WATERVLIET — Military historians say there’s never been anything quite like the open letter signed by almost 1,300 West Point alumni — names drawn from every graduating class from 1966 through 2019 — publicly reminding cadets to be guided by West Point’s spiritual values should an elected official ever give them an immoral or unconstitutional order.
The letter was released publicly just two days before President Donald J. Trump’s June commencement speech at the military academy. In those weeks after George Floyd’s killing at the hand of Minneapolis police officers, Trump floated the idea deploying the U.S. military to tamp down protests that in some cases had devolved into violence and looting.
Watervliet’s Raymond Puffer, a 1968 graduate, was among those who signed the letter. A lifelong Republican, Puffer told the Times Union he views the Black Lives Matter movement as “a respected and important civil rights group.” He was alarmed by Trump’s…
