{"id":216,"date":"2017-10-10T15:03:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T21:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/?p=216"},"modified":"2017-10-10T15:03:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-10T21:03:40","slug":"samantha-herndon-monument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/","title":{"rendered":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

One of the traditions of the Naval Academy is the Herndon Monument Climb. It takes place at the end of the plebe year and serves as a rite of passage for the plebes. When the climb is successfully completed, the freshmen are no longer called plebes but \u201cfourth class midshipmen.\u201d I\u2019ll let Samantha tell you about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We had made it. Ashley, Danielle, and I had completed the plebe year. We had overcome all the obstacles thrown at us during Plebe Summer and the academic year. We stood with the rest of the plebes waiting for the final event, the Herndon Monument Climb. We were all dressed in T\u2011shirts and shorts. We had taken off our athletic shoes, and we were ready.<\/p>\n

The Herndon Monument was a 21 foot obelisk located near the chapel. The night before, upperclassmen had slathered 50 pounds of lard on the obelisk and placed a \u201cdixie cup\u201d hat on top. For us this was to be an exercise in teamwork. Our objective was to form a human pyramid around the monument so one of us could get high enough to collect the hat and replace it with an upperclassman\u2019s hat, symbolizing the transition from plebe to midshipman.<\/p>\n

At a signal we took off for the monument. By the time Ashley, Danielle, and I got there, the crowd around the monument was six or seven deep. I kept moving around, looking for an opportunity to help. Other female plebes had taken off their T\u2011shirts (our sports bras were more modest than bikini tops), as had most of the males, and were using them or offering them to wipe grease off the monument. I tossed mine into the mix, and one of the plebes hanging onto the second level put it to work immediately.<\/p>\n

Finally, I got close enough to shove a couple of climbers up to the second level. About that time a nearby group collapsed, and I found myself boosting others into the gap. One of them reached back and grabbed my hand. He pulled me upward. I was so caught up in the effort that I climbed up to the second level without thinking and hooked arms with the two males on either side of me. Almost immediately someone was climbing up over me. A knee grazed my face and ended up on my shoulder. 170 pounds suddenly concentrated on that one muscle and it hurt. I gritted my teeth and held on.<\/p>\n

I think three other guys climbed over me before the one under me collapsed, pulling me and several others down with him. Someone stepped on my hand before I could get up. Thank goodness for bare feet. I backed out of dense traffic rubbing my shoulder. I figured I\u2019d done my bit, and contented myself with cheering the others on.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, time flew by. I watched and applauded as several guys tried to knock the \u201cdixie cup\u201d off with a midshipman\u2019s hat. Finally, after a little more than two hours Philip Johnson put the midshipman\u2019s hat on top to the cheers of the crowd. As the members of the pyramid worked their way down, we all chanted, \u201cPlebes no more!\u201d over and over.<\/p>\n

Tradition has it that whoever accomplishes the task will become the first to make admiral. So far that hasn\u2019t happened. I believe Philip is now a civilian, but he sure looked good holding that plaque with the admiral shoulder board on it.<\/p>\n

As we were walking away from the monument, I heard a familiar voice. \u201cMidshipman Pederson.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stopped and turn to look. It was Wilson. Now what? I thought the pressure was over. <\/em>I snapped to attention. \u201cSir.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a smile he said, \u201cAt ease, Midshipman. I\u2019m here to congratulate you on completing your plebe year. I knew when I first saw you that you had promise. That\u2019s why I pushed you so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was stunned. All I could say was, \u201cThank you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the way, I never did find out who short-sheeted my rack. I\u2019ve always suspected you did it, but I can\u2019t ask you that because of the honor system.\u201d He gave me a questioning look.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got me, sir. How did you figure it out?\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughed. \u201cYou were the only one with the gumption to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook my greasy hand. \u201cKeep up the good work. I expect to see you make Brigade Commander if you work at it.\u201d To my surprise he stepped back and saluted me.<\/p>\n

