Serving ‘so others may dream’

Peter Grieco has wanted to serve in the U.S. military since he was in the first grade and heard a story from his grandfather Arnold Brandt, who was sailing to Iwo Jima as a marine when he noticed “a little twig raising out of the island.”

That “twig” was the American flag being lifted by members of the U.S. Marine Corps with whom Brandt served during the Second World War.

After capturing the island from the Imperial Japanese Army, an iconic photograph was taken and a memory was embedded in the mind of a soldier and passed down to his grandson, instilling in him the desire to serve his country.

In May, 2nd Lt. Peter Grieco, now 23, fulfilled that desire when he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Grieco shared with the Herald last week a mosaic of family stories, interlaced with his own, as if he was having a conversation with a dear friend.

As he spoke about his experiences at the federal service academy, where the Corps of Cadets are trained, he turned over his class ring in his hands. Inscribed on it is the school’s motto, “So others may dream.”

The administration at the U.S. Military Academy collected senior rings from deceased and former students and melted them down to create those for this year’s graduating class. Also welded into the ring is steel from the World Trade Center. “It’s my most prized possession,” Grieco said.

While attending Mepham High School, Grieco, an Eagle Scout, worked on a project in which he interviewed Vietnam War veterans and then compiled their stories in a journal, which he then sent to the Library of Congress for archival purposes.

“It taught me to learn and appreciate what people did before me,” he said, adding that he was inspired by his father, Paul Jr., who served as an engineer in the Vietnam War.

Grieco recalled excelling in his math and science courses in high school and said that he eventually found a passion for engineering like his father. “I love learning about how the world works and how we can better it for people,” Grieco said. He graduated in 2012 and applied to the U.S. Military Academy, only to be rejected. However, he said, “I knew I’d just keep reapplying until I made it in.”

The next year Grieco’s determination paid off as he began his studies in mechanical engineering at the West Point military college. He expected the next four years to be intimidating, with a demanding training schedule and strict superiors. “You know, the screaming-in-your-face kind of army mentality?” he joked. Starting his sophomore year, however, he was granted more responsibilities and merit. “Not only did I grow through my leadership [roles],” he said, “but I also grew physically… and academically.”

Grieco is the first in his family to graduate from a military college as an officer, as opposed to entering as an enlisted private. After 40 days leave, he will travel to Fort Leonard Wood, in Missouri, for officer training, and following that, he will be permanently stationed at Fort Hood in Texas as an officer of the First Cavalry Division. There, he will be working with a combat engineering unit involved in demolition projects.

“I think my biggest worry is getting past the bigger competition pools,” he said, referring to the pool of graduates striving to fill the same role as him. “The point that I’m at now is making sure I’m in good enough shape and mentally ready… for anything they could put me into.”