Linton Hall Military School alumni memories

Monday, June 10, 2013

New Book About Linton Hall!

In his memoir about his first year at Linton Hall Military School during 1968-1969, Augustus Cho has written more than just his autobiography; this is really a biography of everyone who attended inton Hall that year (as I did) or, for that matter, anyone who went there while it was still a military school, since we were all subjected to the same rules, schedule, and discipline.

Having arrived from Korea less than a month before the school year began and not knowing English, Cho faced unique challenges -- not only in being punished for not following rules that he was unable to understand, but also in not receiving candy from the canteen until he figured out for himself what to do, since he was unable to ask.

At the same time, his inability to communicate through language made him a perceptive observer of others' behavior, as demonstrated by the extreme level of detail with which he is able to describe events which took place almost forty-five years ago.

His book describes events and emotions with which LHMS alumni are all too familiar: his desperate, yet ultimately unsuccessful attempts at convincing his mother to take him out of Linton Hall, the deep contrast between the regimentation at school and the freedom and responsibility he enjoyed during weekend visits home, when, although ten years old, he would often go to the zoo with a friend and without adult supervision, as did many children that age. He wisely observes that freedom is not appreciated until it's taken away, and when one gets it back, he learns not to waste it.

In describing these events, Mr. Cho strikes a good balance between providing too much and too little detail, so that both alumni and those less familiar with Linton Hall Military School will find this book compelling.

One lesson Augustus Cho learned very well was persistence, since he ran away seven times. In a previous blog post I recounted that on one such occasion, the cadets in grades 7A, 7B and 8 had been made to comb through a field looking for him, and if I had been the one to find him, I would have probably pretended not to see him so that he could get away. (As an adult, I am much more aware of the dangers of hitching rides from strangers, so in retrospect I think it was better for him to have been caught, and am glad I did not have the chance to make a decision that I would have regretted.)

In his book he responds to my blog post, saying that he finds it encouraging that "there actually were cadets who sympathized with my predicament and understood what I was experiencing." If he had been able to speak English when he arrived he would not have faced so many difficulties, but he would also have learned that most of the incoming cadets harbored the same negative feelings about many aspects of the school, and talked about it quite openly at first. As time went on, we were less open in our criticism because of the danger of being overheard -- not just by a nun or an officer, but also by a tattletale. Tattletales were present at my previous schools, but they seemed to be much more prevalent at Linton Hall. Consequently, many of us at the time ended up thinking that we were the only ones who harbored negative feelings about the school, and it was not until decades later, when we regained contact with other alumni, that we discovered that many others had shared our feelings.

Cho recounts amusing incidents as well. Initially reluctant to take piano lessons, he changes his mind when he notices that cadets who take piano lessons on Tuesday or Thursday end up getting a half-hour respite from the two hours spent drilling in the cold, since piano lessons are given at the same time as drill. When his mother asks him what made him change his mind, he tells her that "Piano lessons improve the quality of life of a cadet."

Reflecting upon the overwhelming challenges of his first year, he says he was stronger and better for it. I do not believe that was the case for me.

"It may sound incredible," says Cho, "but I've had dreams over the decades of being back at LHMS as a child, marching in the cold ... even after 45 years later." I don't find this incredible, since I have also had such dreams; frequently at first, when upon waking up in the dark I would feel the wall next to my bed, realize I wasn't at Linton Hall, but think that perhaps I was just home for the weekend, then as I became fully awake realizing that I had left Linton Hall for good and was far from Bristow, Va.. Those dreams became much less frequent as the years went by, but returned when I began writing my blog, and were a factor in my decision to stop writing about Linton Hall Military School.

I found it emotionally draining to read Cho's account, since memories kept flooding back, and I often felt as if I had been reading my own biography. I believe that other alumni will feel the same way, and recommend this book highly.

Great Light Will Shine volume 4: Linton Hall Military School by Augustus Cho, 120 pages, $9.95 is available at amazon.com.
The previous volume of his autobiography, Great Light Will Shine volume 3, covers his last days in Korea, as well as his first days at Linton Hall, and is available in paperback at lulu.com or electronic version at barnesandnoble.com. I recommend both books.

