It’s an invasion!
Hundreds of cadets from West Point marched into Fort Hamilton on April 18 to show area students what’s in store if the attend the prestigious U.S. military academy.
The 300-strong deployment of young men and women trooped in “the long gray line” a formation that symbolizes the academy’s history and new recruits’ links to past graduates. One attendee said the show was a sight to behold.
“It was beautiful because I have a lot of family members in the military,” said Rita Polito, who brought her two daughters to the event.
But the officers-in-training did more than march in formation. Cadets demonstrated the unique skills students pick up at their time in the 213-year-old institution.
West Point students fleet of foot and fist showed area kids how to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee during a boxing exhibition. And a group of agile swordsman went foil-to-foil in a fencing match.
West Point lies about 60 miles north of Brooklyn and was founded in 1802. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson both graduated from the academy and were later stationed at Fort Hamilton before the Civil War. The elite military school is the oldest continuously operating military post in the country.
