ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It’s one of the U.S. Naval Academy's messiest, most celebrated rites of passage—the annual Herndon Monument climb.
The U.S. Naval Academy's class of 2029 officially completed its plebe year in 2 hours and 17 minutes and 36 seconds, officials said.
USNA class of 2029 completes Herndon Monument climb
Hundreds gathered on the Naval Academy campus to watch plebes work together to scale the monument, one of the school’s most recognized traditions.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as the class of 2029 completed the climb.
Members of the fourth class, known as “Plebes,” took on the 21-foot obelisk, covered in grease, in a team effort to reach the top and retrieve a white plebe “Dixie cup,” then replace it with an upperclassman’s cover.
The climb marks the symbolic end of the plebe year and stands as one of the United States Naval Academy's most recognized traditions.
