West Point Cadet: Training Is About Leadership
West Point Cadet Danny Harris (center) spoke to Water Valley Rotarians including Andi Epes (left) and Eddie Ray (right) last Tuesday. – Photo by Jack Gurner
WATER VALLEY – Cadet Danny Harris, son of Wayne and Cheryl Harris, spoke to the Rotary Club of Water Valley at their meeting Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Harris, a Cadet at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, was in town during the week of Thanksgiving. He was given the opportunity to come home early in exchange for educating members of the greater Water Valley area about West Point.
Harris told the Rotarians that the mission of the United States Military Academy is to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets, so that each graduate is a commissioned Leader of Character, committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country.
“It’s all about leadership,” he said. “not only leadership, but leadership with character and integrity.”
West Point is a four-year program designed to give Cadets the opportunity to earn a second-to-none college education in addition to being trained as 2nd Lieutenants. They are prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the United States Army, Harris continued.
This year Forbes.com ranked USMA as the number one public university in the United States.
Since it was founded in 1802, West Point has produced a number of outstanding graduates including Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson, John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Buzz Aldrin, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., Barry McCaffrey, Mike Krzyzewski, and David Petraeus.
Danny’s twin brother Larry is also a Cadet at West Point. Both are 2006 graduates of Water Valley High School.
