A startling discovery at West Point has some standing at attention.
A congressional panel said that tributes to the Confederacy and a plaque with "Ku Klux Klan" on it have been hiding in plain sight at the New York military academy. The Naming Commission said that it found the plaque, which also featured a hooded man, on the entrance to Bartlett Hall, the science building on campus.
There were also the names of several Confederate generals, including Robert E. Lee, on different barracks, roads and other buildings.
The commission said that the names and plaques did not appear until the 1930s at the earliest. That's when the "Lost Cause" movement to preserve the honor of the Confederacy took hold across the U.S.
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West Point sent NBC New York a photo that shows the plaque is part of three bronze panels, a triptych, which was dedicated in 1965 to graduates of the academy who served in World War II and the Korean War. The KKK member is spotted in one small section.
In addition to saying that the school is "fully committed to creating a climate where everyone is treated with dignity and respect," West Point said that the artist, Laura Gardin Fraser, "wanted to create art that depicted 'historical incidents or persons' that symbolized the principled events of that time, thereby documenting both tragedy and triumph in our nation’s history."
The statement went on to say that "among many other symbols, the triptych also includes individuals who were instrumental in shaping principal events of that time and symbols like the 'Tree of Life' that depict how our nation has flourished despite its tragedies."
