At 103 this Maryland man is the oldest living graduate of West Point
Kermit Dyke
At 103  Col.  Kermit Dyke  is the oldest living West Point graduate. Here   he  holds  his  West Point class picture. (Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
 Kermit Dyke  graduated from high school in 1932  at the peak of the Great Depression. A block from  his  house near downtown Los Angeles  scores of men lined up each day  looking for work and finding none.  He  didnât want to end up like them. So  Dyke   tall  blond and handsome  joined the National Guard.
 It  drilled just once a month  but  it  gave  him  three things: a little spending money; a bit part in a Hollywood silent film (âThey needed someone to stand there in a uniform with a rifle; I got five dollarsâ); and an entry into what  he  describes as âprobably the most honorable profession there is.â
In 1936   he  entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point  and today  at 103   he  is its oldest living graduate. Sitting in the home  he  shares with  his  wife  Bobbe  in Solomons  Md.  the retired colonel cradled an old album stuffed with black-and-white photos of young men posing in jodhpurs and Shako hats  sitting on horseback  or just goofing around in T-shirts and shorts.
 Dyke  served in World War II as an Air Force officer in Africa  Italy and France. (Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
He was born two days before the start of World War I â too late to have met his grandfather   Robert Dyke . âThereâs Grandpaâs sword â  he  said  pointing up at the wall. Sliding off the leather sheath revealed a blade with delicate engravings of flowers and an image of a woman  and  at the base  crude notches whose meaning could only be guessed at: XXXIIII.
 He  was first attracted to  his  wife  a chemistry major and science teacher  because  as she explained  âIâd read all the books on  his  required-reading list.â
With wife Bobbe   Dyke  looks through memorabilia from  his  military career at home in Solomons  Md. (Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
Looking over  his  photos   Dyke  recalled things  he  liked and didnât like about West Point.  He  liked firing guns.  He  didnât like getting up at 6 a.m. Or the fact that âwhen you were a plebe  you couldnât look down at the food you were eating; you had to look straight ahead. They didnât want you to feel like you were being pampered.â
But there was plenty of fun. Part of cadet training included learning to waltz and fox trot  and photos showed  Dyke  and  his  classmates dancing in a stage production alongside attractive companions with long hair  glamorous makeup and flared skirts.
âThese are all men â  he  noted â fellow students at the academy. West Point did not admit its first co-ed class until 40 years after he matriculated.
The album also contained artifacts from World War II  during which  Dyke  served as an Air Force officer in North Africa  Italy and France: an authorization paper from the Arrondissement Maritime dâOran  issued in 1942. A picture of him standing beside a guide in front of the pyramids in Cairo. A 1944 ration card  good anywhere in the North African Theater of Operations  U.S. Army  that entitled him to weekly allotments of items such as candy bars  tooth powder  pipe cleaners  beer and cigarettes.
 Dyke  holds  his  grandfatherâs Civil War sword. (Photo by Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
 Dyke  stopped smoking decades ago  and so did  his  wife.
Looking at the faces of his old classmates  he mused about the direction the country has taken in the decades since they graduated â not a good one  in his view. âI just think that the way things are going now   it âs not a matter of everybody helping everybody else to survive   it âs a matter of whoâs getting the most money â he said  adding that discipline â including the discipline to balance the national budget â is disappearing.
At 103  Col.   [TGT] is the oldest living West Point graduate. Here    [TGT]   holds   [TGT]   West Point class picture. (Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
  [TGT] graduated from high school in 1932  at the peak of the Great Depression. A block from   [TGT]   house near downtown Los Angeles  scores of men lined up each day  looking for work and finding none.   [TGT]   didnât want to end up like them. So  Dyke   tall  blond and handsome  joined the National Guard.
 It  drilled just once a month  but  it  gave  him  three things: a little spending money; a bit part in a Hollywood silent film (âThey needed someone to stand there in a uniform with a rifle; I got five dollarsâ); and an entry into what  he  describes as âprobably the most honorable profession there is.â
In 1936   he  entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point  and today  at 103   he  is its oldest living graduate. Sitting in the home  he  shares with  his  wife  Bobbe  in Solomons  Md.  the retired colonel cradled an old album stuffed with black-and-white photos of young men posing in jodhpurs and Shako hats  sitting on horseback  or just goofing around in T-shirts and shorts.
 Dyke  served in World War II as an Air Force officer in Africa  Italy and France. (Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
He was born two days before the start of World War I â too late to have met his grandfather   Robert Dyke . âThereâs Grandpaâs sword â  he  said  pointing up at the wall. Sliding off the leather sheath revealed a blade with delicate engravings of flowers and an image of a woman  and  at the base  crude notches whose meaning could only be guessed at: XXXIIII.
 He  was first attracted to  his  wife  a chemistry major and science teacher  because  as she explained  âIâd read all the books on  his  required-reading list.â
With wife Bobbe   Dyke  looks through memorabilia from  his  military career at home in Solomons  Md. (Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
Looking over  his  photos   Dyke  recalled things  he  liked and didnât like about West Point.  He  liked firing guns.  He  didnât like getting up at 6 a.m. Or the fact that âwhen you were a plebe  you couldnât look down at the food you were eating; you had to look straight ahead. They didnât want you to feel like you were being pampered.â
But there was plenty of fun. Part of cadet training included learning to waltz and fox trot  and photos showed  Dyke  and  his  classmates dancing in a stage production alongside attractive companions with long hair  glamorous makeup and flared skirts.
âThese are all men â  he  noted â fellow students at the academy. West Point did not admit its first co-ed class until 40 years after he matriculated.
The album also contained artifacts from World War II  during which  Dyke  served as an Air Force officer in North Africa  Italy and France: an authorization paper from the Arrondissement Maritime dâOran  issued in 1942. A picture of him standing beside a guide in front of the pyramids in Cairo. A 1944 ration card  good anywhere in the North African Theater of Operations  U.S. Army  that entitled him to weekly allotments of items such as candy bars  tooth powder  pipe cleaners  beer and cigarettes.
 Dyke  holds  his  grandfatherâs Civil War sword. (Photo by Mary F. Calvert/For The Washington Post)
 Dyke  stopped smoking decades ago  and so did  his  wife.
Looking at the faces of his old classmates  he mused about the direction the country has taken in the decades since they graduated â not a good one  in his view. âI just think that the way things are going now    [TGT]  âs not a matter of everybody helping everybody else to survive    [TGT]  âs a matter of whoâs getting the most money â he said  adding that discipline â including the discipline to balance the national budget â is disappearing.