[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1167-E1169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE MODERN ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES TAKES SHAPE AOG HISTORY PART III 
                         (1946-1995) SECTION A

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 2019

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise to include in the Record section A 
of the third installment of an article by Keith J. Hamel honoring the 
150th Anniversary of the West Point Association of Graduates:

       ``For the first 30 or so years of its existence (1869-
     1900), the Association of the Graduates of the U.S. Military 
     Academy barely resembled the WPAOG that West Point graduates 
     know today. Back then, its mission was ``. . . to cherish the 
     memories of our Alma Mater, and to promote the social 
     intercourse and fraternal fellowship of its graduates;'' its 
     activities consisted of an annual meeting and the publishing 
     of an annual report (dominated by a ``Necrology'' section of 
     obituaries for those graduates who died the previous year); 
     and its finances primarily relied on an estate gift from 
     George Cullum, Class of 1833, who bequeathed $250,000 to 
     build the Memorial Hall that bears his name and left $10,000 
     to fund ``the current and necessary expenses'' of the nascent 
     Association. In its second stage of existence (1901-45), 
     changes to AOG's mission, governance, and operations signaled 
     its desire to become more like a contemporary alumni 
     association. Some of the initiatives from that era included 
     ``Alumni Day,'' featuring a wreath-laying ceremony at Thayer 
     Statue that is still practiced nearly 100 years later; the 
     ``Stained Glass Windows'' project, a precursor to Class 
     Giving, where classes purchased windows in the Cadet Chapel 
     (with some classes also purchasing a panel for a class that 
     graduated 100 years earlier which had no living members); and 
     the introduction of ASSEMBLY magazine, which replaced the 
     Annual Report with a quarterly publication chronicling news 
     involving West Point cadets, faculty, and alumni. The third 
     part of WPAOG's history (1946-95) begins with the founding of 
     the West Point Alumni Foundation and continues through the 
     opening of Herbert Alumni Center, the current home of the 
     West Point Association of Graduates, the modern alumni 
     association with which all graduates are familiar today.


                      west point alumni foundation

       The West Point Alumni Foundation, Inc. (WPAF) was founded 
     on December 26, 1945 by trustees of the much older 
     Association of Graduates. In the years immediately preceding 
     WPAF's founding, the financial condition of AOG was 
     dangerously close to running in the red. Other than the 
     annual yield from an $100,000 endowment, AOG's only income 
     source was the one-time $15 initiation fee it charged for 
     membership, which included a lifetime subscription to the 
     recently launched ASSEMBLY magazine (April 1942). 
     Unfortunately, printing and mailing costs had escalated to 
     such an extent during World War II that it was impossible to 
     continue issuing ASSEMBLY on the support of membership fees 
     alone. Looking at ways to increase revenues for the 
     organization and save its new alumni magazine, the AOG Board 
     of Trustees considered publishing a ``Register of Graduates'' 
     similar to the one the U.S. Naval Academy's graduate 
     association had been publishing since the mid-1930s. Not only 
     would it raise funds through subscriptions, this new annual 
     Register (different than the decennially published 
     Biographical Register that Cullum had started in 1868 and 
     that AOG had continued through Volume IX [1940-50]) would 
     generate revenue from advertisements in the new publication. 
     As AOG President Robert M. Danford, Class of 1904, noted in 
     his letter for the July 1946 issue of ASSEMBLY, ``The 
     publication of this Register, if we may judge by that of the 
     Naval Academy, should give us an additional, material, and 
     much needed source of revenue for the Association.'' There 
     was, however, one rather larger sticking point to the AOG's 
     plan.
       At this point in time, AOG's Secretary and Treasurer (who 
     was also the Editor of ASSEMBLY) was an active duty officer 
     who also served in the Office of the Superintendent as the 
     Academy's Alumni Secretary. According to the provisions of 
     the annual Army appropriations bill, ``No appropriation for 
     the pay of the Army shall be available for the pay of any 
     officer or enlisted on the active list of the Army who is 
     engaged in any manner with any publication . . . which 
     carries paid advertising of firms doing business with the War 
     Department.'' AOG was, in essence, a quasi-government staff 
     section of USMA, and, as long as AOG had an active duty 
     officer on its staff, it was prohibited from soliciting 
     advertisers for its publications.
       To solve this dilemma, Danford and Chauncey Fenton, also 
     from the Class of 1904, who were members of the AOG Board of 
     Trustees, pushed for the formation of a separate corporation, 
     that became the West Point Alumni Foundation (WPAF), which 
     was to be operated entirely by persons not on the active list 
     of the Army. According to Michael Krisman, WPAF's last 
     Executive Manager, the purpose of WPAF was multifold: ``To 
     acquire and disseminate information on the history, 
     activities, objectives and methods of the United States 
     Military Academy, and its place in the National Defense 
     organization of the United States; to acquire, preserve, and 
     disseminate historical materials relating to it and the Armed 
     Forces of the Nation; to encourage and foster the study of 
     military and naval science; to promote the advancement and 
     diffusion of knowledge among worthy [youths] in preparation 
     for entrance to West Point or other military or naval 
     schools; to receive, provide, and maintain funds and apply 
     the income therefrom in furtherance of these purposes.''
       WPAF was first established as a Maryland corporation, but 
     on August 6, 1946, New York authorized its request to do 
     business in the state as a foreign corporation--with a 
     governing board of nine officers and directors, no membership 
     other than its Board, a paid staff of civilians and retired 
     military, and a

