>> welcome to west point holiday. i am on the majestic route of the united states military academy at west point new york. tonight we will explore the riches of west point in a rare glimpse of the traditions of the united states military. enjoy the music. it is one of the finest military musical organizations. through out the next hour we will see them on the field, in the halls and on stage as they perform for the public.

it wouldn't be the holidays around here without the annual west point holiday concert in eisenhower hall. >> made from the class of 1915 from twietize he enhour it is one of the largest in america designed to hold the entire core cadets. let's go inside and catch the opening number of the west point holiday. clear ♪ ♪

♪ >> we will be bringing you much more of the west point holiday concert in the next hour right here the oldest one of our country's favorite universities. f cadets graduate from here to become officers in the united states army, the academy sits on a plateau overlooking new york's hudson's river. and its location chosen in 1778 is no accident.

♪ ♪ >> george washington considered west point the key to the continent. the continental army could control west point, they could control the hudson river. >> general washington chose its location to stop the british advancement during the rev -- revolutionary war: the college was established 1802 devote to the arts and sciences of warfare. >> they put it right here because this is where the majority of the army was. and jefferson, even though he didn't want a large standing army, wanted school-trained engineers to be able to survey the country and to help expand. ♪ ♪ >> now more than 200 years later, today's cadets are well aware of the impressive legacy placed on their shoulders. >> it's a privilege and honor to be here. going to be second lieutenant in the army. going to be in charge of 30

or 40 shoulders. -- soldiers. we don't take that lightly. we do our best to live those values each and every day. >> being here, being with the brightest and smartest minds of the u.s. is amazing. i mean, i'm fully exposed to people who i honor, who i trust and who i will trust with my life throughout my four years here and throughout my time. >> our mission at west point is to educate, train, and inspire leaders of character. we develop cadets intellectually, militarily, physically. what our mission statement really focuses on the character development. you can be competent militarily or intellectually or physically. but if you fail in character, you have therefore failed on leadership. ♪ ♪ >> and as long as there had been soldiers at west point, there has been a band. >> music at west point begins with a very first soldiers who were placed here during the revolution.

>> by the time you get to the american revolution, field and music and bands associated with the military were fairly commonplace. ♪ ♪ >> military drums were the primary form of communication from the american revolution to the civil war. >> armies on both sides of the conflict employed not only field music but also much larger bands. ♪ ♪ >> and the bugle achieved an increasingly important role for the ability of its bold, brilliant sound to be heard on the battlefield. >> to help morale, to help motivate soldiers and to provide instructions that can be heard over the den of battle. ♪ ♪ >> there used to be many music halls throughout the day to tell soldiers to do all sorts of things, mail call, chow call, call to quarters in the east coast. all these different musical pieces kept them on task. >> each day at west point still begins the same way at

06:30. ♪ >> with the blast of a cannon in the >> the honor guard for the academy will prepare to raise the flag, and there will be a cannon shot and then one of the buglers will perform reveille as the flag is raised over west point. >> revel lee is what gets them out of bed in the morning. it draws a soldier's attention. as a matter of fact the to stand at attention and salute the flag when it goes up. >> but today field musicians are not your grandfather's drummers and buglers. >> when we come back we are going to take you back inside to show you what a field music christmas looks like. but before we take a quick break here's the west point cadet glee core performing "comfort." flush ♪

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a quest. the next horizon. everyone loves the chase. >> welcome back to west point holiday, i'm gretchen carlson. we are at the united states military academy at west point where we are going to bring you some of the amazing music of the west point band. ♪ ♪ >> throughout history cadets through out history they have marched to a different beat at west point. >> the bugle was very important to the military during the time of the american rell luges and even well beyond bugles and drums give out orders and they can hear frem from long

distances. >> they continue to provide the same kind of support to the cadets as they always have been. they play the same music. >> they are on a military schedule that makes up life at west point. >> every day three times a day the entire core of cadets come to the music fight of drums. the whoall of the regimens come certain areas. >> at 12:05 they form up. >> we take accountability to our battalion. oop oo once announcements are set we march in a oo a march will team for the day and core cadets will march into the mess hall all 4400 of us and we will all eat at the same time.

