You can hear them， like a million heartbeats fi o<br >9f yaur own insides. A halfmile away， in fron~of Ba~<br >e drums peck and the bass drums boom: the，~Briga<br >"umbeats are foreboding， speaking of power an~i exac<br > and brass join the drums， playing "Diablo，" a t~，talizing<br >by a midshipman in the class of 1966. It cuts into yo~z with a<br >rig， a yearning for action， and you stand on your seat，<br >thousand other searching heads from the grandstands to the<br >~lers ancient Isherwood Hall~ The sun-filled sky is a blue<br >boats dance on the Severn River and its tributary behind the<br >is， no， thousands of the most enticing women in America，<br >ded from all its distant corners， grace the stands with a color<br >，2 is almost incomprehensible. June Week is a military Mardi<br >s of parades and ceremonies andfestivities， a sensuous feast<br > a year of spiritual fasting. The men who are marching<br >the cris~~ edtre of the drums have eiven fift~ da ~s of drud~er~<br > zmo g i ow， j t~ttlrg<br >ith a tangible p<br >~. Brigade Staffg<br >m starched men<br >they are on the g<br >fla~s marking oi<br >~ite trousers， thousands orba<br >o lgs ~ l.em.<br >t~s wua mar presence， tney marcn m<br >man out of step， and line up two con<br >arums 5to~ h<br >~d afternoon<br >tes Naval A<br >nding befor<br >Midshipmen<br >Union and s，<br >~erican vout<br >Br<br >he<br >he<br >Velcome to the<br >ernoon s dress<br >n Field is the<br >en from every<br >.~presenting the<br >mations on the<br >field that there are two regiments in the Brigade， with th~<br >battalions in each regiment and six companies in every battali，<br >The Brigade s thirty-six companies are identifiable by the yell<br >guide-on flags at the head of each company.<br > "Today marks the final dress parade for the midshipm<br >of the class of nineteen sixty-eight. During the past four years t<br >members of this class have undergone extensive indoctrinati<br >and training， both here at the Academy and with the operati<br >forces of the Naval Service， developing the fundamentals<br >professional knowledge and personal character which h~<br >earned them the right--and the privilege--of undertaking I<br >responsibilities of leadership in defense of our nation. Tomorr~<br >eight-hundred and forty-one of the original thirteen hundl<br >members of this class will be commissioned as Ensigns in i<br >United States Navy， or Second Lieutenants in the United Sta<br >Marine Corps. Soon thereafter they will join the operating fort<br >following the thousands who have marched before them on t<br >field. We are proud of them. We wish them success a<br >Godspeed.<br >intende<br >s parad<br >~llowim<br >"ess iz<br >the t<br >;upeI<br >tV Ve"<br >Applause. No， not merely applause: the robust， p<br >together of hands from a crowd that had spilled o<br >packed bleacher seats and now surrounded the fiel<br >quite real， this audience filled with nubile beauties i<br >summer dresses， the sailboats moving up and down<br >someone had painted them onto a backdrop， the It<br >green grass and flowers， even the brilliant azure sk)<br >field， of course， an ocean of black coats and whit<br >perfect alignment， at exact attentions.<br > <br ><br >