He was a little optimistic, but that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the traditions of the Naval Academy is the Herndon Monument Climb. It takes place at the end of the plebe year and serves as a rite of passage for the plebes. When the climb is successfully completed, the freshmen are no longer called plebes but \u201cfourth class midshipmen.\u201d I\u2019ll let Samantha tell you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSamantha \u2013 Herndon Monument - The Oath Still Stands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument - The Oath Still Stands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the traditions of the Naval Academy is the Herndon Monument Climb. It takes place at the end of the plebe year and serves as a rite of passage for the plebes. When the climb is successfully completed, the freshmen are no longer called plebes but \u201cfourth class midshipmen.\u201d I\u2019ll let Samantha tell you […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Oath Still Stands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gordon.savage.585\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-10T21:03:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"gordonsavage@msn.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@guscolt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@guscolt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"gordonsavage@msn.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"gordonsavage@msn.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9be66bad4c9f343ce2f0f02c63b7bf73\"},\"headline\":\"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-10T21:03:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":770,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/\",\"name\":\"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument - The Oath Still Stands\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-10T21:03:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9be66bad4c9f343ce2f0f02c63b7bf73\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/uncategorized\\\/samantha-herndon-monument\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Oath Still Stands\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gordonsavage.com\\\/sowhat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9be66bad4c9f343ce2f0f02c63b7bf73\",\"name\":\"gordonsavage@msn.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3eb13e625ffed6c34563a821e857a10eb0fb5b4de805253cec0319b18269de43?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3eb13e625ffed6c34563a821e857a10eb0fb5b4de805253cec0319b18269de43?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3eb13e625ffed6c34563a821e857a10eb0fb5b4de805253cec0319b18269de43?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"gordonsavage@msn.com\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument - The Oath Still Stands","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument - The Oath Still Stands","og_description":"One of the traditions of the Naval Academy is the Herndon Monument Climb. It takes place at the end of the plebe year and serves as a rite of passage for the plebes. When the climb is successfully completed, the freshmen are no longer called plebes but \u201cfourth class midshipmen.\u201d I\u2019ll let Samantha tell you […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/","og_site_name":"The Oath Still Stands","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gordon.savage.585","article_published_time":"2017-10-10T21:03:40+00:00","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@guscolt","twitter_site":"@guscolt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"gordonsavage@msn.com","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/"},"author":{"name":"gordonsavage@msn.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/#\/schema\/person\/9be66bad4c9f343ce2f0f02c63b7bf73"},"headline":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument","datePublished":"2017-10-10T21:03:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/"},"wordCount":770,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/","name":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument - The Oath Still Stands","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-10-10T21:03:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/#\/schema\/person\/9be66bad4c9f343ce2f0f02c63b7bf73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/","name":"The Oath Still Stands","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/#\/schema\/person\/9be66bad4c9f343ce2f0f02c63b7bf73","name":"gordonsavage@msn.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb13e625ffed6c34563a821e857a10eb0fb5b4de805253cec0319b18269de43?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb13e625ffed6c34563a821e857a10eb0fb5b4de805253cec0319b18269de43?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3eb13e625ffed6c34563a821e857a10eb0fb5b4de805253cec0319b18269de43?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"gordonsavage@msn.com"}}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8pWZ3-3u","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":219,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-itll-teach-teamwork\/","url_meta":{"origin":216,"position":0},"title":"Samantha \u2013 It\u2019ll Teach Teamwork","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"October 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In high school Samantha had gotten into the playing pranks. She avoided anything that harmed someone else but didn\u2019t mind embarrassing them. Plebe year had been too tightly controlled for her to come up with something but short-sheeting Wilson\u2019s rack (bunk). Third class year was another matter. Ashley, Danielle, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":210,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-weapons-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":216,"position":1},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Weapons Training","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"September 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Samantha has returned from her vacation and continues with her description of Plebe Summer. She had two roommates, Ashley Carr and Danielle Tennant. As the de facto room commander, she took a special interest in both of them. The first time at weapons training signaled a coming crisis. Let me\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":198,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-wilson\/","url_meta":{"origin":216,"position":2},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Wilson","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"August 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Samantha\u2019s plebe summer was a challenge from the start, but Lance Wilson had hit her stubborn button. She wasn\u2019t about to be beat down by a bully. She worked with everything she had to make sure he didn\u2019t have any excuse to put her down. Every time he criticized her,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":196,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-plebe-summer-begins\/","url_meta":{"origin":216,"position":3},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Plebe Summer Begins","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"July 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"At this point I could make an excuse that Samantha was too busy to get another episode to me, but to tell the truth my research left a lot of holes. I finally decided I would just have to be vague where I didn\u2019t know the details. Samantha got through\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":193,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-i-is-for-induction\/","url_meta":{"origin":216,"position":4},"title":"Samantha \u2013 I is for Induction","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"July 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Induction Day at the Naval Academy is a production. It\u2019s specifically for in processing for midshipmen candidates. Their families and the incoming candidates have activities lined up that can keep them busy for the whole day. Samantha had prepared for it with her father\u2019s help. He had given her his\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":213,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-ashley\/","url_meta":{"origin":216,"position":5},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Ashley","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"October 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Although Samantha had headed off one emergency with Ashley, her roommate continued to struggle with the pressure of Plebe Summer. Samantha persisted in watching her progress until it came to a head after a particularly bad day at the obstacle course. The rope climb at the end of the course\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217,"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions\/217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}