This was the day we were waiting for…perfect weather, lots of proud parents, and lots of nervous, soon-to-be plebes. I-Day! It makes even the strongest young men and women feel weak…
Mark was well prepared but anxious. I didn’t take a lot of pictures as a result. He wasn’t so concerned about what he knew was coming; he was very concerned about what he didn’t know. As it turns out, the day was “easy” (his words). I wonder if that’s still the case today.
Here’s an attempt to capture the plebes being marched in for their oaths and swearing-in ceremony:
It took about 20 minutes to get them all in — some looked better than others. It was a day of screaming and yelling, learning about new things, and coming to the realization that you weren’t at the top of the food chain anymore. You were now just food. For these guys:
See those guys standing at ease? They’re surrounding the plebes that just came in. Those guys are called “cadres”. The cadres have a job to do, and they’re very, very good at it. They’re midshipmen that are leaving their junior year and entering senior year. Three short years ago, they were plebes. When they were plebes, somebody kicked their collective asses. Now they return the favor. They love their work.
The ceremony was short but “official”. Just before the swearing in, they bring in some big boys for a fly-by:
Then the plebes get some time with families. Mark asked that we not do a lot of pictures, but he didn’t look any worse for the wear, right?
We had fun for the few minutes we had. Since I’m the proud Dad, I get to plug a couple of my own –
Okay, so we were screwing around. Let’s get serious –
There. A happy young man and an even happier Dad. We’re thrilled for him!
I won’t have much information about Mark until mid-August. He can’t have access to a cell phone or computer, and he only gets three, three minute phone calls over the next six weeks. His Mom is taking the first one because I’m a nice guy. That puts me about four weeks away from hearing his voice.
He can write, and in fact, the Academy makes him write before tomorrow (7/5). If he delivers any news via snail mail, I’ll share it with all of you.
I’ve got access to other parent photos and to USNA “official” photos — if anything interesting comes up, I’ll post them here. I’m also going to post a link to some news clips on a separate page. The links will ultimately expire, so I won’t post them here as usual. When they’re dead, I’ll pull the page.
More soon!