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Copyright 2013 "Linton Hall Cadet"
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This blog is NOT affiliated with Linton Hall Military School. The opinions contained are those of the author.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Linton Hall alumnus in "GI Joe 2 : Retaliation" movie!

Augustus Cho, a Linton Hall alumnus, appears in the "GI Joe 2 - Retaliation" movie that just came out. Congratulations Augustus!

Monday, March 25, 2013

LHMS Alumnus Publishes Fiction Book

Although I have been scooped on this one by the other blogger at I want to share the news that a Linton Hall alumnus has just published a fictional book about a Special Operations Unit.

"Duty, Honor, Country" was written by Ed Schroeder, who graduated from LHMS in 1970, as Company Commander of "C" Company.

Update: I have recently bought and read the book. There is only a passing reference to Linton Hall. However, after the introductory part, the book is a fast-paced thriller with an outstanding plot.

"Duty, Honor, Country" is available both in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Letters from Linton Hall: The first couple of weeks

(I am coming out of my self-imposed retirement to publish a blog post I had written last year and saved in draft form. It covers some of the letters I wrote during the first weeks at Linton Hall. The post could have been much longer if I were to comment on every letter, as well as the letters I received, but I'm really not upt to the task of going through all of them. )

I have recently come across letters that I wrote home from Linton Hall Military School, as well as letters that I received while I was there. As I've pointed out before, outgoing mail had to be left unsealed so that it could be censored (i.e., so that if anything too negative about the school was said, the letter would not be mailed.) Inbound mail, at least from parents, was rarely if ever opened, whereas inbound packages usually were opened, regardless of source. In looking over these letters, I am surprised at how much of what I wrote did manage to get out. I supposed part of the reason was that I chose my words carefully and wasn't too obvious in what I said, and part of the reason was that I had really bad handwriting. There is one important even that I've written about on this blog and for which no outbound letter exists, and it's a fair assumption that this was a letter that did not mail out. What's most important to me about these letters is that they provide a contemporaneous account of what happened, and confirm that my memories are accurate, even over forty years later. I skimmed the letters and took notes, since there are so many, so I will at times be paraphrasing what I said, even though it will be in quotation marks. And I will comment on some of these quotes. I often forgot to write the date at the top of each letter, and they were not stored in chronological order, so it's not clear when during my stay those letters were written. But in my first letter home, I wrote that ...

My first day was okay.

I was one of the older kids and had been to summer camp before, not at Camp Linton but elsewhere, so the lack of privacy in a dorm wasn't a shock, and I was only slightly home sick, not in the way that the younger kids were. And the first day was very much like being at camp, without the military discipline, just a lot of free time to make new friends. During the first three weeks there I wrote home every other day, hoping to get letters back. I also wrote about

kids crying ... they censor mail, you have to give them outgoing letters unsealed ... they haven't taken us swimming or to play tennis yet ...

and

we're not allowed to have candy, I gave it to the nun and she'll give it back to me when I go home for the weekend.

In a previous entry I noted how trusting I was, and how disappointed I was when I got only maybe half of it back, and she had stolen the rest.

A kid went on a hunger strike, and after he skipped around half a dozen meals, they used force to make him eat

I wrote a note about this incident, and the degree of force used to make him eat, which I've only shared on Facebook. I haven't posted it on the web to respect the privacy of that boy.

I deposited the dollar you sent me to my school account, I'll find out later how much I have

I was trusting enough to believe that I would get this money back, and my mother was trusting enough to mail it. I later told her to stop doing so, as I've explained in a previous blog entry.

A Korean boy ran away yesterday, they had the 7th A&B grades look for him, they found him asleep in a field; it's the second or third time he's run away

He had recently arrived to the U.S. and spoke almost no English, so it was a lot tougher for him than for everyone else. Had I been the one to find him, there is a strong likelihood that I would have pretended not to see him, but in retrospect I think it was better for him to have been caught. He was only ten years old, and his lack of English skills, combined with the fact that at the time there probably wasn't another Asian in all of Prince William county, meant he would have been easily spotted.

