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“I came here to learn American football for free.
I was originally planning to go to Annapolis, but as you can see, I am a bit older.
That place would not take me because of my age.
Coming to New York from the Kansas countryside feels a bit surreal, but…”
“Hey, how long are you going to keep talking by yourself?”
“Sit down, sit down.
You are making his head spin.
Give it a rest.”
That idiot gambler is Dwight David Eisenhower?
The man who will one day crush Hitler and enter the White House?
I had met figures who would shape future history before, but they had not differed much from what I imagined.
But Eisenhower was completely destroying the image I had in my head.
After brief introductions, it became my turn.
I steadied myself.
“I am Eugene Kim.
I am from San Francisco.
I am a Korean American.”
“Korea?
Where is that?”
“You are not Chinese?”
Something felt off.
As expected, those bastards began rummaging through their pockets, pulling out coins and bills.
“This is ridiculous.
This is a scam.”
“So where is Korea?”
“It is a small peninsula between China and Japan.”
“Ah, I think I know.
Did Japan not take it recently?
Then Japanese should count as correct too, right?”
“Shut up.
I am Irish.
If someone calls me English, I would knock their teeth out.
He is probably the same.”
“Of course.
Back home, I beat enough Japs to fill an entire Union Pacific train car.”
In the end, they were all still teenagers, burning with youth.
Young men who had chosen to dedicate themselves to the military.
Fortunately, the ones I met first were decent enough.
“Hey, amigo.”
“Ah, hello.”
“My name is Anastacio Quevedo Ver.
Sorry, my English is not good.
Can you help me?”
At least I was not the only non-white cadet.
The Philippines, newly under American control, sent one cadet to West Point each year.
Anastacio was one of them.
“Will you be alright if your English is weak?”
“The Philippines has high expectations for me.
I will learn and return.”
“Alright.
Tell me if you need help.
I will help you practice English.”
“Thank you.
Do you want to learn Spanish?”
Moments like this made things easier.
“All rise.
Form ranks and proceed to the mess hall.”
“Eugene, over here.
We need to eat.”
“Would it not be uncomfortable sitting with a yellow man?”
“If you care about that, you should not be serving this country.
Go back to Alabama.”
Dwight David Eisenhower grabbed me firmly.
“Sit down.
Let me introduce you to some friends.”
“If I refuse now, I will look like trash.”
The two men nodded reluctantly.
“This is Omar Bradley.”
“I am Omar Bradley.”
“And I am James Van Fleet.”
More and more big names kept appearing.
Omar Bradley, a future hero of the Second World War.James Van Fleet, who would later rise to prominence and fight in the Korean War.
What exactly was West Point in 1911?
“Anyway, we were having a very serious discussion.”
“Join in.”
I sat down and listened carefully.
“So, in my opinion…”
“Yeah?”
“American football is the greatest sport.”
“What?”
“It represents strategy and tactics.
Baseball is just hitting and running in a square.”
Those words came from Eisenhower.
Omar Bradley shook his head.
“That is disappointing.
Baseball is superior.
Football lacks elegance.”
Please stop.
Do not destroy my expectations any further.
They began arguing more intensely.
Others joined in.
“Hey, Kim.”
“Yes?”
“Choose a side.”
“Eugene looks like a football man.”
Eisenhower smirked.
Sorry.
“Baseball.”
“What?
Traitor.”
“In San Francisco, I was known as the king of the mound.”
Even after a hundred years, baseball is still superior.
I ended up joining the argument, passionately defending baseball.
“Who told you to talk during meals?
Get outside now.”
We were immediately dragged out.
Lunch ended half-finished.
West Point’s education could be summarized simply.
Outdated and rigid.
I had expected more from the United States, but the reality was disappointing.
“Basic small-unit tactics are…”
The lectures were dull.
The curriculum focused heavily on the American Civil War.
Even lessons from the Russo-Japanese War were not reflected.
The U.S.
Army of this era was still inexperienced.
Exams focused on memorization rather than creativity.
So I focused more on recalling knowledge from my previous life.
Other subjects were similar.
Languages were easy for me.
English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and now even Spanish.
Engineering was useful, but still primitive compared to what I knew.
My original plan had been to dominate academically.
But the classes were too poor to take seriously.
Worse, top students were usually assigned to the Corps of Engineers.
I did not want that.
Cavalry was also unappealing.
I wanted tanks, not horses.
So I focused elsewhere.
Crack.
“Run.
If you cannot make it, you are done.”
“Kim hit another one.”
“Lucky.”
Baseball.
That day, the West Point baseball team encountered something from a hundred years in the future.