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Oceanside native thrives at West Point
Joe Connor
WEST POINT, N.Y. — On a crisp, sunny autumn Saturday afternoon, about an hour’s drive north of New York City, more than 30,000 Americans in unison have their eyes fixated on the sky above this normally very quiet town overlooking the Hudson River. They are all cheering and clapping at the same time, creating quite the spectacle.
One by one — darting down from 13,000 feet in the clear blue sky above — is a parachute team whose mission it is to land precisely in the center of the 50-yard line at Michie Stadium in order to simply deliver the game ball to the referees officiating the football game about to commence. And they do it with ease. Welcome to the uniqueness that is the United States Military Academy, home to Oceanside native Anees Merzi the past four years.
Born to a father who fled Lebanon before its Civil War — and a Samoan mother — Merzi walks daily beneath larger than life granite, neogothic buildings in gray and black hues and statues of George Washington, George Patton and Douglas MacArthur. This is in fact the place that has bred 74 Medal-of-Honor recipients as well as the likes of former U.S. presidents Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower, and Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederate States of America, among other American icons.
“My mother was in awe the first time she came,” said Merzi, a left tackle on the Golden Knights. “It’s shocking, from the buildings to the parades and the statues and the fighter jets and the parachutes.”
What’s even more shocking is that Merzi ended up in this post that was a military garrison that played a key role in the Revolutionary War. Although a Scholar-Athlete at St. Augustine High, the 6-foot-3, 274-pound majoring in Arabic had no thoughts of attending Army.
“The first coach that recruited me was from Navy, but I didn’t start looking at Army until my senior year,” he explained.
But then there was the influence of his family, like maternal grandfather Eddie Lisi Senior, who served in the U.S. Marines Corps. And Uncle Bill Afoa who served in U.S. Army, and Uncle Fovali Pili, who did too, earning two Bronze Stars and one Silver Star for heroics while in Vietnam. Eddie would tell stories of how the Marine Corp shaped him, from that undisciplined kid in American Samoa who would skip school to go fish into the patriot who served in Korea and Vietnam before settling in Vista.
“My grandfather was really huge on the Marines. He used to take me to Camp Pendleton all the time,” Merzi recalled. “For me, it feels like yesterday was freshman year here.”
If that admission might sound a bit odd, it won’t when you consider Merzi’s daily schedule. While Army is a four-year school like other universities, the students — known as cadets — seldom have time to ponder but they do get to know each other quite well. They all live on campus and eat together en masse.
Merzi’s participates in marching practice at 6:15 a.m. and then class from 6:50 a.m. to 3 p.m. By 3:30 p.m., it’s football practice and then there’s homework to follow and an official curfew at 11:30 p.m.
“But most of the time, lights are out by 11 p.m.,” Merzi quips.
Staying organized and effectively managing time, coupled with Army’s rigorous academic standards, were Merzi’s biggest challenge in his early years at West Point, as well as dealing with the failure that comes along with it. Army students are on par with Harvard’s and the Ivy League, with the academy admitting just 12 percent of all applicants yearly.
“People come here usually good at everything and it was the first time I hadn’t gotten straight As,” Merzi explained. “I wasn’t studying effectively. There’s a point you reach here where you need help. My roommate was my tutor. In return, I helped him with the physical challenges you face here. You help someone who helps you.”
Army students are officers-in-training and their education is fully funded by the Army in exchange for active duty service. Slated to graduate next spring, Merzi said he will do so more mature and prepared to face the challenges then when he first walked on campus. His decision to major in Arabic may be largely fueled by his father’s roots, but also by his palette. He’s a sucker for Middle Eastern cuisine and continuing on the family tradition of military service. He’ll be a second lieutenant upon graduation and will be ready to serve if called upon.
“We have this saying here, ‘we operate and we graduate,’” he explained. “I have that leg up if I get deployed. It’s really beneficial because when you understand their language you immediately command their respect. My time has flown by here so fast.”
Read more:Coast News Group - Oceanside native thrives at West Point
One by one — darting down from 13,000 feet in the clear blue sky above — is a parachute team whose mission it is to land precisely in the center of the 50-yard line at Michie Stadium in order to simply deliver the game ball to the referees officiating the football game about to commence. And they do it with ease. Welcome to the uniqueness that is the United States Military Academy, home to Oceanside native Anees Merzi the past four years.
Born to a father who fled Lebanon before its Civil War — and a Samoan mother — Merzi walks daily beneath larger than life granite, neogothic buildings in gray and black hues and statues of George Washington, George Patton and Douglas MacArthur. This is in fact the place that has bred 74 Medal-of-Honor recipients as well as the likes of former U.S. presidents Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower, and Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederate States of America, among other American icons.
“My mother was in awe the first time she came,” said Merzi, a left tackle on the Golden Knights. “It’s shocking, from the buildings to the parades and the statues and the fighter jets and the parachutes.”
What’s even more shocking is that Merzi ended up in this post that was a military garrison that played a key role in the Revolutionary War. Although a Scholar-Athlete at St. Augustine High, the 6-foot-3, 274-pound majoring in Arabic had no thoughts of attending Army.
“The first coach that recruited me was from Navy, but I didn’t start looking at Army until my senior year,” he explained.
But then there was the influence of his family, like maternal grandfather Eddie Lisi Senior, who served in the U.S. Marines Corps. And Uncle Bill Afoa who served in U.S. Army, and Uncle Fovali Pili, who did too, earning two Bronze Stars and one Silver Star for heroics while in Vietnam. Eddie would tell stories of how the Marine Corp shaped him, from that undisciplined kid in American Samoa who would skip school to go fish into the patriot who served in Korea and Vietnam before settling in Vista.
“My grandfather was really huge on the Marines. He used to take me to Camp Pendleton all the time,” Merzi recalled. “For me, it feels like yesterday was freshman year here.”
If that admission might sound a bit odd, it won’t when you consider Merzi’s daily schedule. While Army is a four-year school like other universities, the students — known as cadets — seldom have time to ponder but they do get to know each other quite well. They all live on campus and eat together en masse.
Merzi’s participates in marching practice at 6:15 a.m. and then class from 6:50 a.m. to 3 p.m. By 3:30 p.m., it’s football practice and then there’s homework to follow and an official curfew at 11:30 p.m.
“But most of the time, lights are out by 11 p.m.,” Merzi quips.
Staying organized and effectively managing time, coupled with Army’s rigorous academic standards, were Merzi’s biggest challenge in his early years at West Point, as well as dealing with the failure that comes along with it. Army students are on par with Harvard’s and the Ivy League, with the academy admitting just 12 percent of all applicants yearly.
“People come here usually good at everything and it was the first time I hadn’t gotten straight As,” Merzi explained. “I wasn’t studying effectively. There’s a point you reach here where you need help. My roommate was my tutor. In return, I helped him with the physical challenges you face here. You help someone who helps you.”
Army students are officers-in-training and their education is fully funded by the Army in exchange for active duty service. Slated to graduate next spring, Merzi said he will do so more mature and prepared to face the challenges then when he first walked on campus. His decision to major in Arabic may be largely fueled by his father’s roots, but also by his palette. He’s a sucker for Middle Eastern cuisine and continuing on the family tradition of military service. He’ll be a second lieutenant upon graduation and will be ready to serve if called upon.
“We have this saying here, ‘we operate and we graduate,’” he explained. “I have that leg up if I get deployed. It’s really beneficial because when you understand their language you immediately command their respect. My time has flown by here so fast.”
Read more:Coast News Group - Oceanside native thrives at West Point
Read more:Coast News Group - Oceanside native thrives at West Point
