A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

West Point Military Academy has a tradition of placing great emphasis on physical education.

At West Point, physical education, culture, and military skills are equally important. Together with honor education, these constitute the distinctive West Point education with its "four-in-one" basic syllabus.

When MacArthur was the principal, he not only further increased the academic curriculum, but also greatly strengthened physical education, expanding the types and number of physical education courses. Physical education grades accounted for 15% of the overall grades, and the slogan "Every cadet is an athlete" originated from him.

West Point has a variety of sports clubs, allowing everyone to find a few that they enjoy and excel at.

The rule is that you must participate in at least one competitive sports event each semester to experience the intense struggle and competition on the field. These events can be school, club, or cadet team competitions. If you don't participate in any of these, then you've come to the wrong place and will be eliminated by West Point.

Trainees' sports training and competition results are also ranked and included in the overall performance ranking. Those with outstanding results will be included in the "honor list" and receive tangible rewards such as more sleep time, more outings, and more learning and promotion opportunities.

Wang Zhi was from Changsha, Hunan Province, and grew up on the banks of the Liuyang River. Summers in Hunan are very hot, and Wang Zhi spent every day in the water during the hottest days, swimming, diving, catching fish and shrimp—he had a wonderful time. Wang Zhi's swimming skills were astonishing; he could swim while holding onto a large rock, a true white streak in the waves. Song Hongfei even thought that Wang Zhi could eat, drink, relieve himself, and sleep all day long, and even if his hands and feet were tied, he wouldn't drown. Wang Zhi studied at West Point Military Academy for several years, winning numerous swimming competitions each year.

Zhang Yi's family lived in the mountainous area southwest of Xikou, Fenghua, Zhejiang Province, making them fellow townsmen of Chiang Kai-shek. Zhang Yi was exceptionally skilled at rock climbing, scrambling, pole climbing, and tree climbing. During his first rock climbing training at West Point, he left all the instructors and cadets speechless. He effortlessly left Song Hongfei, who was in second place, and the others far behind, then sat on top, watching them laugh gleefully. His movements were incredibly agile, and his joyful, gesticulating manner was just like that of a monkey.

In the years that followed, Zhang Yi often boasted with pride that, according to him, his hometown mountains were covered with tens of thousands of acres of bamboo forests, some as tall as four or five stories. Whenever typhoons or heavy winter winds and snowstorms struck, the tall, lush bamboo was easily flattened by the weight of the wind and snow. To prevent damage to their harvest, they would climb to the tops of the tall bamboo groves and cut off the bamboo shoots with knives to reduce the pressure from the wind and snow.

After cutting down a bamboo stalk, one cannot first go down to the ground and then climb to another stalk, as that would be too time-consuming and laborious. Instead, one uses the bamboo's own elasticity to swing directly from one stalk to the top of another. In this way, one stalk after another, they swing back and forth in the air above the tall bamboo forest. This unique skill has been famous for at least several hundred years, and outsiders call them "Bamboo Sea Flying Men".

Upon hearing this, Song Hongfei immediately pictured a scene from the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from later generations, in which several martial arts masters used their lightness skills to traverse and leap through the air over the bamboo sea.

"What's that thing called again, rock climbing? That's nothing, it's child's play. It's easy and fun, what's the difference between it and climbing stairs?" Zhang Yi, who had just performed monkey rock climbing, was somewhat smug.

He boasted without batting an eye: "From a young age, I honed the unparalleled skill of 'flying bamboo,' which combines technique, wisdom, eyesight, courage, boldness, and boldness. If it weren't for my physical development that made me grow too tall and strong, and my need to go out to study, I would probably have become the world's number one master of lightness skills long ago."

Song Hongfei patted the head of Zhang Yi, who was a fist shorter than him at 1.83 meters, and scoffed: "I don't see any potential in you to become a tall and mighty martial arts master. What I do see is a stubborn and irritable monkey temper."

"Hahaha!" Wang Zhi laughed loudly, which enraged Zhang Yi.

After entering West Point Military Academy, Wang Zhi and Zhang Yi naturally became members of the academy's swimming team and rock climbing team, respectively, and became star members and the treasures of their teams.

Song Hongfei had practiced martial arts since childhood and had developed excellent skills. Apart from the mysterious old man who taught him martial arts when he was a child, no one had ever been able to beat him. However, he had never been interested in boxing, and the combat techniques of the US military were child's play in his eyes. He did not join any boxing or combat clubs.

Song Hongfei had a natural talent for shooting since childhood and loved playing with guns, so he joined the West Point shooting team. Upon joining, he immediately demonstrated his skill by hitting bottle caps with a 50-meter rifle, astonishing everyone. Shooting instructor Captain Brink stared wide-eyed in disbelief. From that day on, everyone at West Point knew that a Chinese sharpshooter had arrived.

Song Hongfei then chose the modern pentathlon (swimming, running, shooting, fencing, and horseback riding), which was very popular at the time. In his opinion, why not do so many events?

"You little rascal, you're really greedy!"

Zhang Yi seemed to suddenly realize, "Sword dancing, horseback riding, swimming—there are so many fun things to do, how come I didn't think of that?" Following suit, Zhang Yi also participated in the modern pentathlon; he was, after all, a person who loved to have fun.

Zhang Yi and Song Hongfei were in the same grade, the same company, and the same dormitory. He wanted to do everything with Song Hongfei, regardless of the fact that he was four years older than Song Hongfei.

Chinese students are not as physically imposing as Americans, which puts them at a disadvantage in physical confrontation events. They also cannot match others in strength and explosiveness, but they have the advantage of strong endurance.

After discussing it, the three changed their strategy, making full use of their advantages of being small, fast, and agile, and brought over military training tactics, turning football and basketball into "combat football" and "combat basketball".

