Al Haig, ’47

We lost Al Haig on Saturday. Fittingly, the persistent sunshine here in Phoenix gave way to rain.

Much has been written of the man and I won’t repeat the accolades or criticisms of others here except to emphasize that the most meaningful judgement comes from one’s peers. In 1996 the West Point Association of Graduates presented Al Haig with the Distinguished Graduate award.

I was watching the news when Secretary of State Haig made his now infamous “..I’m in control here…” remark at the White House in the wake of the Reagan assassination attempt. Had the media done more than simply exploit this remark for sensationalism – had they performed even a modicum of investigation – they would have discovered that West Point trains its cadets to take charge in moments of crisis and that responsibility always falls upon the shoulders of the highest ranking individual present. There, on that day, at that moment, Al Haig was the highest ranking individual present. He was indeed, “in control here”.

It is widely believed that this incident alone was the reason for the failure of Haig’s 1988 bid for the Republican presidential nomination. We are all the poorer for it because we can do – and have done – much worse than having an Al Haig as this nation’s leader.

A major tenet of West Point’s mission is to educate and train leaders of character committed to the values of “Duty, Honor, Country”. Al Haig internalized these values, he lived them.

General Haig: warrior, statesman, patriot. In the term most meaningful to a fellow West Point graduate: Well Done.

~ Dempsey

Goodbye to a Decade

As the year comes to an end, so does this first decade after the turn of the century. It’s been a decade of riveting events, some firsts, and a single catastrophe which has changed our way of life here in the United States. Largely due to that event we find our service men and women scattered to far lands under hostile conditions. We salute them, for they are our heroes; we who keep the faith, fires, and love burning on the home front as we await their return.

On behalf of all of us here at WP-ORG, Happy Holidays! Stay safe.

~ Dempsey

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at WP-ORG. As you enjoy the day, please take a moment to give a thought to our service men and women who are answering the call of duty and cannot spend the holiday with their loved ones. As you give thanks for your blessings, give thanks for them as well.

For the WP-ORG Board of Advisors,

Dempsey Darrow
USMA 1975, “Courage and Drive”
CEO WP-ORG, Inc.

WP-ORG Fund Drive 26

Dear Members of WP-ORG,

It’s time for another WP-ORG fund drive! As you know, WP-ORG services are made possible through your generous donations.

WP-ORG is an independent volunteer organization operating separately from the United States Military Academy (West Point) and its Association of Graduates. We support members from the USMA class year groups, parents of current cadets and midshipmen, parents of recent graduates, West Point societies and parents clubs, as well as other special interest groups that are a part of our community.

WP-ORG serves the extended West Point community: graduates, Army and Navy cadet and midshipmen parents, and members of our many service-related lists. I’d like to take this opportunity to personally welcome those members who have joined our ranks since the last fund drive.

Should you wonder what constitutes an “acceptable” donation amount, our answer is now as it’s always been: donate in accordance with the value you receive from the services provided by WP-ORG, but not more than you can afford.

WP-ORG is governed by a volunteer board of advisors. Brief biographical sketches of the current members of the WP-ORG Board of Advisors may be seen here.

Our budget for the next six months is $109,216 ($2,279 less than FD25, our previous fund drive) and may be reviewed here.

If you wonder why you should donate, an explanation may be found here.

As in previous drives, you may make a secure donation by using your credit card.

Or you may donate by check made payable to WP-ORG and sent to:

WP-ORG
3800 Buffalo Mountain Road SW
Willis, Virginia 24380-5082

Please be sure to indicate your affiliation and/or year group on your check.

Regardless of the donation method you choose, WP-ORG is recognized by the IRS as a 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Organization. 100% of your donation is tax deductible. For those who may need it, our EIN number is 51-03877132.

The authorization may be found here.

WP-ORG’s privacy policy can be reviewed here.

Thank you for your support! You are WP-ORG. Your donations make WP-ORG possible.

Dempsey Darrow
USMA1975, “Courage and Drive”
CEO WP-ORG, Inc.

West Point R-Day, 2009

Thanks to the West Point Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General Michael Linnington, WP-ORG was accorded a table at this year’s R-Day. We had WP-ORG’s Dian Welle, her husband Dan, WP-ORG moderator Megan Hostler, her husband Dutch, ’68, and Bob Totten, ’60, steering new cadets’ parents to the sign-up sheets. My wife, Mary, also pitched in.

Many thanks to Dian for the hard work she put into the WP-ORG sign, the brochures and nametags; thanks also to Megan for the goodies (invariably the candy would be spotted by some kids and they’d come over with their parents in tow). Some of those who stopped by the table were already on Plebe-net and were thrilled to meet their moderator, Megan.

We signed up close to 400 individuals in a single day and afforded them and others who were familiar with WP-ORG the chance to put some faces to the names.

Thanks to all involved, especially BG Linnington, for their efforts and for making this possible. A special thanks to spouses Dutch, Dan, and Mary for their involvement.

From a WP-ORG standpoint, R-Day was quite a success!

Mary and I took a few pictures while we were there.

~ Dempsey