The Remarks Of Speaker Sheldon Silver
West Point Day
The Assembly Chamber, Albany, NY
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
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Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point examine the
Assembly proclamation declaring Wednesday, March 21, 2007, "West Point Day in New York State." Members of the U.S.
Military Academy’s cadet corps who are from New York State accompanied General Finnegan to the Assembly Chamber for the
annual tribute. Honoring the nation’s foremost military academy is a long standing tradition of the Assembly. It is one that recognizes
the shared history of the state and the academy and the sacrifices and achievements of the men and women of the
"Long Grey Line" who go on to defend our freedom throughout the world.
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My Colleagues, I know that you share my sense of pride as today, we celebrate West Point Day in the State Capitol.
Please join me in welcoming:
- Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, Dean of the West Point Academic Board, who is here representing Superintendent
Franklin L. Hagenbeck, who could not be with us this afternoon.
Here with Brigadier General Finnegan are:
- Colonel Brian A. Crawford, Garrison Commander and a native of Norwich, New York.
- Lieutenant Colonel Kent Cassella, West Point's Public Affairs Officer
- Command Sergeant Major Michael L. Bergman.
- West Point Chaplain, Father Edson Wood.
- And several distinguished West Point cadets.
Welcome to the Assembly Chamber.
On behalf of Majority Leader Ron Canestrari;
Minority Leader Jim Tedisco;
Assembly Member Nancy Calhoun, whose 96th Assembly District is home to West Point;
Assembly Member Felix Ortiz (the Chair of our Committee on Veterans Affairs);
And all of our Assembly colleagues gathered here today;
Let me express to you, Brigadier General Finnegan, and to the members of your West Point contingent, how proud we are
that "The Long Grey Line" has its source in New York's historic Hudson Valley.
Silver and General Finnegan join Assemblywoman Calhoun and Veterans Committee Chair Felix Ortiz on the rostrum of the
Assembly Chamber to display the proclamation honoring the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
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Throughout its magnificent history, West Point has forged leaders instilled with a fervent commitment to duty, honor and country;
men and women who have succeeded in every field of endeavor and who have contributed mightily to the growth of our Nation and to the preservation of this Democracy, which we hold so dear.
Fortunately for all Americans, that glorious tradition lives on.
Cadets, my colleagues and I may not fully comprehend the challenge of being a soldier in this age of global terrorism, but we
understand clearly what the sacrifices and achievements of our Armed Forces - along with the training and the leadership provided
by institutions, such as West Point - have meant to America and to a world that still hungers for liberty and peace.
Cadets, we thank you for your service. We praise you for your patriotic spirit. We pray that you - and each and every one of
your brother and sister cadets - will know more peace than peril as you honor your commitment to the Nation.
At this time, we will call up the legislative resolution honoring the United States Military Academy at West Point, which is
sponsored by Assembly Member Calhoun.
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