of the base, the history of the school, and modern military life at West Point, was eager to tell all.

As a West Point graduate herself, she regaled us with personal insights into cadet life as we drove past beautiful scenery, including a fun story of how graduating seniors stuff gifts in their hats before throwing them into the air at the end of graduation, at which point local kids race onto the grounds and snag a hat to claim the prize inside.

Our first stop on this tour was by the Superintendent’s Viewing Stand, which looks out over The Plain (the historic parade grounds of West Point). We disembarked and learned all about the grounds, statues and buildings spread out before us.

While I found all the West Point information fascinating, with our tour guide answering any question the group had, my daughter was not as impressed. She was cold and a little bored, but she soldiered on without complaint. After the mini-lecture at the Viewing Stand, we walked over to Trophy Point, which my daughter found far more interesting because it is littered with cannons. Each cannon on display was at one time a working cannon that had been captured by American forces in one of five wars – the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Spanish-American War and the Civil War.

Other highlights at Trophy Point included 13 links of a massive chain that had been erected across the river to stop British ships from supplying their forces during the Revolutionary War and Battle Monument, which was erected to commemorate West Point Graduates – from both sides – who had lost their lives in the Civil War. My daughter commented that she thought the monument was cool, especially with the little angel perched on top.

This marked the end of our one-hour guided tour, so we climbed on the bus and headed back to the Visitors Center. However, our visit to West Point would not be complete until we walked behind the Visitors Center and checked out the free West Point Museum.

The Museum

There are six galleries in the museum. Due to time constraints, we ducked into the History of Warfare Gallery, mainly because the first exhibit, visible from the lobby of the museum, is set in Egyptian times, which is right up her alley.

This chronological journey through war was captivating. A number of famous battles and some not-so-famous have been recreated in dioramas of tiny figurines. Along with the displays and information, the gallery features artifacts of war like a full suit of armor, bows and arrows, crossbows and all sorts of ancient weapons.

Traveling forward through time, we came upon the dawn of modern warfare as large rifles and bayonets appeared on the wall alongside stories of Napoleon and the European wars of the 1800s. Eventually we came to trench warfare during World War I, featuring a modern suit of armor built to stop bullets that looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Next stop was chemical warfare, with gas masks that my daughter decided must be evil because they all looked like the mask of Darth Vader.

Rounding the bend and journeying into World War II, I was stopped cold by a large photo taking up the entire wall showing the devastation of Hiroshima. My daughter asked me about the picture, and I had a hard time deciding just how to explain this low point in human history to a 7-year-old. While the rest of the gallery had seemed quaint, almost fun, this brought the true horror of war home, and suddenly the entire gallery seemed incredibly depressing.

On that note, we took our leave of West Point. For me, the trip had been fascinating and enlightening, but it really wasn’t the right outing for my daughter. An older youngster who is able to take in the tour guide talk and the full Museum would make a better guest. David Neilsen is a Tarrytown-based freelance writer and stay-at-home father of two.