They didn't mail out two letters from a kid who wrote that we go on ten-mile hikes

This was something which the Principal, Sister Mary David O.S.B. (now known by her birth name, Dister Doris Nolte, OSB) had told a whole classroom. The number of miles was overstated, but we did go on long hikes.

Usually for breakfast we get two 0.75 ounce cereal boxes, bread, butter, jelly, and a milk carton

I didn't mention quantities, and perhaps it sounded like breakfast at home, where you could help yourself to bread and jelly to your heart's content. The milk carton was 8 ounces, the jelly was one one-teaspoon single serving package, we got one single serve pat of butter, and either one or two slices of white bread. Note the absence of any fresh fruit.

For lunch or dinner, for example, carrots and peas, bologna, bread, a milk carton, water while it lasts, a slice of ginger bread

This may have implied a Norman Rockwell painting of a Thanksgiving dinner, but the peas and carrots came from a can, there was one slice of bologna between two slices of white bread, and a jug of water at each table that you could fill your glass with ... as long as there was water left in the jug.

After school they give us a snack, sometimes a popsicle.

Candy bar or popsicle. Never an apple, banana, or peanut butter sandwich.
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Copyright 2013 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.
This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School (Linton Hall School) and all opinions are those of the author.
Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Goodbye Linton Hall Military School (my last post?)

If this is not my last post, there will probably be only one or two more.

As 2012 draws to a close, I have decided to say goodbye to my blog about Linton Hall Military School. I will check in occasionally to look at comments on my blog and my Facebook account, "Linton Hall Cadet," but I plan to stop writing about LHMS.

Knowing what I know about myself, I am surprised I ended up writing so much. When I graduated, all I wanted to do was to put Linton Hall far behind. I even wanted to burn all my old uniforms in the back yard, but my mother wouldn't let me. (A picture is worth a thousand words, and that mental image sums up my feelings exactly.) After I left, I made no effort to stay in touch with either alumni or those who would be returning to Linton Hall, as doing so would have stirred up too many bad memories. I did not return there until around ten years later, for Military Day 1980. My next visit didn't happen until around twenty years after that, around the year 2000, when I happened to be driving on I-66 and impulsively took the still familiar exit for Route 29 and Linton Hall Road. It was Summer and school was not in session. I parked in front of the building and was about to get out of the car and ask at the office for permission to walk around, but was overcome by such a flood of memories that I started the car again and drove away.

I began this blog in March 2010, because there were certain things that had waited forty years to be said, and the opportunity of connecting with Linton Hall alumni had presented itself, thanks to the Internet and Facebook. I had read both Charles Carreon's memories and Augustus Cho's book, but felt I needed to add more.

I didn't intend to write so much about Linton Hall; I thought my first post would be my last, and the blog format was the easiest, quickest way I found at the time to post my memories. I didn't write my second entry until three months later, in June 2010, and my third until December, six months after that. Eventually I wrote three dozen posts, which were also shared as "notes" with alumni I found on Facebook. There are also two notes not published as blogs, because they deal with specific individuals, and I felt that it would be better to limit readership to alumni on Facebook only.

Although it's no secret that I didn't like it there, and moreover that I did not and do not feel that such a regimented environment under the constant threat of excessive physical punishment was a positive experience, I have undertaken to present a balanced picture and not overlook the positive aspects (academics, friendships, camping and hiking.)

My comments generated a sometimes heated but generally polite discussion from other alumni. Although some see their experience in a generally positive light, and some had a far, far worse time there than I did, facts are facts, and I have correctly reported what went on during the time there. Other alumni from the period while Linton Hall was still a military school, have confirmed what I have said about my experiences there.

Another alumnus, writing under the pen name "LHMS Cadet," also began writing a blog about his experiences there
He was at Linton Hall longer than I was, and kept in touch with alumni, so he is better qualified to write about LHMS. He has promised to write a book about Linton Hall, and as soon as it is published I will end my silence to let both blog readers and Facebook friends know about it.

