Commencement Speech at West Point

President Kennedy (center left, holding hat) reviews honor guard cadets during graduation exercises at the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point, New York. Superintendent of the USMA, Major General William C. Westmoreland (mostly hidden), walks behind President Kennedy; honor guard commander, Cadet Captain Paul J. Kirkegaard, escorts the President and Superintendent on the Plain (parade grounds) of the USMA, West Point, New York.

President John F. Kennedy (center background, at lectern) delivers an address during graduation exercises at the United States Military Academy (USMA), West Point, New York. Also pictured (seated on stage): Special Assistant to the President, Kenneth P. O’Donnell; Special Assistant to the President for National Security, McGeorge Bundy; General Maxwell D. Taylor; Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General George H. Decker; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Lyman L. Lemnitzer; Secretary of the Army, Elvis J. Stahr, Jr.; Superintendent of the USMA, Major General William C. Westmoreland; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Chaplain of the USMA, Reverend Theodore C. Speers, D.D. White House Secret Service agent, Frank Yeager, stands left of the stage. Field House, USMA, West Point, New York.