[[Page E1168]]

     headquarters in New York City (with a satellite office in 
     Cullum Hall). The first Register, with Danford as its editor, 
     was published shortly thereafter. It contained short 
     biographical briefs of 16,161 graduates and listed 7,847 
     former cadets. It also contained well over 100 
     advertisements, everything from full-page spreads by Curtiss-
     Wright Corporation and Coca-Cola to one-eighth-page, 
     classified-type ads by Mall Portable Power Tools and The 
     Loesch & Green Construction Company. What's more, in the 
     ``Acknowledgements'' section of the inaugural Register, the 
     officers and directors of WPAF recognized, ``with grateful 
     appreciation,'' all the advertisers who published in the 
     Register and ``urge[d] their patronage upon our 
     subscribers.'' The 1946 Register also placed a half-page, in-
     house ad on page 338 that said, ``The West Point Alumni 
     Foundation, Inc., wishes to take this opportunity to express 
     its sincere appreciation to the advertisers in this, the 1946 
     Register of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, 
     for their part in making possible the production of this 
     volume.''
       WPAF was evidently staking its fortunes, and those of AOG, 
     on advertising, now and in the future. According to a report 
     in the January 18, 1946 edition of ASSEMBLY, AOG expected 
     that the advertising included in the Register would provide 
     ``a greatly desired and needed source of revenue,'' and, in 
     that first year, funds received through WPAF increased AOG's 
     income sheet $5,807.64, nearly a 40 percent rise from 1946's 
     number. Yet, despite this apparent surge in revenue, the 
     continually rising costs of paper, printing, labor and 
     shipping threatened the solvency of the Association and 
     forced the AOG Board of Trustees to end the lifetime 
     membership benefit and to institute subscription rates for 
     ASSEMBLY, starting with the October 1947 issue. Even with 
     this move, the balance sheet was still bleak. In July 1948, 
     Fenton, now AOG President, remarked, ``A subscription for 
     both ASSEMBLY and the Register at $3 gives the Association a 
     profit of 74 cents; a subscription to ASSEMBLY alone at $1.50 
     gives a deficit of 46 cents.''


