Whether it\u2019s the cadets and midshipmen performing the march onto the field, the notorious \u201cprisoner exchange\u201d or who gets to sing their academy\u2019s alma matter second, the tradition and nostalgia surrounding the annual Army-Navy game has the power to create lasting memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of my earliest memories is an Army-Navy game with my dad watching on a black-and-white TV up in Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Milley\u2019s father served with the 4th Marine Division in World War II. His mother served in the Navy Medical Corps during WWII. Other family members served in the Army in World War I and World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year was my first time at the Army-Navy game. The game didn\u2019t quite end the way I was expecting or hoping, but we\u2019ll get them this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wormuth shared that she does not let the storied rivalry come between her and her husband, a veteran Navy officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe is 100% cheering for Army, otherwise he\u2019d be sleeping on the couch,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nate Boyer, former Army Green Beret turned University of Texas long snapper and Seattle Seahawk.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boyer, who joined the Army in 2005 and earned the Green Beret in Dec. 2006, shared that he watched football every chance he could whenever he was stationed overseas. Among other deployments, Boyer served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was my escape, football,\u201d he said. Later, Boyer played as a walk-on to the football team at the University of Texas, while also serving in the Texas Army National Guard, and remembered fondly watching the Army-Navy game by himself in the locker room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis game is like nothing else. There is no sporting event, there is no rivalry that compares,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vice Adm. Sean Buck, U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy most memorable game was my first year as superintendent in 2019. Navy had the winningest season in history. The biggest comeback from a horrible season before to go 11-2 and beat Army.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland, U.S. Military Academy at West Point superintendent.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy most memorable game was in 2016 when we broke the streak. It was the first my wife and I had gone to since we were cadets, my senior year in 1989. We go and the break the streak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Army had lost 14 straight games to Navy until the 2016 matchup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First Captain of Cadets Lauren Drysdale, a senior from Irvine, California and player on the West Point Women\u2019s Soccer Team.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy most memorable Army-Navy game was the women\u2019s soccer game this year, when we won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Drysdale also watches the football game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy plebe year we lost. My Yuk year [a cadet\u2019s sophomore year] was COVID. It was an exciting game and after that game, the whole [Corps of Cadets] was able to go home after eight months of not being able to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rob Braggs, West Point graduate and former Army officer now with insurance company USAA, a game sponsor and booster.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe thing I remember most was the March On. The feeling, it was a special thing. Hearing the cheers reverberate across the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bill White, U.S. Naval Academy graduate, retired Navy captain, currently senior vice president and general manager with USAA.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe lost the first three games, so senior year it was \u2018do or die\u2019 and we won the game with about 11 seconds to go on a field goal and we lost our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Navy Capt. Gervy Alota four-year varsity letterman and captain his senior year.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy senior year. We finally won, 39-7.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peter Medhurst, Navy play-by-play announcer for 25 years.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt will be Malcolm Perry\u2019s 300-yard game against Army. For Malcolm to do that in 2019 on this stage, against this team that studies you all year because they want to win that one game against your team. To see him do that on this stage was great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keenan Reynolds, the only Navy quarterback to go 4-0 against Army, NFL player on his first Army-Navy Game:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll year long we\u2019ve been going to games and the stadium\u2019s closed. And it\u2019s hours before the game starts and people are already lined up. Rabid Army fans booing as we\u2019re driving up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Military Times talked with soldiers and sailors with academy connections about their distinct memories of the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3405,3283],"class_list":["post-72302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CKOW3XX3ZVCJFH2Q56IIMYVRYE","arc_canonical_url":"\/smr\/army-navy-game\/2022\/12\/10\/army-navy-game-memories-from-both-sides\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n