West Point and FDR Homestead

(West Point & Hyde Park, NY: 20 April 2010) Even an old Air Force guy can appreciate the long grey line and the history of the United States Military Academy, otherwise known as West Point. Built on an impressive rock bluff jutting out into the Hudson River from the west, the Academy is the oldest continuously garrisoned military installation in the US and the oldest of the Service academies. We took the tour, which was great, the bad part was my camera battery conked after only a few pictures inside the installation. So imagine this... The tour was a bus ride with a guide explaining the various buildings, fields, statues, homes, etc. We stopped at two places and got out. The chapel, which was cool...lots of stained glass. I liked the sword over the entry door that made a cross. The other stop was at Trophy Point and the parade field across from the dorms. Trophy Point is a picturesque spot with incredible views looking upriver. The trophies are captured cannon from various battles and wars going all the way back to the French and Indian War, lots of them. We went across the street and sat in bleachers looking toward the dormitories and dining hall while the guide described each building and a little about cadet life. Each dorm is named after a famous graduate of West Point whose statue is displayed in front of the dorm. The guide had interesting stories to share about each one; like the fact Douglas MacArthur's mother came with him and lived at the hotel on post his entire four years; that Dwight Eisenhower was a big pranksters and earned 100's of demerits for his practical jokes; and that Patton, who did not rank high in his class academically, when asked about it would say, "I couldn't find the library". The trophy of Patton is where? Yes, outside the Library with a pair of binoculars around his neck.
After the tour we stopped at a USMA Museum which not only had more history of West Point, but had great displays on all the wars. I was humbled by the Medal of Honor wall and surprised to see a BG John P. Hatch on the list receiving the nations highest military decoration during the Civil War. I am looking forward to researching the battle and finding out whether or not he is a relative.
From West Point we drove up the beautiful Hudson River valley where spring is busting out all over. I read a book last year on FDR and was excited to realize his birthplace and Presidential Library are only about 40 miles from West Point. The home and property (some 1500 acres) are unique in that he convinced his mother Sara, who actually owned the deed, to will it all to the National Park Service before she died. She did, all of it. So what you see is actually how it was. The books in the library, the pictures on the wall, all of it. Not a replacement or approximation. I asked about a display of maybe 50 stuffed birds. The Ranger said they were Franklin's and he caught them all on the property. His father had strict rules though. He could only kill one male and one female of a species, he had to stuff the birds himself and display them. We learned how they think he contracted polio (while visiting a Boy Scout camp near his home), and about his "grand deception" (that he couldn't walk--paralyzed from the waist down). FDR was elected to 4 terms as President and died in office at the beginning of his 4th term in 1945 just a few days before V-E day, Victory in Europe. His wife Eleanor was an amazing person in her own right, leading women's rights and civil rights issues well ahead of her time and remaining politically active for some 20 years after her husbands death. Since I have no pictures, follow this link if you want to find out more about FDR.