Peter T. Heuchling

West Point, 2006

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by G-2 '07 on September 11, 2003:

To Cadet Peter Todd Heuchling In The Silence of the Night In the silence of the night the Corps appears, Walking swiftly to the apron, though never rushing. They will not be late for this voluntary formation; They will not be late to bid farewell. A sea of white defiantly stands at attention In this chaotic world of darkness. A torrent of emotion pours from these motionless soldiers; A torrent that only He can hear. During this dark, silent moment, All rank is dropped, and we are no longer simply cadets. We are men and women, brothers and sisters, Sons and daughters, soldiers one and all. The silence pierces the night calm; A silence for those silenced evermore. But then seven lone riflemen with seven lone rifles Disrupt that deafening silence with three lone shots into the night sky. The sacred hymn of our sacred home sounds across the sacred night, Carried by the unwavering voices of four thousand sons and daughters. Our sadness can be heard in the song; The sadness of four thousand bleeding hearts. And when the song is done, the calm restored, The silence seems less fragile. The Corps slowly dissolves back into the barracks, Though some linger behind on the apron. Some kneel in prayer; others remain at attention For a man few of us knew anything about, But that he was one of us, And so we respect him as much as we do ourselves. And in that divine moment, That silent, sightless moment, We know that we stand here for our comrade And we stand here for ourselves.

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