Dear Fellow Alumni,
On September 26, 1928, the first cadets entered the gateway of Valley Forge Military Academy, a new military preparatory school founded, in the words of the announcement, “to meet the crying need for the education of America’s youth.” The first catalogue stated that the “Academy is magnificently located in a park of fourteen acres at Devon on the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, eleven miles from the Philadelphia city line and three and a half miles from Valley Forge Park in one of Philadelphia’s most beautiful and exclusive suburbs.” It is further stated that “any boy over twelve years of age of good moral character and eligible to enroll in the seventh grade of any recognized grammar school will be admitted to the Academy.” The first Corps of Cadets, entering that September day in 1928, saw the stately and ornate Devon Park Hotel on the hill as their first home.
Today, September 26, 2011 is celebrated as “Founders Day.” At 0730 this morning the Corps of Cadets formed on the Main Area for us to pay homage to our Founder, Lieutenant General Milton G. Baker. I addressed the Corps by reading a passage from one of General Baker’s speeches in September of 1954 where he explains that discipline is planned to give you grasp, just as academic study is carefully mapped out to give you a vision and knowledge. He stated, “If you try to resist discipline, you will find it irksome. If on the other hand, you determine to learn its iron lesson, realizing that from it you will develop self-control, keenness of body and mind and self-assurance, you will have accomplished the greatest of all victories in the task of character building.” All of us have a keen understanding of what our Founder was saying, and like many things, the true wisdom in his words didn’t really hit us until much later in life.
To my knowledge, we haven’t celebrated Founders Day in the past, but from this point forward, we will. Why, you might ask? Pride is Why.
Pride is why our school has endured for over 80 years and is still delivering on our mission just as it was when it was only a vision in an extraordinary young man who was proud of his country and had the courage to do what he believed was right and necessary. On this day, Founders Day 2011, I share with you the pride I feel every day, ask you to take a moment to reflect on your time at Valley Forge, and if nothing else, smile on the inside knowing that you are part of something very special.
The 84th Corps of Cadets is well on their way to being the next extraordinary young men and women our country needs.
Courage, Honor, Conquer
Respectfully,
LTC Phillips ’88C
SHAWN A. PHILLIPS
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret), US Army
Superintendent, VFMAC
Pride is Why.