IA
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. J. RES. 83
Congratulating the United States Military Academy at West Point on its
bicentennial anniversary, and commending its outstanding contributions
to the Nation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 26, 2002
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mrs. KELLY, Mr.
KELLER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. REYES, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. MURTHA, Mr.
KING, Mr. OWENS, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, Mr.
MCHUGH, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr.
LANGEVIN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Armed Services
JOINT RESOLUTION
Congratulating the United States Military Academy at West
Point on its bicentennial anniversary, and commending
its outstanding contributions to the Nation.
Whereas establishing a military academy to teach the tech-
nical arts of war was a desire of many of our founding
fathers, particularly George Washington;
Whereas Congress passed legislation on March 16, 1802, to
establish such a military academy to be located at West
Point, New York, a site that Washington called the key
to the continent because of its strategic importance dur-
ing the Revolution;
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Whereas President Thomas Jefferson signed the legislation
establishing the United States Military Academy at West
Point, an institution dedicated to promoting scientific
education to benefit the Nation and to attracting a di-
verse array of young citizens to the Nation’s military
leadership;
Whereas Sylvanus Thayer, who served as Superintendent of
the Academy from 1817 to 1833, established the founda-
tion of the Academy’s strong academic program, strict
adherence to discipline, and emphasis on moral and eth-
ical conduct;
Whereas, under Douglas MacArthur’s leadership as Super-
intendent from 1919 to 1922, the Academy was modern-
ized to prepare its graduates for the challenges of the
20th century;
Whereas the Academy, the first school in America to teach
engineering, produced graduates who were responsible for
the construction of the Nation’s first railroad lines and
many of its early harbor improvements, bridges, roads,
and canals;
Whereas Academy graduates introduced engineering edu-
cation to numerous colleges and universities, and carried
out such monumental engineering projects as the con-
struction of the Panama Canal project;
Whereas Academy graduates have also distinguished them-
selves in the leadership of such innovative scientific re-
search and development projects as the development of
atomic bombs in the Manhattan Project during World
War II;
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Whereas Academy graduates have served with character and
distinction in all of America’s wars and military actions
since the War of 1812;
Whereas 74 Academy graduates have earned the Nation’s
highest military honor, the Medal of Honor;
Whereas 2 Academy graduates, Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight
D. Eisenhower, served both as distinguished general offi-
cers and as the President of the United States, and many
other graduates have served in all levels of government;
Whereas dozens of Academy graduates have been astronauts,
including the Academy graduate who is the first Amer-
ican to walk in space and 2 Academy graduates who
walked on the moon;
Whereas hundreds of Academy graduates have utilized their
talents in the private sector, to provide managerial and
technical expertise that is responsible, in part, for nur-
turing and sustaining a system of enterprise that is ad-
mired around the world;
Whereas the Academy has provided an opportunity for men
and women of all races, religions, and cultures to receive
a college education and to begin a life of service to the
Army and the Nation; and
Whereas the motto of the Academy, ‘‘Duty, Honor, Country’’,
exemplifies the spirit of this Republic: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Congress congratulates the United States Military
Academy on its bicentennial anniversary, recognizes it as
an outstanding leadership development institution that up-
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holds and promotes the highest virtues of American soci-
ety, and commends all those who have led and taught at
the Academy for inculcating its 58,000 graduates with
moral, ethical, and intellectual values and skills that are
the foundations for the dedicated service so honorably
given by those graduates to the Army, the Nation, and
friends of freedom and liberty around the world for 200
years.
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