                          tax-exempt donations

       Help came from an unexpected source: the Internal Revenue 
     Service. In a letter dated December 1, 1948, the Commissioner 
     of the IRS granted tax-exempt status to the Association, 
     confirming that gifts to AOG for operational purposes could 
     now be deducted from the income tax of the donor. 
     Interestingly, it was WPAF's purpose statement, which AOG 
     later adopted in modified form at its June 1949 annual 
     meeting, that allowed AOG to receive its IRS privilege. AOG's 
     new mission now stated, ``The objects of the Association 
     shall be to acquire and disseminate information on the 
     history, activities, objectives and methods of the United 
     States Military Academy; to acquire, and preserve historical 
     materials relating to that institution; and to encourage and 
     foster the study of military science there by worthy 
     [youths].'' Not being religious, charitable, or scientific, 
     AOG needed to alter the Association's purpose to emphasize 
     the ``acquiring and disseminating information on USMA'' to 
     ensure tax-exempt status as an ``educational society.''
       Just one month after receiving its good news, AOG put out 
     an appeal in the January 1949 issue of ASSEMBLY with an 
     article titled ``All West Pointers, Attention!'' asking 
     graduates for financial assistance, claiming that the ``war 
     classes have greatly increased the size of the Association, 
     new activities have been undertaken, and the cost of labor 
     and materials and everything else has skyrocketed.'' The 
     second paragraph of that appeal reads, ``Contributions, gifts 
     and bequests to the Association of Graduates are now tax-
     deductible under the Federal Income Tax, Gift Tax, and Estate 
     Tax laws.'' According to the article, greater income was 
     needed for ``Expansion in office facilities, equipment and 
     number of personnel for the office of the Association at West 
     Point.'' While the primary focus was AOG, the article 
     ended by noting that, ultimately, ``Your gifts . . . will 
     be of great benefit to West Point.'' This last point was 
     reinforced in a January 1950 letter by Fenton, written 
     from his role as Chairman of the Association's Fund 
     Raising [sic] Committee, in which he explained AOG's needs 
     but also stated that giving to the Association provides 
     ``an opportunity to invest in our Alma Mater.''
       Granted, AOG already benefited the Academy by maintaining 
     graduate records for USMA's reference, by providing 
     information to local West Point Societies about USMA 
     activities so that it could recruit prospective cadets 
     through graduates, and by recent initiatives such as the 
     Thayer Award (first given in March 1958), but could the '49 
     fundraising appeal unconsciously have been suggesting 
     something more? Major General Garrison ``Gar'' Davidson '27, 
     the 44th West Point Superintendent, seemed to think so and 
     envisioned a future in which AOG could directly assist West 
     Point financially. In a speech before West Point Society 
     members on September 26, 1958, Davidson said, ``There are 
     quite a few facilities that are necessary at the Military 
     Academy for which it is probable that appropriated funds will 
     not be available in the foreseeable future.'' Earlier, he had 
     asked the AOG Board of Trustees to hire a Kansas City survey 
     firm to conduct a fundraising campaign feasibility study. The 
     Fall 1958 issue of ASSEMBLY briefly references the survey 
     stating, ``At press time there was little information 
     available except the fact that generally the alumni strongly 
     favor such a campaign.'' Indeed, the firm later recommended 
     that West Point, through AOG, conduct a 19-month, $3 million 
     campaign for facilities at the Academy. Yet, Anthony 
     McAuliffe, Class of 1919, President of the Association, 
     rejected the proposal, fearing that such a fundraising effort 
     would put AOG's relatively recent tax-exempt status in 
     jeopardy.


