"If it's too good to be true God had something to do with it" D. Harbaugh 05-23-03

There is only one thing better than graduating from the Naval Academy... seeing your child graduate from the Naval Academy. It may not be a miracle that my son applied, was accepted, or made it to graduation ... but it was a blessing, which only the parent of a graduate can truly appreciate.

Graduation day was rainy, cold and somewhat dampened by the lack of the much anticipated Blue Angels fly over. Nevertheless, it made me proud to see the enthusiasm of the graduates when they elected to sit through the cold, damp drizzle so that they could be individually congratulated by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. The process, although efficient, took a great deal of time.

My son was a member of the 29th Company and so was one of the later recipients. As time drew near I decided to get as close as I could so that I might get the best picture possible with my disposable camera. I walked from the assigned company bleachers to the VIP section on the field immediately beside the Midshipmen. I took a couple of pictures of my son in line, at the stage, and of his happy return. I can sometimes get damp-eyed at times like these but, this time, I had done an excellent job of maintaining my composure. I positioned myself a few feet behind the last row of mids in anticipation of getting a picture of the hat toss.

Concentrating the camera's focus on the skyline above the mids I snapped a picture after the last HOORAY with almost 1000 covers thrown in the air. It was funny to see all the kids that had been seated in the VIP section scurrying to retrieve them. One little boy must have had a dozen cradled in his arms. I thought it would be neat to have a cover as a memento of this special day so picked up one of the few remaining yet unclaimed. After taking a few more pictures, we headed to meet our group near the parking lot. On the walk over I turned my cover over to see the traditional dollar bill showing through the clear plastic name tag holder.

I pulled the name tag out from behind the dollar bill and I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I read, "This BANCROFT belongs to J Harbaugh."

You may find this story hard to believe, but I walked out of Navy-Marine Corps Stadium carrying my son's cover!

-David Harbaugh
Jon Harbaugh - USNA Class of 2003

P.S.  It must be a tradition to quarter-fold a dollar bill and insert it into the ID pocket on the cover. My son is very tight with a dollar or it would not have been there. I could not believe it when I pulled the ID slip from behind the bill and it had his name. It was not a "miracle" my son attended the Academy, but I do believe God had more than just a little something to do with his acceptance and graduation. God is good and this just seemed to be the exclamation point at the end of four years. It made my heart smile.

P.P.S.  When I told my son, he asked for the dollar back! :>)