In the quiet sanctuary of West Point’s Old Cadet Chapel, a striking mural crowns the apse above the altar. Painted by Robert Weir and titled Peace and War, it captures the eternal tension at the heart of the soldier’s calling. At its center stands a radiant female figure—Lady Peace, robed in white, extending an olive branch in one hand and the Scriptures in the other. To her side, the man of war, armored and resolute, sheaths his blade not in defeat but in deference to a higher order. Between them, the majestic eagle rises, its talons clutching arrows in one foot and an olive branch in the other—the emblem adopted for America’s Great Seal, symbolizing the nation’s dual commitment to vigilance in defense and aspiration to harmony.
No doubt contemplated by generations of cadets since its completion in 1836, the scene poses an enduring riddle: How does a nation forged in righteous arms secure lasting peace?
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