Graduation
48" x 40"
Oil on Canvas
United States Army Training Center,
Infantry, Fort Ord, California
Major General R. G. Fergusson, Commanding
1966
Depicted in the painting
is the graduation ceremony of three companies of basic trainees
of the 3rd
Brigade.
Trooping the line are Colonel Dean E. Hutter, commanding, 3rd
Brigade;
Major Henry E. Vincent, commanding, 1st Battalion,
and
Brigade Sergeant Major Leon B. Doubek.
During his eight weeks
in basic training, graduation seems as remote to the trainee as
the next
century.
He is so busy mastering a multitude of new skills and concepts
that
graduation seems to be part of
a not quite comprehensible future.
The discipline, practice
and pressure of eight weeks of accelerated development
bring to the
trainee
a maturity
that frequently amazes his family.
Though he may slip back into childhood at moments, he has experienced the
feeling of
his own manhood.
He has accomplished a journey into the unknown where courage,
discipline,
self reliance, strength, stamina,
physical and mental agility,
and foresight
have become so exercised as to be instantly available to
him.
Recognizing this, the
artist chose to portray the new soldiers at
this unforgettable moment – their graduation.
Himself a veteran of
army training in his youth and then a trainer,
the artist recently watched
his young stepson
mature
into manhood
during basic training,
renewing his conviction that this training is of inestimable value
to the
young men who receive it.
He said, "A boy becomes a man
when it is necessary,
and in today's army, it is necessary."
This, then, is their
day. In a thrilling ceremony rooted in ancient tradition the graduates
are honored with
martial music,
flags, addresses, and awards. It is a ceremony of triumph.
They are men, now, prepared to do the work
of men.
