The Washington times., 1930-07-08
TELLS
Of ACADEMY
FRANKS

TIHNNU
By CHRISTIAN (REDl eagle
Behind those grim granite build
ings that seem so auStere and
cold to the casual visitor at West
Point is found the heart that
beats in every college.
Friendships are warm and en-
during. The fun is clean and as
genuine, and carries greater zest
because some of it skaters the
last vestige of military discipline
and army regulations. -.
Students at colleges have to
fool proctors or profs or the dean.
The Kaydets have r. fool keen
eyed tactical officers who have
been through the mill; they have
to evade guards, and they have
to evade every provision OF the
book of regulations. Anything
you get away with under those
conditions carries KICK.
And IL is really astOund.
ing how things seem to hap
pen. There is the story Of
the field artillery gum that
miracuIOusly was transported
by no one from the square
to the barracks roof. This
happened between dark and
dawn, when the corps was In
quarters.
The incident happened about
16 years ago. When the bugles
blew quarters. the gun was there
in it's usual place. But something
happened. In the morning 1t was
on the roof, and it certainly
didn't jump there. Some Of those
hardy boys diSmantled that gun,
sWarmed to the roof and assem-
bled it and then returned to
their quarters without being dis
covered.
It took a whole gun section of
enlisted men a whole day to get
the gun off the roof, and some
how or other every Kaydet smiled
broadly as the men in olive drab
Sweated and worked and cussed
the genius that worked by dark
ness to perform what honest sol
diers could not d. ".len the sun
was shining.
There's q sturdy old can
non at West Point which
holds a place in the affections
of all KaydetS. 1t is called
the Sandwich gun by some Of
the boys, and there's q rOllick-
ing tale that goes with that.
It was customary at the time
to issue rationS of sandwiches to
the guard relief, and some of the
boys evidently didn't relish the
food as furnished. So they care
fully deposited the remains of the
sandwiches in the mouth of the
cannon. Some of the boys ate
the sandwiches all but the crust,
and these were carefully deposited
in the mouth Of the cannon and
carefully packed down toward
the breach.
Came the dawn, ass they say
in the movies and best sellers.
Came the dawn and the reveille
gun. The gunner pulled the Ian
yard and the gun roared. Bits
Of bread, chucks of meat and
assorted foodstuffs flew all over
the area. Well disciplined cadets
were heard to snicker and a
smile broke over the lips of all
hands. Even boys in the barracks
long way off grinned know
ingly when the gun barked its
salute to the rising sun.
There was the inveStiga-
tiOn, and q note was carefully
typewriter suggesting that
the remnants of bread be ex-
amined for finger prints. But
this never was done. / guess
the regulations didn't call for
any such thing.
And then there is the story Of
the old cannon ball. Some years
ago some of the boys carried a
32-pound iron cannon ball from
somewhere on the post to the top
Of the barracks. There was an
iron, winding stairway. The ball
was placed on these stairs, and a
string attached to a block.
The officer in charge Of the
quarters had gone to sleep when
some one pulled the string. The
cannon ball pounded down the
stairs, and the officer, veteran Of
the war with Spain, bounced to
the landing and yelled: "The
SpaniardS are coming" Or some
such spontaneous statement.
Things always happened on the
post before the game with Navy.
The boys would buy sheets and
use shoe backing to daub out
their defiance to the midshipmen.
Banners flew from the roofs and
were strung across from balconies
and elsewhere. This was against
regulations, but on these days the
corps was thinking more of beat
ing Navy than it was of the book
of regulations.
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