Silver Eagles

Silver eagles once perched upon

the shoulders of silver-haired

officers in the Army and Air Force

from the West Point class of 1949.

All of them, of course, are

now retired or gone to another life.

They are remembered now only by

families and a few friends.

As everyone in the services knows,

the silver eagle is the insignia

of a full colonel in the Army,

Air Force, and Marine Corps.

The title, “colonel," is a derivation

of what we would call a column,

meaning a person who leads a

column of troops into battle.

Today, “colonel,” still designates

the highest grade of field command,

leading combat forces and sharing

their blood, mud, sweat, and danger.

These opportunities are unfortunately

limited to a small number of colonels,

so many pursued careers that enhanced

the performance of their service.

They found roles that could be

characterized as managerial, technical,

pioneering, of just doing what was

needed wherever they were posted.

Then the axe fell on each.

after years of faithful service,

they were cast off when the calendar

read thirty years of active duty.

Probably their separation ceremonies

were brief, and seen by few.

Still in their fifties, they faced

years of so-called retirement.

Undaunted, our colonels sought

opportunities for service in fields,

that they had never seen before,

and brought their experience with them.

They found that the principles of

duty, honor, and country that

West Point taught were applicable

to universal needs and problems.

Still serving, and never really retired,

let us sing our reminiscences of

the backbone of our class, those who

ran the full course of active duty.