The concept of honor may have become an unremembered relic of earlier days. Perhaps it lies dormant in his mind, a hazy abstraction. At the Institute, the cadet code is a signpost in every cadet's daily existence. He does not cheat nor does he steal. To me, honor is the capacity to control the instinctive selfishness that lurks in all of us, the tough, case-hardened ability to put morality ahead of expediency, duty ahead of deviousness, and to do this instinctively and every time.
Honor also means pride in excellence of every sort, especially excellence of performance.
Devotion to honor also can be a lonely and difficult thing. Another example comes to mind. This tendency was so pronounced that I instituted a policy of sending such men back to the states to train and inspire our untried troops. Usually they would protest bitterly, but I never let myself be swayed. . . . . . . where our ancestors got their sense of honor. And the answer to that is plain.