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West Point chief seeks gender-neutral lyrics

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The head of the U.S. Military Academy says it’s time to replace the “men” and “sons” in West Point’s two most beloved songs with more gender-neutral lyrics.

Army Lt. Gen. Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck, superintendent of the nation’s oldest military academy, told a congressional oversight committee Wednesday that with more than 3,000 women graduating from West Point since 1976, the change is long overdue.

“We’ve got a couple buried in our cemetery,” Hagenbeck said, referring to the two female West Point graduates killed serving in Iraq and buried at the academy.

During a presentation Wednesday to the academy’s Board of Visitors meeting in Washington, D.C., Hagenbeck said he wants to change the words to the military academy’s alma mater and its companion piece, “The Corps.” Both songs date back about a century, with the lyrics to the alma mater written by a 1911 graduate and “The Corps” penned by a West Point chaplain.

The superintendent said the changes aren’t being pushed by female cadets, but it’s a commonsense move considering the role women play in today’s military.

“When are they going to be recognized for what they’re doing?” he asked.

Hagenbeck said he first got the idea for the revision two years ago at a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of women being admitted to West Point. A 1971 West Point graduate, he listened as the female alums sang lyrics from the songs that included, “We sons of today, we salute you.”

Hagenbeck has spent the last few months discussing the possible changes with alumni, Army brass and cadets. He said he’ll make the final decision, possibly after graduation ceremonies May 31 and before the Class of 2012 arrives this summer.

The academy’s Board of Visitors, made up of presidential appointees and members of Congress, voted unanimously to back whatever decision he makes.

Discuss: Continue the tradition, or time for a change?