Interestingly, both Augustus Cho and "LHMS Cadet" were both at Linton Hall Military School during the time I was there. I can only imagine if the three of us had been put together in a room back then, and we had found the courage to reveal our thoughts about the school! Though Augustus Cho now sees his experience in a much more positive light than I do, I have found the facts in his book to be completely accurate.

Writing this blog has been a very emotional experience and has generated mixed feelings. I am grateful for the opportunity to say what I could not say then, as any major criticism would have resulted in outgoing mail being destroyed and not sent, and spoken criticism could (and did, until I knew better) result in a stern lecture and a warning about possible punishment. At the same time, I do not want to continue to dwell on a painful part of the past, nor do I want to remind others of it. And furthermore, as today's Linton Hall School seems to be a far better place, I do not want to continue writing about what is in the past and which I hope will not be repeated again.

I've mentioned that I was an officer when I was in the eighth grade. I send my deepest apologies to each and every cadet for the times I did not act as I know now, and knew back then, I should have acted. In particular, on many occasions I called lower-ranking cadets stupid, dumb, or a mess. The older ones probably realized that it wasn't true, but the younger ones may have believed me. I am deeply sorry for this and hope you realized that it was I who was stupid, dumb and a mess for saying it, and I am deeply sorry for having done that.

I also saw many younger children being punished and humiliated for accidentally peeing in their bed while asleep. I regret not having initiated a conversation with fellow officers in order to reach a consensus that none of us would punish little children for something that they could not control. When I supervised study hour for children in the lower grades, I regret not having told anyone I saw with urine-soaked pajamas around his neck that such a punishment would not be tolerated by me while I supervised study hour. But I never did any of this.

I have long forgiven officers who were not good to me. I learned to do this once I walked the proverbial mile in their shoes.

I believe that apologies are due from the adults who either engaged in excessive punishment or took no action to stop it. But that is something that should be done sincerely and of your own initiative, not because I ask for it.

One last point. I have written under the pen name "Linton Hall Cadet." I did it so that I could be truthful about myself and not feel the need to put myself and my actions in a positive light. I also did it so that once I stopped posting, I could set that part of my past aside, and not have those who know me now, bring up painful memories which they wouldn't understand, not having been there.

There is also a specific reason why I chose the pseudonym "Linton Hall Cadet" instead of "John Doe" or "Mr. X." I could be any one of the thousands of cadets who attended Linton Hall, since we were all subject to the same schedule, same rules, same discipline. Even if we were lucky enough to be spared certain punishments, we saw others being punished. There was virtually no privacy and virtually no room for individuality. In that sense, each and every one of us was "Linton Hall Cadet" and each of us could have reported what I have. Some may see things in a more positive light that I do, but there is no denying the facts.

I wish each and every one of my fellow alumni all the best. I hope you enjoyed the good things in life, the things you were deprived of while you were there. As a result of being sent there, I now have a deeper appreciation for good food, fresh fruit, privacy, the freedom to schedule my time, the ability to travel far from Bristow, Virginia and to enjoy the beauty that the world offers.

There may or may not be another post or two. I say goodbye to all, and thank you for reading about my experiences and sharing yours.

Linton Hall Cadet

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Copyright 2012 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.
This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School (Linton Hall School) and all opinions are those of the author.
Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Camping and the "Over & Under" patch

When we went camping and the temperature at night dipped below freezing, we were awarded an "Over and Under" patch which was sewn on the sleeve of our blue sweater. The patch was awarded only the first time you earned it, so subsequent freezing nights brought no additional award.

Spending the night in a tent in below-freezing cold was no easy feat, since our tents and sleeping bags were not as effective in keeping out the cold as modern camping equipment.

