:20:02
Present arms!
:20:08
Staff, present arms.
:20:15
Stand at ease!
:20:17
Staff, stand at ease.
:20:20
Ladies and gentlemen,
:20:22
for 141 years, old soldiers like myself
have stood here on this day
:20:28
and told the finest of America's young men
:20:31
the meaning of the word "commencement".
:20:34
It is a beginning, we told them.
:20:37
But today,
:20:40
this day,
:20:42
it has another meaning, an end.
:20:45
An end to nearly
a century and a half of tradition
:20:49
and an end to the heart of us.
:20:53
I have been informed
that Bunker Hill Academy is to be closed,
:20:58
all of its buildings torn down,
nothing to be left...
:21:02
but memories.
:21:04
It is the decision of the board of trustees
in their wisdom that this institution be sold
:21:11
and the land developed
for its real estate potential.
:21:17
In order to allow
the incoming seniors to graduate
:21:20
and the underclassmen
to seek enrolment elsewhere,
:21:25
the board has graciously extended
the date of termination for one year.
:21:32
One year.
:21:36
I stand here today with you
:21:38
and look out over these young men
:21:42
and of course I am reminded of other
commencement days and other young men,
:21:46
men of courage and conviction,
:21:49
men who have given everything.
:21:52
In Mexico.
In the great catastrophe of the Civil War.
:21:56
In Flanders and the Argonne.
:21:59
In the jungles of the Philippines
and on Omaha Beach.