I was lucky enough to go to Loyola Marymount University, which is ranked 7th on the list of “The 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses.”  Today, we got to visit #18 and I’m not going to lie, I was surprised that it wasn’t ranked higher because the campus was breath taking.  It might be because I was in awe of the whole place, but walking around the campus literally gave me chills because of all the history and significance it has.  My mom and dad started our tour at the main gate and as we made our way around the campus, we passed by statues, walls and plaques with names of  the servicemen who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy that had passed away in the different wars.

The school itself was established in 1845 under then Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft.  The biggest building on the campus is named after him, Bancroft Hall, and is the home for the entire brigade of 4,000 midshipmen.  It is actually the largest dormitory in the world, holding 1,700 rooms.  A cool fact that Kainoa told us about that day is that the midshipmen are actually not allowed to go into the building through the large front doors, they are to enter through the smaller side doors on either side of the main entrance.  It is only after they have graduated and become officers, that they are to enter the building through the front doors.  We are actually not allowed to see the midshipmen’s rooms but we did get to see a mock room and boy is that a thin mattress and small quarters!

Also in Bancroft Hall is, Memorial Hall, a midshipmen-kept memorial for the graduates who have died during military operations.  The two names and stories that really got me were roommates, Brendan Looney and Travis Manion.  Both were 2004 graduates and roommates that had been killed in action.  After graduation, Brendan was deployed to Korea and later began training to be a Navy SEAL and Travis joined the Marines and went to Iraq.  Travis was killed by a sniper on April 29, 2007 just before Brendan had to start Navy SEAL training and was buried in his hometown in Pennsylvania.  Brendan died September 21, 2010 in a helicopter crash and his wife, Amy, wanted him buried next to his best friend at Arlington National Cemetery.  Travis’ parents decided to move him to Arlington so that they could be laid to rest together for eternity.  When I heard their story, I was in tears (what’s new?) and knew I had to speak about them as my little way of thanking them for their service and their ultimate sacrifice.

After we left Bancroft Hall, we visited the Herndon Monument where every year the monument is covered with lard and plebes (freshmen) attempt to climb the monument to remove the plebe hat and replace it with a “cover” that the upperclassmen wear.  This symbolized the completion of their first year.  They saying goes that the midshipman who places the cover upon the monument will be the first member of the class to reach the rank of Admiral.  Next to the Herndon Monument is the Navy Chapel which might be one of the most beautiful chapels I’ve been in.  The stained glass windows and the architecture were stunning.

I love to shop so one of my favorite parts of the campus tour was the bookstore which might be the size of Macy’s it’s so huge.  There is everything and anything you could possibly want in there.  I asked Kai a couple years back, “What if they don’t have something you need in there?”  He quickly told me, “They have everything you could possibly need in there and if they don’t have it, you don’t need it.”  I remember laughing at this response but he was so right, that store had everything!  To no one’s surprise, I went nuts in there and bought Lucas, Ke’alohi and I way too much Navy gear but had so much fun doing it.

We ended the tour on the part of campus that is along the water and got to see where Kai sailed when he was on the sailing team.  I didn’t notice it when we were walking past the boats, but my mom pointed out the significance of the boat names and I thought it was very fitting for where we were; honor and courage.  One of the many things that I loved about walking around the campus is the school pride and their famous phrase “Beat Army” which is said more times then I can count and is even said after singing the Academy’s Alma Mater, “Blue and Gold.”

Go Navy!  Beat Army!