Our tents were military surplus cotton canvas, not as effective as nylon in keeping out the wind, especially since the tents were made up of two halves, with each cadet providing his half of the two-man tent, and the two halves were buttoned (not zipped) together. The tent halves were only for the side/top of the tent; there was no bottom part, and one cadet's poncho would be laid on the ground inside the tent. Our sleeping bags went right over the poncho, with no pad to insulate from the cold or the hardness of the ground. If camping in winter, there would be fallen leaves that you could put under the poncho, and a thick layer does work well, both as padding and as insulation, but unfortunately the officers did not like the messiness of too many leaves under the poncho, so you had to do it without being noticed, and in order to avoid being noticed, couldn't really put too many leaves.

Since there was no bottom to the tent, the sides touched the ground but the wind still managed to pass through.

My sleeping bag, as well as pretty much everyone else's was filled with polyester fiber; that's good enough for an indoor sleepover, but way less effective than feathers and down at keeping you warm. Such sleeping bags probably existed (since feathers existed long before polyester!) but I don't recall anyone having one.

Besides a tent half and a sleeping bag, each cadet also carried (should I say lugged) a tent pole and (I think) four pegs for the tent. Officers also carried a folding military-type shovel, which could be used to hammer the pegs into the ground, smooth the ground under the tent and remove any protruding rocks, or lent to a "poor soul" assigned to latrine duty.

Latrine duty meant digging a trench next to a fallen log, for the rest of the campers to use as a toilet. I was lucky enough to never be chosen for latrine duty (definitely not a sought-after job) so I am not too familiar with the details If you needed to do a number two, you would pull down your pants and sit on the log. I am not sure whether the person (umm, how do I say this politely?) who had just gone to the bathroom would throw some dirt into the hole, or whether everything remained there until those with latrine duty covered up the hole at the end of the camping trip. If you needed to urinate you could just go in the woods without using the latrine, or (this is the first time I'm admitting this, after more than forty years) if it was at night and it was really cold and scary to leave your tent, you could unzip your sleeping bag on the side nearest the tent wall, lift up the side of the tent wall a little bit, and pee out the tent, all while hoping that the ground sloped away from the tent.

Although flashlights weren't provided as part of the camping gear, many of us had one, and it was definitely an advantage if at least one of the two cadets in each tent had one. Camping trips were also occasions when we could consume our secret stash of candy that we had brought from home expressly for the camping trip (I was not alone in doing this; it was quite common, so common in fact that the Commandant had told us that if we had candy, we wouldn't get in trouble for it, but just had to consume it that evening and not leave it in the tent, where it would attract wild animals. Camping trips were also occasions in which being slightly out of uniform was allowed -- instead of the regulation knit cap, some had other hats, one even had a coonskin cap.

I think that there were times when the over and under patch could be earned during a regular camping trip, but I also remember an overnight trip where we pitched out tents very close to the school building, on the other side of the driveway, just past the cedar trees that line the driveway. There was no latrine dug that time and we were allowed to use the bathroom in the school basement, but had been warned by the Commandant that if we stayed there more than five minutes or so (to warm up under the excuse of using the bathroom) we would be disqualified from the Over & Under patch. We also each got a cup of hot cocoa that night; I don't recall it being provided on other camping trips. The reason for camping close to the building was so if anyone got so cold he couldn't stand it, he could go back to his dorm and sleep in his own warm bed, but forfeiting the chance to be awarded the patch.

For those who've never slept in the cold, sleeping becomes next to impossible; the body's survival mechanism keeps you awake, and shivering, in order to keep your body temperature from falling. The cadet I shared a tent with couldn't stand it, and he decided to go back into the building. I don't remember him telling me he was giving up, it's likely that he went to the bathroom to warm up, and then decided to go upstairs. After a long while I realized he wasn't coming back, so I got out of my sleeping bag, put my sleeping bag inside his, and with a double sleeping bag managed to spend the night outdoors and earn my Over and Under patch. And no, sleeping inside two sleeping bags isn't cheating, any more than having a better quality feather-filled sleeping bag would be cheating.

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Copyright 2012 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.
This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School (Linton Hall School) and all opinions are those of the author.
Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

Index: Linton Hall Military School Alumni Memories Blog

For new readers, I suggest you begin reading the oldest entry first (the one shown first on this list.) Click on any of the links below:

Linton Hall Military School Memories