we have about 15-20 minutes to eat. the logistics behind that is incredible. the mess hall staff does an amazing job and gets everything out to our tables where we eat family style. >> in addition to the daily formation the hell cats give the pass in review. >> the pass review gives the commanding officer to kiss miss and gives the opportunity to inspect the core cadets as well. we take a careful look at the companies as they go by. we look for their drill and appearance hound to cure the rifles left, right, if they are in step, the uniforms they are wearing. >> west point is known for the uniforms. a lot of people know the cadet gray. the colors are black, gray and gold. those three colors represent the components of gunfire, charcoal and nitrate and sulfur. >> they play the same melodies that every cadet that will come

through the academy will recognize. it represents an unbroken tradition that extends back before the academy to the beginning of the army and the nation. >> let's rejoin the west point holiday concert to see the hell cats and west point band performing seal music christmas classic. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [joy to the world] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

[ applause ] >> some amazing stuff. and we're going to have plenty more from the concert as west point holiday continues. but, first, here's the academy brass quintet performing holiday hymns. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ [hark the herald] ♪ ♪ ♪ [hark the herald angels sing] ♪

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>> welcome back to "west point holiday. i am given encarlson. it is such a special time when army officers look for a well deserved break from their studies and training. >> there's a lot that's on a cadet's schedule. the to do a lot of work. there's a lot of demands on them. when the holidays come it gives them a reason to celebrate and build up. >> the couple weeks before holiday break everyone seems a bit more cheerful. there's a little bit more hope in the air. you are going to go home soon. having a huge responsibility on our shoulders every day can

rathwear down on us. definitely as we approach our break, as we approach the holidays we have a chance to relax. >> family is very important to our cadets that's the basis of their up bringing. >> going home makes it 10 times more worth it because you learn to appreciate what you have and being home with family, seeing people that you haven't gotten to see in months, it is just so wonderful. >> it is also a time to remember those that have gone before them and the thousands of americans celebrating the holidays far from home. >> soldiers awho are deployed ae away from families for as long as a year, 15 months. when it comes time for holidays it's a tough time for them. they do know that their group, their squad, their platoon is their family when they are deployed. it is going to be one of those times where they will remember that particular christmas.

>> across the west point campus the holiday spr rit is palpable. >> the mood changes right after thanksgiving. overnight the spirit has changed. >> you will wake up and suddenly there's lights all over, gift wrapping paper all over. people just seem to have more pep. >> there is one december tradition that everybody looks forward to. red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose. >> the annual christmas dinner in washington hall with entertainment by west point's benny havens band. >> christmas dinner is one of the great traditions for the cadets. i would say it's the highlight of the year. >> christmas meals at west point are my favorite by far. the cadets usually decorate the tables you see everything from christmas trains being stacked on the tables to santa dolls. >> whenever the cadets enter the mess hall they are kind of

surprised and taken aback by how beautiful and festive it is. >> we will all march into the mess hall and have a feast. >> the first class cadets will dance with one another during the dinner which is very out of ordinary. >> the core of cadets will sing the 12 days of christmas before being dismissed, that's exciting because everybody is together, everybody is singing, it's really festive. it is just a great experience. >> there are six wings in the mess hall. half of each wing is assigned one of the days. flush as they start singing it starts at one point in the mess hall they will sing the first day and then it moves. >> you just see joy around the mess hall. >> it gets a little rowdy.

