Ernest Graves
A:
Oh, I think our children were very much creatures of their times. Our oldest boy
graduated from high school in 1970.
His rebellion, if you will, was to go to West Point. Now that may sound a little strange.
But he went to Saint Albans School, which has its own standards. They were very much
East Coast liberals. He got absolutely no support at all from anybody--either his peers
or the faculty or the headmaster--except for Mr. Saltzman who is [Major] General
[Charles E.] Saltzman's son--to go to West Point.
They felt it was a waste of his intelligence. He was valedictorian of his class, and, of
course, they thought he should go to Yale or Harvard or that kind of school.
You have to go back in time. That was the Cambodian incursion, and the schools were
closing. In the spring of 1970 when he had to make his decision, he really didn't
know--nor did anyone--if Harvard or Yale would be open in September. They were
closing, some of them, early that spring.
Q:
I remember.
A:
And he said, "I'm going to college to get an education, not to march in parades." Well,
I shouldn't use that because he did end up marching in parades. But not to march as a
protestor. So that was one of the reasons--I think one of the very major reasons--he
went to West Point. Had it been another year, I think he might not have gone.
Our second son is very straight, conservative, and was very busy in school with studies,
athletics, and extracurricular activities. He didn't have any problems.
Our third son continued at Saint Albans School in Washington after we moved to
Chicago in 1971. In his second year as a boarder, after some other infractions, he was
suspended for skipping evening study hall and violating curfew on a school night. So
we got him back in the home fold and faced his his behavior straight up and
straightened him out--not without some heartache, but we did. He was intelligent, and
we got him to realize the consequences of his folly.
That's why I think the high school years are so important. We were just lucky not to
move much at that time. When Emily was in high school, we were set in one place for
four years. I think that our third son grew out of his rebellion in a short time and got
his feet back on the ground. He has gone on to be a responsible adult.
Q:
I am really fascinated by your oldest son's choice. Were you surprised by his decision
to go to West Point? Had you encouraged him to do that?
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