Ready to serve his country

This Thursday night, 270 seniors graduate from Wantagh High School. For one, summer vacation will be rather short.

John Burke, 18, was accepted by the United States Military Academy at West Point, and will arrive there on Monday. Just four days separate graduation and the start of the next chapter of his life.

“From a young age, I was always interested in serving in the military, and I wanted to get a college education as well,” he said. “I wanted to have the honor of being a West Point cadet.”

His grandfather on his mother’s side, Daniel Murphy, served in the Army and was active during the Cold War. Burke’s grandfather died six months before he was born, so he was named John Daniel in his memory.

Burke said that the process of getting into West Point took about a year. He had to fill out many forms online, then apply for an interview through Congresswoman Kathleen Rice’s office. In December, he met with a panel of her representatives at Nassau Community College, and the interview took 10 minutes. Burke said there were about 30 other people in the waiting room, and Rice could only sponsor two for West Point, as well as two others for each other branch of the military.

“I was a little nervous, because they don’t offer many nominations,” Burke said, noting that questions from the panel focused on why he wanted to attend, his high school grades and activities, and if he felt he was physically and mentally ready to live a military lifestyle. “I was just honest with them, and made it clear that this had been a goal of mine for many years,” he added.

Once he arrives at West Point, Burke will go through six weeks of basic training, commonly known as boot camp. Communication with his family will be limited, with only a few phones calls allowed during that time. He won’t have a cell phone, but can send and receive letters.

In the middle of August, the academic year starts. Cadets meet in formation for breakfast and lunch, and there are classes throughout the day. After his first year, he can declare a major, and he is leaning toward civil engineering. When he graduates, he will be an officer, and could command as many as 50 soldiers. Burke would then serve five years of active duty, and would have the option to re-enlist, or move on to civilian life.

“It’s a big change in my life,” he said. “I’ll be independent, away from home. I’m looking forward to pushing myself inside and outside of the classroom and training to be an officer in the United States Army.”

Like any aspiring soldier, the thought of war makes him a little nervous, but he said he is confident that four years at West Point will prepare him for any situation he will face after that.

The beginnings of a soldier

Last summer, Burke spent a week at Boys State at SUNY Morrisville, a leadership camp for boys entering their senior years of high school. He was sponsored by Wantagh American Legion Post 1273.

During that week, which Burke said was very structured, he was up at 5 a.m. After making their beds, participants did physical training. The boys also ran their own mock government, and Burke was the sheriff of his county. “It was a little, I guess, a taste of what the military structure is,” he said of the experience, noting that a few people he met will join him at West Point.

In high school, Burke was president of Future Business Leaders of America, vice president of the Business Honor Society and a member of National and Foreign Language honor societies. He also played cornerback for the varsity football team and midfield for the lacrosse team. “At West Point,” he said, “I’ll be part of a team, just like I was throughout high school.”

Burke said his family is very supportive of his decision. In a few days, he will say goodbye to his mother, Ann, father, Kevin, and his three brothers — Matt, a 2015 graduate of SUNY New Paltz, Tom, an accounting major at Binghamton University, and Mikey, a senior next year in Wantagh. “They’re a little nervous for me,” he said, “but they know I’m a tough kid and hard worker.”

Ann Burke said that she will miss having regular contact with her son over the next six weeks, and will be ready to greet him with a big hug on Aug. 13, known as “A Day,” which is the first time families can visit the cadets.

“I am so confident that he is going to do well because this is something that he has dreamed about since ninth grade,” she said, adding that her son’s desire to serve his country has never waned. “It was a goal and he reached it. The more he wanted it, the more I wanted it for him.”

Burke gets to come home for the first time on Labor Day. He then gets a short break for Thanksgiving, two weeks for Christmas, a week in the spring, and one month each summer after his freshman year. The rest of the summer will be spent training at Camp Buckner.

“We get to experience a lot of freedom in the United States, and that’s protected by our soldiers,” Burke said. “I want to give back to my country.”