>> you can hear it growing louder and louder as it approaches your wing you sing. it's really a fun tradition, a great experience. ♪ >> massive washington hall isn't even the most impressive structure on west point. one of the most awe inspiring college campuses in america the u.s. military academy was the first institution in the country to adopt the gothic style of architecture. the core buildings pose an intenacity needed to lead the united states army into the future. among the many great structures is the cadet chapel where i am standing right now. it resembles a medieval castle over looking the enhire campus. >> it has military aspects of it the windows are thin and the tops of the chapel look like

they fit into the military aspect. almost like the military cathedral. >> it was dedicated in 1909. >> each stained glass window pain is a memorial given ore time by classes in memory of their fallen classmates. >> beginning with the class of 1802 the first class and maintis play are taken from scenes of old and new testament martyrs and heros. >> in the middle of the chapel is what is called the constantly burning candle. >> that's a reminder we have soldiers deployed in harm's way. as long as we have soldiers deployed that candle burns. >> it is home to the largest church organ. >> it has over 18,000 pipes. even organs outside church buildings. there are very few that are larger than had a organ. it is an honor for people to come here and ask permission to play it. it is a fantastic instrument. it can produce the sweet simple

sounds the beginning melody of silent night and sounds like splendor for other pieces of pewsic. >> and we'll be going back to the >> we will be going back to the holiday concert in just a few minutes. first it is in this beautiful setting we are going to listen to the cadet's rendition of "silent night." [silent]

[silent night] ♪ [silent night] ♪ [silent night] ♪

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♪ ♪ you better watch out ♪ you better not cry ♪ you better not spout ♪ i'm telling you why ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪

♪ >> welcome back to the west point holiday special. i'm gretchen carlson. that's the west point benny haven's band playing santa is coming to town. and, of course, when santa comes to town here he does it in a truly west point fashion. not on a sleigh pulled by reindeer but jumping out of an army helicopter ♪ he knows if you've been bad or go good ♪ so be good for goodness sake. >> santa, his trusty elf and the army golden knight pair shoot team decided to drop in on mikey stadium for delivery of a game ball for the football game. game day at the united states military academy is a big deal. and it starts long before kickoff. >> it's just not only the football game. 's it's the parade of corps cadets. the sky diving team will jump in during the parade and jump in during the

stadium. >> as the area around the stadiums fills with tailgaters the west point band is there ♪ up town funk you up. >> army bands have always provided newscast entertain soldiers and here that tradition is carried on by the benny havens band. they play popular music. the kind of music that our cadets will want to hear >> the hellcats join in the fun, stirring up the already lively crowd ♪ [cheers] >> home football games on game day are exciting times for the entire west point community. >> the entire corps of cadets will march up together in a football game. we are all in the same uniform and ready to cheer on the army team. all of the home football games the cadets will attend and it's a really good time. at a regular college, you go with like your one social group or you have a few friends. but here you kind of feel really united as a corps of cadets while you are at those games. >> past time, of course, the west point band takes the field ♪ ♪ >> many times they invite

the marching band from the other team to join them for a joint performance. ♪ ♪ let's rejoin the west point holiday concert as they perform marshmallow world. ♪ ♪ ♪ it's a marshmallow world in the winter ♪ when the snow comes to cover the ground ♪ it's the time for play ♪ it's a whipped cream day ♪ i wait for it all year round ♪ those are marshmallow clouds being friendly ♪ in the arms of the evergreen trees ♪ and the sun is red ♪ like a pumpkin head,

♪ it's shining so your nose won't freeze ♪ the world is your snow ball, see how it grows ♪ that's how it goes, whenever it snows ♪ the world is your snow ball just for a song, ♪ get out and roll it along ♪ it's a yum-yummy world made for sweet hearts, ♪ take a walk with your favorite guy ♪ it's a sugar date, what a spring is late ♪ in winter, it's a marshmallow world ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ it's a marshmallow world in the winter ♪ when the snow comes to cover the ground ♪ it's it's the time for play ♪ it's a whipped cream day ♪ i wait for it all year round ♪ those are marshmallow clouds being friendly ♪ in the arms of the evergreen trees ♪ and the sun is red like a pumpkin head ♪ it's shining so you nose won't freeze ♪ the the world is your snow ball see how it grows that's how it goes whenever it snows ♪ the world your snow ball just for a song ♪ get out and roll it along ♪ take a walk with your favorite guy ♪ it's a sugar ♪ it's a marshmallow world ♪ [cheers and applause]

