It was wonderful to be with the cadets in Kosciuszko's Garden on Friday, October 15, 2010 as they honored Kosciuszko. It was the 193rd anniversary of his death and in his honor the cadets recreated the circle of rocks Kosciuszko first placed there when he built the Garden in 1777.The ceremony was meaningful, joyful, respectful and moving and the cadets from Kosciuszko's Squadron demonstrated enthusiasm, respect and dedication to the memory of Kosciuszko.

The ceremony was planned (come rain or come shine) for 5:00 p.m., and although the weather was threatening, the rain held off. Earlier that week, Don (Colonel Blakeslee ’70) and I had gone down to the river to scout out rocks that could be used to recreate the circle Kosciuszko first placed there when he planted flowers that reminded him of Poland. On the day of the ceremony we put together the circle of rocks at the bottom of the ramp on the playing fields next to the Hudson River for the cadets to bring up during the ceremony. I was worried that the rocks might be too heavy to carry up, but more about that later.

At five o'clock we assembled in the Garden. There was a formal program. Jim Johnson '69, former Chief of Military History at West Point and now Executive Director of the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College, spoke to the cadets about what it was like to be at West Point at the time Kosciuszko was there designing and overseeing the construction of the fortifications. He spoke of Washington's belief that the fortifications at West Point were the most important in the Revolutionary War and of his faith in Kosciuszko. Jim read from a letter written by the men stationed there at the time asking that Kosciuszko be maintained as their commander (as opposed to the French engineer) and how much they liked working for him. Then Jim brought out an extraordinary map of all the fortifications at West Point, pointing out to the cadets the enormity of Kosciuszko's responsibilities in designing and building these key forts and redoubts.

Colonel Kevin Farrell '86, Chief of Military History at West Point, then spoke to the cadets and related a personal and moving story of proposing to his now spouse of twenty years in the Garden. He framed it by saying that West Point was the most important place in the world to him and that there could be no better place to propose than Kosciuszko's Garden. He noted that they had been able to walk from Flirtation Walk directly into the Garden, an entrance that, sadly, is now closed off.

Colonel Don Blakeslee '70, remarked that the Class of '70 motto was "Serve With Integrity" and that there was no better exemplar of integrity than Kosciuszko. Not to be outdone, Colonel Farrell, Dr. Johnson and Cadet Jockheck  then recited their class mottos and how Kosciuszko embodied those as well. It was a great moment.

At that point the cadets from Kosciuszko's Squadron broke to go down to the river level and bring up the rocks. At just that time a group of about 20 cadets were coming up the ramp from having had intramural football practice in the fields below.They were in great spirits with their radio blaring. Colonel Farrell and Jim Johnson quickly scanned their name tags, and identifying a cadet that sounded like he had a Polish name, convinced them they needed to help bring up the rocks. Then the whole group enthusiastically joined in. So we had a great group of about 20 cadets heading back down the ramp and grabbing rocks which they brought up with no problem. So much for my worries about the weight of the rocks. They actually competed to carry two and three at a time and had them up in the Garden in no time flat, placing them in the circle. The flowers in the circle were red and white in honor of Poland.

Cadet Herb Jockheck, the Cadet in Charge of Kosciuszko's Squadron then gave a moving speech to all the cadets on the importance of Kosciuszko to The Corp. He talked about Kosciuszko's dedication to democracy in both America and in Europe and that he had served and was wounded in battle and held as a prisoner of war in defense of "liberty for all." He also recounted how Kosciuszko had left his earnings from the Revolutionary War to Thomas Jefferson for the express purpose of freeing and educating his slaves. He indicated that it was up to The Corps to bring attention to Kosciuszko's Garden and keep its importance ever present to the cadets.

Colonel Farrell then asked the assembled cadets to participate in a formal salute to Kosciuszko which they dispatched post haste. It was impressive.

In the closing remarks, I indicated that at no time had Kosciuszko ever asked any of his soldiers to help build the Garden. The cadet's actions in recreating the circle of rocks in the Garden had come “full circle” served as a meaningful tribute to Kosciuszko who had dreamed of and pushed for a military academy in the United States.They had now become a part of the history of the Garden and of Kosciuszko's history at West Point. The ceremony concluded and many cadets remained in the Garden to talk. There was a wonderful energy and joyfulness present. Several of the cadets joined us for dinner at the Hotel Thayer where they were introduced to others in the dining room as the cadets from Kosciuszko's Squadron who had participated in an event honoring Kosciuszko in the Garden. It was a wonderful day.