Bring Me Men
June Week 1964 saw not only our graduation, but the addition of the Bring Me Men sign over the parade ground ramp. This seemed to be an acknowledgment that we were a special breed, especially when we learned the source of the sign.
This clipping is from the Rocky Mountain News in June 1964 commemorating the addition of the Bring Me Men sign over the parade ground ramp. This sign and the poem that inspired it depicted the call of our country at the time.
The sign lasted 39 years. It was removed March 28, 2003 in a shake up at the Academy following a sexual harassment episode. With women now attending the Academy, the phrase no longer fit.
The sign has now been replaced by "Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do."
Hmmm... that bit about excellence seems to have been take right off our class ring. As Nick Lacey explains in his story, THE FIGHTING SPIRIT OF THE CLASS OF 1964,
"Our motto, πρσΣ APETHN, is unique. Pronounced “pros aretain,” it means in short “Toward Arete.” “Arete” is an ancient Greek word which is the embodiment of the principles of the intelligent citizen-warrior of Athens –excellence, valor, virtue, manliness; the sum of good qualities that make character. Because of the ideals which it represents, we have chosen it for both our motto and our goal – as cadets, as officers, and as gentlemen."
I remember only the short hand version; Towards Excellence.
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