                    West Point Superintendent's Fund

       Davidson's successor, Major General William C. Westmoreland 
     '36, also saw opportunities in asking graduates to 
     financially support the Academy, but instead of approaching 
     AOG he turned to WPAF as the organization best able to assist 
     him. After all, the last sentence of WPAF's mission statement 
     read, ``. . . to receive, provide, and maintain funds and 
     apply the income therefrom in furtherance of [the United 
     States Military Academy].'' In the spring of 1961, shortly 
     before June Week, a group of senior graduates, headed by 
     Lucius D. Clay, Class of 1918 June, and George Olmsted '22, 
     met in New York City to hear from Westmoreland what special 
     needs the Military Academy had that could not be met from 
     appropriated or other fund sources.
       The result of this meeting was the establishment of the 
     West Point Superintendent's Fund. During the formative stages 
     of the Fund, Westmoreland visited Congress and discussed the 
     proposed endowment with leaders of the Armed Services and 
     Appropriations Committees, who reacted positively to the idea 
     of soliciting private donations for what Westmoreland called, 
     ``nice-to-have facilities for the Academy and for use by the 
     Corps of Cadets,'' later defined by Major General James B. 
     Lampert '36, West Point's 46th Superintendent, as 
     ``worthwhile projects which have a direct bearing on cadet 
     welfare.'' In a WPAF brochure outlining the goals of the Fund 
     and addressing questions raised by graduates, Clay wrote the 
     following: ``Today, the alumni of other schools and colleges, 
     including state-supported schools, give heavily and gladly to 
     their schools and in doing so become more deeply interested 
     than ever . . . Become a part of West Point's development and 
     future.''
       General Robert E. Wood, Class of 1900, one of four 
     ``Honorary Advisors'' of the West Point Superintendent's Fund 
     Committee (along with Douglas MacArthur, Class of 1903; 
     Dwight Eisenhower, and Omar Bradley, both Class of 1915) made 
     the initial contribution to the Fund. After one year, the 
     Fund raised nearly $100,000 toward its $1 million goal from 
     92 graduate donors, 29 of whom gave more than $1,000. 
     According to the minutes of AOG's 93rd Annual Meeting, some 
     of this early money went to install a ski lift, to partially 
     pay for work being done on the First Class Club (the old 
     Ordnance Compound), to improve the echo division of the Cadet 
     Chapel organ, and to meet the expenses of three cadets who 
     were selected to take part in Operations Crossroads-Africa (a 
     practice that continues today in the form of AIADs). Clay, 
     Chairman of the Fund Committee, publicly suggested that 
     graduates give an annual contribution of one dollar for every 
     year since their graduation. True to form, at a birthday 
     party celebrating his 102nd birthday in the spring of 1962, 
     Henry Hodges Jr., Class of 1881, West Point's oldest living 
     graduate, presented Charles N. Branham '22, Secretary-
     Treasurer of the Fund, with a gift of $81, while Lieutenant 
     John F. McLaughlin '61, the Long Gray Line's youngest 
     graduate, gave $1.
       Early publicity for the West Point Superintendent's Fund 
     went to great lengths to establish that this new fund should 
     be viewed as separate from AOG's annual request. ``The 
     Association of Graduates is alumni-oriented and its fund-
     raising [sic] efforts are generally directed toward awards 
     and other alumni activities in the fields of education and 
     history,'' stated an article in the Summer 1961 issue of 
     ASSEMBLY. Nine months earlier, in the Fall 1961 issue, 
     Westmoreland addressed the matter in his regular 
     Superintendent's letter, writing, ``The Superintendent's 
     Fund, on the other hand, provides a development fund which, 
     through its listing of specific additional educational and 
     extracurricular projects, will stimulate interest, guide 
     donors into giving for useful purposes, provide an organized 
     approach to such giving, and thus encourage contributions.'' 
     Coincidentally, just as the Superintendent's Fund was being 
     established, AOG received the sum of $1 million from the will 
     of Agnes Pierce, widow of Palmer Pierce, Class of 1891, who 
     served as AOG Treasurer (1905-07), President (1931-34), and 
     Trustee (1938 until his death in 1940). Listed in AOG 
     financial report as the ``Palmer E. Pierce Memorial Fund,'' 
     the terms of the gift simply stated that ``the Trustees of 
     the Association shall in due course establish a suitable 
     memorial in memory of my late husband. . . .'' With no 
     restrictions on the gift, AOG invested the money in U.S. 
     Treasury bills, earning $18,479 in interest in the first 
     year, and eventually used it to build the semi-circular 
     dining room extension of the West Point Club. In 1962, 
     another graduate, Gilbert Youngberg, Class of 1900, left 
     $50,000 for AOG in his will, which the Association also 
     deposited in its Endowment Fund.
       By the mid-1960s, both AOG and WPAF were humming along, 
     each doing what it did best. According to the report ``Two 
     Decades of Change,'' written in 1992 by AOG's first Executive 
     Vice President, Robert Lamb Jr. '46, ``WPAF, acting through 
     is its fundraising committee, annually conducted a relatively 
     low-key private fundraising program for the

[[Page E1169]]

     Academy (which was renamed ``The West Point Fund'' in 1969) 
     and served as the publisher of two alumni publications 
     (ASSEMBLY and the Register of Graduates), while AOG conducted 
     alumni events (such as class reunions), operated a catalogue 
     gift shop, maintained historical and biographical records on 
     graduates, solicited funds for its annual appeal 
     (supplemental AOG operating funds), and exercised editorial 
     responsibility for ASSEMBLY.'' While separate entities, the 
     relationship between AOG and WPAF was actually synergistic: 
     AOG represented the graduates from which most of the funds 
     raised WPAF came, and WPAF solicited advertising for AOG's 
     publications, which the Association could not do given the 
     active duty officer serving as its Secretary-Treasurer.''

                          ____________________