On August 6, 1970, a New York Times front page headline read: West Pointer Seeks Discharge as a Conscientious Objector.
It seemed a waste of his academic succ.
Donham was in the top 10 percent of his class in academics.
Mr.
Rather, a cadet who resigned or was expelled went directly into the Army for three years as an enlisted person rather than an officer.
Once junior year started, a cadet who left the academy did not return to the draft pool as in the first two years.
Donham, his inner voice started to grow louder making that decision all the more critical.
And for Mr.
The end of Yearling year was a decision point for cadets with two possible paths to take: stay or go.
And he did indeed survive, and excelled during his second year, called Yearling, with military training at Camp Buckner, and the brutal schedule of academics that included calculus, physics, chemistry, history, French, and military tactics.
Simply surviving was the goal of most new cadets.
Donham describes, with humor and irony, the constant pressure, hazing, as well as the military training new cadets undergo during their first eight week summer aptly named Beast Barracks.
Beginning with his first year - often referred to as Plebe year - Mr.
Donham.
And so began the academic, spiritual and moral journey of Mr.
He accepted.
But as West Point was expanding its student body during the Vietnam War, in April 1967, based on his overall stellar qualifications, he was selected to attend the academy as a qualified alternate..
Donham was named as an alternate much to his disappointment.
Mr.
He eyed West Point, but admission required a Congressional appointment.
Influenced by his father who was an officer during WWII and knowing that all young men faced military service during the Vietnam War, he eyed West Point as a way to serve the country as an officer, like his father, to the best of his abilities.
Donham excelled in sports, academics and had strong religious roots.
This memoir is well sourced from a range of materials including news articles, numerous contemporaneous letters to his parents, data obtained through Freedom of Information requests and of course his own experiences, Growing up in a small town in Southern Illinos, Mr.
Donham, who after three successful years at the military academy, chose to follow his religious and moral beliefs despite the overwhelming odds against him from the military establishment.
A Wrinkle in the Long Gray Line is the story of that West Pointer, Cary E.
On August 6, 1970, a New York Times front page headline read: West Pointer Seeks Discharge as a Conscientious Objector