I may not be strong or technically skilled, but I'm small, fast, agile, and have great stamina, so I'll just run and pass more. My physique may be a disadvantage, but I'm strong and resilient, so I'm not afraid of collisions.

So the three of them, relying on their toughness, fearlessness of pain, and ability to run, adopted a battle formation and a brutal style of play. If their skills were not strong, they would run more and pass the ball back and forth more, passing it with the force of throwing a grenade. Their strength was absolutely ruthless, and if the opponent tried to intercept the ball, they would be covered in bruises.

The three of them darted around the field, fearless of collisions. In no time, the tall and strong opponents couldn't hold on any longer and exclaimed, "How come these Chinese kids are so tough?"

Anyone who has played sports knows that when you collide with a strong person, you only feel the force, but when you collide with a lean person, it really hurts.

Gradually, the opponent began to suffer greatly, becoming breathless and unable to run as the three of them sped across the field—the three of them pulled the opponent to their limits.

The other side was also wondering how these lean and wiry people could run so fast and why they didn't seem tired.

The instructors and cadets watching from the sidelines burst into laughter, and from then on, "fighting football" and "fighting basketball," playing styles similar to rugby, became popular on the West Point campus.

Every December, a football game is held between the Hudson Black Knights of West Point and the Lieutenants of the Annapolis Naval Academy. This game, which originated in 1890, has continued to attract the attention of the entire United States and is known as the "Army-Navy War".

Every year, the "Army-Navy Battle" is attended by the principals of both sides, senior generals of both services, service chiefs of staff, service secretaries, defense secretaries, secretaries of state, and even the president. This is the sporting event that the US president attends the most, bar none, and the president presents the "Commander-in-Chief Trophy" to the winner.

Because the "Army-Navy War" represented inter-service competition, both sides used slogans like "Sink the Navy" and "Defeat the Army" to express their views, creating a highly charged atmosphere.

All the military academy cadets were on high alert, including staff officers, instructors, faculty and staff, honor guards, cheerleaders, and residents of West Point, the school's location. Everyone, both on and off the field, participated in the effort to cheer on their team. Being there was exhilarating.

From campus roads to teaching buildings and dormitories, slogans like "Go Army! Beat Navy!" can be seen everywhere, and trash cans are also labeled "GO ARMY, RECYCLE NAVY".

The underground passage leading to the main building is named "Beat Navy Tunnel". One side of the passage wall is "Refueling the Army", and the other side is "Teaching the Navy a Lesson". In the middle is a huge mural of the Army's "Black Knight" holding a ram's head (the white ram is the Navy's mascot).

When Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi first witnessed this scene, they were greatly surprised. Zhang Yi exclaimed, "Isn't it said that revolutionary comrades are class brothers? How would the people in the navy feel if they saw this?"

This phrase has become the most resonant catchphrase among West Point students. Whether it's at the end of papers or reports, or at large rallies, everyone shouts "Beat Navy!" at the end. Even Principal Smith's residence has a prominent sign that reads "Go Army, teach the Navy a lesson!"

Song Hongfei thought to himself, "I wonder what slogan is hanging at the entrance of the Navy Principal's office this time?"

Of course, slogans are just formalism; it's West Point humor, meant to maintain a competitive mindset and fighting spirit. West Point requires every cadet to have "the spirit of a fighter."

What shocked Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi even more was that during the "Army-Navy Battle", West Point cadets brought out their team's mascot to cheer on the field, which turned out to be a strong, large mule!

West Point cadets even brought out several old-fashioned mountain guns, polished black and gleaming, and lined them up along the sidelines, occasionally firing a few salutes into the air. The Naval Academy, not to be outdone, brought out several old naval guns to exchange fire with the Army. For a moment, the field resounded with the booming of cannons, creating a scene reminiscent of a battlefield.

The cadets from West Point and the Naval Academy stood throughout the entire event, their uniforms impeccable, shouting encouragement with the force of a tidal wave. They never sat down, demonstrating their solidarity with their comrades on the field and their willingness to share both joy and sorrow.

The mascot of the Naval Cadet Corps is a white goat, just like the white goat's head on the West Point corridor mural.

Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi both agreed: "Although the navy's goats are cute, they are not as imposing as the army's mules."

American military academies have always placed great emphasis on sports. Many famous American generals, such as MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Bradley, graduates of West Point, and Marshall, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, were all very good at sports and were members of the military academy's baseball or football teams.

General MacArthur, a star general, was a well-rounded individual, excelling in both academics and sports. He was a passionate athlete, serving as the school's tennis champion, quarterback on the football team, and shortstop on the baseball team in high school. After entering West Point Military Academy, he served as captain of the West Point baseball team and also as manager of the football team.

Marshall was a tackle on the military academy's football team and was also selected for the All-Southern All-Star team. One of Marshall's famous quotes was engraved on West Point's gold medals and became the team's motto, used to inspire and boost morale during major competitions: "If I need an officer to carry out a classified and dangerous mission, I want a West Point football player."

The U.S. military believes that sports can strengthen the body, improve endurance, reaction and agility, and enhance courage, willpower and concentration. Competitive sports emphasize unity, cooperation, courage, discipline and execution, and are a place where teamwork, collective honor, tenacious fighting spirit and an unwavering belief in victory are forged.

Only those with strong physiques and powerful mental fortitude can achieve victory when transitioning from the fiercely competitive arena to the treacherous and brutal battlefield.

West Point's strong emphasis on sports can be explained by a famous quote from MacArthur: "The seeds sown in friendly competition today will surely be reaped in battle tomorrow."

To sum it up in terms we'll often use in the future: everything is for combat effectiveness.