WEST POINT - "Stick to your culture and traditions because that's what makes something really great - and that's what made the Army great, culture and tradition. Whether we're talking about a battalion, a company, a sports team, or even a nation, history has shown that culture is fatal in many ways - so don't let anyone destroy the culture of winning. You have to win."
"Instead of stock options ... you chose honor and you chose sacrifice. Instead of business suits and formal shoes, you chose muddy shoes and attire and keeping fit - because West Point cadets not only have the smartest minds, but also the bravest hearts and the noblest souls."
"The job of the U.S. armed forces is not to organize skirmishes, change foreign cultures, or spread democracy to everyone around the world at the point of a gun. The job of the military is to dominate any enemy and destroy any threat to America - anywhere, anytime."
"From Lexington to Yorktown, from Gettysburg to Sicily, and from Inchon to Fallujah, America was won and saved by an unbroken chain of soldiers and patriots who ran to the sound of the guns, leaped into the throat of battle, and threw themselves into the fiery crucible to seize the crown of victory-no matter the odds, no matter the cost, and no matter the danger."
"Every cadet on the battlefield in front of me should enjoy this morning because this day will never, ever be forgotten. In a few moments you will be graduates of the most elite and glorious military academy in the history of mankind, and you will become officers of the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known."
President Trump praised Cadet Ricky McMahon: "In 2004, when Ricky was a young boy ... his father, Lieutenant Colonel Michael McMahon, made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation in Afghanistan. Today, Lieutenant Colonel McMahon rests not far from here in West Point Cemetery.
Last year, two decades after the loss of his father, Ricky placed a gold fragment from his dad's 1985 class ring in a crucible along with 87 other rings with him of past West Point graduates that were melted down to forge the ones now worn by the Class of 2025 ... Each of you will carry Michael's memory with you forever as you carry on the legacy he gave."
President Trump praised Cadet Chris Verdugo: "Last January, when more than 1,000 cadets volunteered to march 18 1/2 miles on a freezing winter night, Cadet Chris Verdugo completed the task in exactly two hours and 30 minutes - breaking the international competition record by 13 minutes ... That is truly the definition of a strong military."
whitehouse.gov/gnews.cz-jav
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