THE DALLES — When Connor Sam got the call in March from a U.S. senator that he’d been accepted to West Point, he told some friends at The Dalles High School.
But most of them had never heard of West Point, and Connor just let it slide. It’s not his style, he said, to “toot my own horn.” But during a senior awards assembly in May, a West Point graduate spoke to the students, explaining that one of their own had achieved something notable: Acceptance into America’s most storied military service academy.
It is an institution formed not long after the country itself and has been the training ground of many leading military, political and business figures, from Ulysses S. Grant to Dwight D. Eisenhower to Coach K.
The lightbulb went on for Connor’s fellow students and congratulations started pouring in.
For Connor, a key appeal of West Point is what’s known as “the Long Gray Line.” It’s the gray (their dress uniform color) line of graduates who remain forever connected.
That shared experience was “really intriguing and inspiring,” Connor said.
Connor already has a deep familial connection to West Point: His older brother, Chase Sam, just completed his first year there.
In fact, it was at a West Point Founders Day event last year in Tualatin, which his family attended after Chase’s acceptance, that Connor decided he’d like to join the Long Gray Line.
“When I was there, I talked to a lot of the older graduates from previous classes. It put into perspective what West Point is all about. That’s when I set my sights on, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
He got the word of his acceptance in a brief phone call one afternoon from U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who told him, “Connor, I’d like to congratulate you on your appointment to the U.S. Military Academy.”
“I was in shock and said, ‘Thank you so much and this means so much to me and I won’t let you down.’ Because he had given me the nomination,” Connor said.
He waited for his parents to get home from work so he could tell them. “I felt it was a better thing to break it in person, be respectful, I guess,” he said.
Connor is grateful for the pointers he received from Chase in the days before he reported on July 1 for new cadet basic training, known as Beast.
Siblings at West Point at the same time isn’t unheard of. Chase said via text that he knows of other sibling pairs there.
Chase said he was first surprised, then happy that his brother got in. “It feels really good knowing I will be able to share this experience with him,” he said.
As for what guidance he can expect from big brother, Chase said, “I want to help him prepare for the parts that could potentially lead to him failing. I will tell him all the stuff that’s extremely important, but most of the rest of the stuff I will just let him find out.”
Fair enough.
Asked to describe how he and his brother are the same or differ, Chase said, “Maybe slightly different strengths, but we still have essentially the same upbringing. Like, he is better at school stuff and is in a better place physically than I was, but he still needs to have buy-in to what he is here for.”
Connor is in for some unusual customs as a first year cadet, or “plebe.” During meals, they can only look down, at the top of their plate. Outdoors, they cannot speak unless spoken to by an upperclassman or an officer.
Only around 11% of applicants to West Point get in. Connor is among a class of 1,300, and an expected 98% will graduate.
Like his older brother, Connor played center for the Riverhawks football team, a leadership role he expects will help him at West Point. Connor also golfed for four years, going to state twice. He was also a member of National Honor Society.
He dropped 45 pounds from his football days as he prepared for West Point’s candidate fitness assessment. It had the usual things like a one-mile run, sit-ups, push ups and pull ups, but also a surprising element of throwing a basketball as far as possible while on both knees.
He works out and trains to prepare as best he can for the physical rigors of West Point.
He described himself as a planner who likes to be prepared for everything. He likes to stay focused and have a regimen.
He plans to study social science and political science at West Point.
The risk of going to war does not daunt Connor, who always considered joining the military as one of his career options. “Joining the military, the main objective is to serve in the U.S. armed forces, that was a lot of the reason for joining, so I’m completely OK with that,” he said.
His paternal grandfather is a Vietnam combat veteran, his maternal grandfather served a career in the Air Force, and all his great uncles served in Vietnam, including one who was KIA (killed in action).
Connor and Chase’s parents, Kameron and Lori Sam, were asked what it’s like to have two kids at West Point.
They offered a joint comment via email: “We are humbled by their dedication and decision to serve and excited they will be together at the academy and receive not only an excellent education, but the incredible support of the West Point community.
“If you had asked us a few years ago what we were most proud of, we probably would have rattled off some career-related successes and supporting the boys through challenges with sports and school. Now we say we are proud to have raised sons who are teaching us valor. Our boys have made us better people. We have more courage now to navigate our own challenges.”
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