Graduation ceremonies for the West Point class of 2026 were held on Saturday.
Nearly 1,000 cadets made up this year’s class for the U.S. Military Academy, including 73 New Yorkers, nine of whom are from the Hudson Valley.
The 2026 class is the 228th in the academy’s history.
It comes as America celebrates its 250th birthday this year.
While the academy didn’t begin until 1802, USMA notes that West Point itself served as George Washington’s headquarters for a time during the Revolutionary War.
This year’s class motto is “for country we commit.”
To graduate Jackson Buck, that means one thing.
“It’s a commitment,” Buck said. “[It’s] a commitment to the country’s, to the nation’s values, Army values and the values that we have that hold us together.”
The graduation speaker for the 2026 class was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard. He was included in duty deployments during his time in service in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last year’s commencement speaker was President Donald Trump.