>> we will have much more from the west point band holiday concert. stick around.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> welcome back to west point holiday special i'm gretchen carlson. we are at the united states military academy at west point where cadets spend four extremely busy years studying and learning before becoming leaders in america's army. >> first thing do you is you go through a summer that transforms you from civilian to cadet. as a cadet you are kind of an apprentice in the profession of arms. developing the skills and capabilities militarily, physically, and incidentlike actually. >> just making it through fall semester through winter break at west point is nothing short of a triumph. for the freshman class known as pleads it's first chance to take a breath as they report to post after graduation. r day was the start of rigorous schedule of training and education that will continue throughout their time here. >> this 9/11 generation is very unique group of young men and women. because they all recognize that our nation was attacked and they want to stand in the gap and do something

about it and our motto here is duted, honor, country. i would argue that these young men and women have arm eternalized what -- internalized what that means when they get here. they want to stand in the gap between the evil that's out there and what our nation stands for. >> an impressive group of young men and women indeed. let's now get back to the music of the west point band. we'll rejoin the west point holiday concert as the band performs sleigh the band performs "slay ride." ♪ just hear those sleigh bells jing ling, ring-continuing-tingling, too ♪ come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you ♪ outside the snow is falling and friends are calling you hoo ♪ come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you

♪ giddy-up, gid -- up-giddy-up let's go ♪ our cheeks are nice and rose and comfy cozy are we ♪ we've snuggled up close together like birds of a feather should be ♪ let's take the road before us and sing a chorus or two ♪ come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you ♪ ♪ giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let's go ♪ let's look at the show ♪ we're riding in a wonderland of snow ♪ giddy-up, giddy-up,

giddy-up it's grand, just holding your hand ♪ we're gliding along with a song of a wintry fairy land ♪ just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-continuing-tingling, too ♪ come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you ♪ outside the snow is falling, and friends are calling you hoo ♪ come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ red so red ♪.is set as it ♪ kiss me, did you miss me mistletoe ♪ i need the fireplace back ♪ until i get my drink eggnog that's in my cup ♪ our cheeks are nice and rose and comfy cozy are we ♪ we've snuggled up together like birds of a feather should be ♪ let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two ♪ come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you ♪ ♪ giddy-up, giddy-up. [ applause ] >> there's more to >> there's more to come from

here at west point. as we take a quick break we leave you with the west point cadet glee club. ♪ with a one horse open sleigh ♪ fields we go laughing all the way ♪ bells on bob tail ring ♪ making spirits bright ♪ what fun it is to ride and sing ♪ a sleighing song tonight ♪ jingle bells ♪ jingle bells ♪ jingle all the way ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells ♪ jingle all the way ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh ♪ ♪ jingle, bells, jingle

bells ♪ jingle all the way ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells ♪ jingle all the way ♪ oh what fun it is to ride

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ welcome back to our west point holiday special. i'm gretchen carlson. let's rejoin the west point band for white christmas.

♪ i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪ ♪ just like the ones i used to know ♪ ♪ where the treetops glisten ♪ and children listen ♪ to hear sleigh bells ♪ in the snow ♪ i'm dreaming ♪ of a white christmas

♪ with every christmas ♪ card i write ♪ may your days ♪ be merry and bright ♪ and may all your ♪ christmases be white ♪ ♪

i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪ ♪ just like the ones ♪ i used to know ♪ where the treetops glisten ♪ and children listen ♪ to hear sleigh bills ♪ in the snow ♪ i'm dreaming of a white

christmas ♪ ♪ with every christmas card i write ♪ ♪ may your days be merry ♪ and bright ♪ and may all your christmases be white ♪ [ applause ]

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tonight. we'd like to thank everyone at west points and especially the west point band for letting us share the holidays with them. for everyone at fox news, have a great holiday and good night. hey everybody. merry christmas. we're going to try to ease you out of bed with a smile. i'm anna kooiman and this is "fox and friends." the faithful flocking to the pope. we'll take you there on this christmas morning. santa sweting it out as he delivers gifts. >> santa is sweating profusely and needs a cold glass of milk badly. >> holiday heat wave breaking records this morning. do you prefer a white or a warm