WEST POINT, N.Y. -- With orders to base their decisions on 'principle rather than expediency,' the Army's newest second lieutenants today began careers that may see them 'never have to fire a shot in anger.'
Those were the words of Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger as 861 members of the United State Military Acadmey's Class of 1983 graduated Wednesday in colorful ceremonies at Michie Stadium.
Under a brilliant blue sky, and with a light breeze snapping flags like distant rifle fire, the graduates, the Corps of Cadets and an estimated 20,000 relatives and friends heard Weinberger urge the new officers to be true to the values hammered into them during their four years at West Point.
Weinberger said not only would they be 'the guardians of our nation's freedom,' but they also would have a second responsibility as 'guardians of our nation's values, the keepers of the flame.'
Fighting to protect our freedom, he said, might require the ultimate sacrifice but, 'if we keep our defense strong, I believe you may never have to fire a shot in anger.'
Guarding the nation's values 'will mean that every decision you make must be based on principle rather than expediency,' the secretary said.
The first cadet to receive his diploma was Mark S. Martins of West Yarmouth, Mass., who ranked first in the class academically, and who also gained a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.
Applause rippled through the stadium when Lawrence J. Kinde of Minneapolis, Cadet first captain and brigade commander, was given his diploma. Kinde won a Marshall Scholarship.
Friendly cheers were awarded Stephen Gricoski of Frackville, Pa., who was the class 'goat,' the cadet with the lowest academic standing.
Cadet Sheryl Marie Zywicki of Deerfield, Ill., one of 58 women in the class -- the fourth coeducational class in the Academy's 181-year history -- was, by virtue of the alphabet, the final cadet to receive a diploma.
A sense of anticipation swept the crowd as Lt. Gen. Willard Scott, superintendant at the academy, administered the oath of office.
Hundreds of children, kept in check by cadet ushers and military police, crouched on the sun-heated Astroturf, then swept forward in a 4-foot-high wave as the graduates sailed their black-visored white hats high into the air while the children swarmed for a souvenier.
Included in the class were 100 minority graduates: 42 Blacks, 29 Asians and 24 Hispanics. In addition, there were six foreign cadets, one each from the Philippines, Dominican Republic, Niacaragua and Panama, and two from Costa Rica.
The class was the 184th to graduate from West Point, because there were dual graduating classes in 1861, 1917, 1918, and 1943, but no classes in 1810 and 1816. A total of 39,921 cadets have graduated from the Academy.
More than half of the new officers will begin their active military careers in the United States, more than 30 percent will be stationed in Europe, and less than 20 percent will go to Korea and Panama.
Of this year's class, 18 will go on to medical school. The largest group, 216 men, will go into the infantry. Graduates must spend at least five years on active duty to repay the cost of their schooling.
