CADET CHAMPS

West Point Grimm century of the Hudson America's school for soldiers where cadet champions parade in the serried battalions as grant and Lee and Pershing getting along ago but they have found there's more to Academy life than parade infantry regulations and big guns they fight for the Army's onerous track in boxing in football they're all cadet champion the finest young men that he found between the Riptide of the Atlantic and the calm Pacific none but the best can pass the rigid physical examinations at the point but these bristly parading cadets have a long path to travel before they're molded into the perfection of men and athletes as well as officers and gentlemen the foundation of perfection is laid in the gym nation every man who ever went through West Point from the oldest Forrest time rose to the newest second lieutenant Limbert is muscled with these self same exercises every action is as regimented as on the drill grounds and has a predestined perfect no man develops without sweat and effort and these fellows sweat take my word for it it's a routine that reaches every aching sinew but aches are part of condition price a chap must be keen and sharp to travel the four-year trail and find the commission waiting for him at the finish the instructors know because they went through the same grind is for you but there is a place for Indian club because there's nothing better for the arms except maybe a blonde when you're strolling in the park in May but there aren't any blondes in this routine which is fashion to make officers whose bodies are as tough as their minds are quick [Music] every boy likes to swing those bajo shape doohickeys in joyous abandon only the fellow who shows joyous abandoned in this workout is likely to get himself 90 demerit those swing baby swing in 40 years from now when you're a general you'll be glad you went through this does swing on these things are called horses but they'll never take part in a cavalry charge or eat any hay in these exercises the stiff military precision of every move is even more apparent than in calisthenics when a man is through with his stint he comes to attention smartly heels together executes the left face and returns to the rear of the line it's part of the ordered discipline that controls every moment of a cadet waking life discipline becomes habit and self-discipline is good for the soul as well as the soldier these cadets do their queer straddle over the leather equines in solemn realisation that while each step may be painful it's necessary in the making of men men must have muscle control as well as strength and in the building of men the parallel bars play apart you don't have to be strong to do the turnover but you must have coordination power without control doesn't amount to much in men or machine fencing which is no longer a military art since the rapier went out of fashion when gunpowder came in carries coordination a step further and adds the element of great base fulness may seem unnecessary in a soldier but if connotes muscle control and that is handy to a cadet trying to make a touchdown against Navy as it is on the battlefield so go right on with that point/counterpoint on guard to chaser those slim and flashing slips of Steel are writing the history of the Academy spirit in the splintered sunshine of the gymnasia a spirit that this fine is this grand old country of ours as ever nurtured [Music] boxing follows the same general trance the technique of the ring is not dissimilar to bayonet practice you jab and block with steel as you do with leather the young soldier learns the fundamentals by shadowboxing and then he tries out his technique with a classmate for half of boxing is knowing what you're going to do and the other half trying to guess what the other chap will do to you but it's just training a pair of gold bars on his shoulders is more important to any cadet than a heavyweight championship but any healthy normal youngster likes a rip-snorting tussle and when the instructor gives the word they tear into each other it makes them forget long nights of study particularly if they stopped a few sharp left with tender noses but they never forget how to make the gentleman's gesture they'll trade boxing gloves for the call to boots and saddles anytime as most of you probably would too riding is a soldierly art but it's more than that it's sheer joy to have a fine horse between your knees and the champagne of a brisk north wind against your cheek this is difficult terrain to ride over water and rocks pretty rough country if you asked me that there's a fairer field ahead then hey for brush and barrier and let the rest take care of itself need an ease a comrade to the point drawn in a crescendo of hammering hoofs and flying flies you begin to understand the hardening hours of preparation here are men fit to ride or work or fight all these things lead to games of hard physical contact like lacrosse here's war without guns ah there's a casualty but he's only speed instantly West pointers aren't jammed out of action by a little thing like that not in this roughest and most unusual game on the American continent 6 / regardless of what they may hit there is a swirl of battle in front of the net but the defenders aren't panic they drive off the attacking way with jaws and the Lara [Applause] Wow what a bump it would knock a truck off its wheels a man's lucky to come out of a lacrosse game with a whole skin but the campaign lures on and once more they're down there fighting before the goal of clean shot it missed come on parade shoot there's a goal [Applause] talk of the army and just think of football so we're going to show you the outstanding plays of a recent game here comes a reverse around the soldiers own left end 10 20 28 yards before the runner is finally brought to earth but the enema game in the anime is good they strike to the air a scoring pass that eludes every son of the plains and slams are touched down across the line precision condition now they'll count armies ball aback thunders in cheers at a fire tears in the secondary he's tackled no he spins away from it but they drag him down at last after a swell game what's this a pass no it's a fake and the defense was fooled as completely as we were a drive from the 10-yard strike and the last white lines are paths the pickoff arches wired me against this guy settling into an enemy's impatient arm for an instant he's almost lost in the jumble of friend and foe and there he's through as loose as an autumn breeze on his way down the glory trail he's over for us sit down the light blue spikes again there's a long forward pass it hits the receivers hands gives off an army man look at that Kade that step what a swivel hipping dodging King that's the teamwork they keep and it's teamwork of the most effective Thor but look look a fellowship behind and spilled him on the turf just to the cava strike