ORIGIN STORY
The Story of the Strong Gray Line
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In the wake of 9/11, West Point graduates served their countries in fronts of the Global War on Terror across the world. Among these were members of West Point’s Class of 2004: the first class to affirm their oath following the 2001 attacks, whose company-grade service as platoon leaders and company commanders placed them at the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That service brought sacrifice: 12 members of the Class of 2004 were killed in action, the highest of any West Point class since Vietnam.
In 2012, members of the Class sought ways to honor the fallen and support their families and classmates. Cory Wallace organized a written tribute by classmates and friends, The Strong Gray Line: War-time Reflections from the West Point Class of 2004, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2015. The authors pledged all proceeds to support the memorialization of fallen classmates.
In 2014, other members of the Class organized a fundraiser to support Gold Star Families members attending the Class’s 10-year reunion. Classmates and friends responded generously to maintain the active involvement of our fallen’s family members within our class community.
Inspired by these efforts, in 2018, the Association of Graduates class leaders chartered The Strong Gray Line Corporation as a registered non-profit in California, transferring remaining proceeds from the reunion fundraiser and future book royalty funds to the non-profit entity, along with an independent governance structure.
In 2020, our Class non-profit unveiled a diverse governing board with a clear mission and values. The organization took a transformative step forward, unveiling a diverse governing board and solidifying its mission to provide not only remembrance but also direct, ongoing support to alumni and their families. Building on the legacy of service and sacrifice, Strong Gray Line expanded from a class-based initiative into a structured, nationwide support network.
Since then, the organization has developed comprehensive care coordination services—connecting alumni, classmates, and their families with vetted mental health resources, financial guidance, career assistance, and peer support programs. What began as honoring the past has evolved into actively safeguarding the well-being of the living, ensuring that no graduate or family member feels alone in navigating life after service.
Today, Strong Gray Line operates with the same spirit of loyalty and brotherhood that carried its founders through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—only now, that commitment is expressed through practical, ongoing care and a growing network of resources that stretches far beyond the Class of 2004.
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