West Point Class of 72

Our 55th Reunion will be held over five days – Wednesday, April 28 to Sunday, May 2, 2027. Reunion activities will take place at West Point and in surrounding Communities and tentatively include a memorial service, Class luncheon, Company parties, Cadet Parade on Retiree Appreciation Day (Saturday), prayer breakfast, Academy briefing and Class meeting and banquet.

A new event at our 55th Reunion will be the opportunity to attend Projects Day on Thursday, April 29. Projects Day, led by the Office of the Dean of the Academic Board, is a day each spring where Cadets present their capstone projects on a variety of academic endeavors.  These presentations may be a briefing from a poster board, a robotic demonstration, defending a thesis before judges/evaluators or hands-on demonstrations.  Attendees include Cadets, faculty, defense industry representatives (with whom the academy and Cadets work closely) and graduates.  Historically, WPAOG has designated Projects Day as Donor Appreciation Day and invited donors to attend. There was no such thing as Projects Day when we were Cadets.

Projects Day affords attendees the opportunity for near unfettered access to the academic buildings and other areas where the presentations are given and access to Cadets and faculty, with the opportunity to converse with them.  Academy leadership has identified Projects Day as an opportune time to introduce graduates to the many new and exciting academic programs at West Point and the state-of-the-art academic activities and facilities that Cadets now experience.  Some previous reunions have been conducted during the week that includes Projects Day. That week is also popular for reunion classes because there is a Saturday parade on Retiree Appreciation Day. We are excited to include Projects Day in our 55th Reunion agenda.

The following link is an AOG article on Projects Day (2024):
https://www.westpointaog.org/news/faculty-and-cadets-embrace-innovation-technology-and-the-
future-of-national-defense/

I attended Projects Day in 2024 and I was most impressed with the numerous presentations, discussions
with Cadets, and the opportunity to visit facilities which were not at West Point in 1968-1972. We anticipate that reunion attendees (classmates, spouses and guests) who desire to attend Projects Day at our 55th Reunion will sign up for the event so we can inform the Academy of the numbers attending and allow for necessary logistics for their attendance. For those who do not want to attend Projects Day, we anticipate offering other On Your Own Activities (OYOA) available on West Point or in the surrounding Community. We look forward to seeing you at the 55th Reunion.

Dan Muchow, Chair, 55 th Reunion Committee

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

After an extensive three-day reconnaissance of the Normandy region, the Proud and True Recon Team has prepared the planning parameters for our Class hosted tour of the historic Normandy region of France, 7-12 October 2027.  

Our plan consists of:
  

• A planning figure of 100 Classmates and Spouses/Family Members will attend. 

• Our Normandy experience will be six days/five nights and based in the Norman town of Bayeux at the Hotel Churchill.  Additional accommodations are provided at the Hotel Villa Lora (across the street from the Churchill) with the Brasserie des Ducs (down the street from the Churchill and Lara) providing overflow accommodations. These hotels facilitate easy access to bus transportation for the tours. 

• Two highly experienced historians from our Class (Bill Leszczynski and Paul Herbert) will lead separate itineraries that together provide an inciteful and unique perspective on the 1944 American military operations in the D-Day area. 

• We will hold a magnificent gastronomic Gala Dinner at Chateau La Chenevière on Saturday, 9 October.  The theme of the Gala will be honoring the historically significant French – American alliance.  Honored guests will include French guests who were uniquely and positively impacted by the actions of the US Army in World War II. The Chateau La Chenevière is only 20 minutes by bus from the Churchill and has offered additional luxury accommodations if needed.  

• Tours of Normandy include but not limited to: 

• Omaha Beach 

• Utah Beach 

• Pointe du Hoc 

• Pegasus Bridge 

• Sainte-Mere-Église 

• Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mere-Église 

• La Fiere Causeway 

• Brecourt Manor 

• Mont Saint Michel 

• While cost is a consideration, it is not the primary planning factor.  Elegance, class, and the unique opportunity that this event offers is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us.  This Operation will “Honor the Ties” that bind us not only to the military leaders of World War II who inspired us as children, but also the ties that have bound the French and American peoples since our Revolution. 

The Proud and True Recon Team, Larry Aubrecht, Andy Harvell and Steve Presley