THE BEAR WAS A GOAT

      GUY R. “BEAR” BARATTIERI graduated from the United States Military Academy at the very bottom of the Class of 1992, but he was emphatically not a failure. On the contrary, he displayed the dauntless spirit that has typified West Point’s “Last Men” since the days of George Custer and George Pickett. His story, like theirs, is a story of bold adventurousness, unflinching courage, and firm dedication to duty, honor and country. It shows that the spirit of the Goat wasn’t extinguished when West Point officials formally discontinued the tradition of celebrating the institution’s academic stragglers.

      “Bear” got his nickname for his imposingly large build and strong, solid features. With his crooked smile, he was exceptionally friendly and loved by everyone. He was a football star in high school, playing outside linebacker on the undefeated Purcell Marian team in Cincinnati that won the state championship in 1986. He also played on Ohio’s all-state team. In 1988 he was offered a full scholarship to Penn State, but he turned it down. Bear had always dreamed of being a soldier, so he took his gridiron skills to the United States Military Academy instead.

      Like so many West Point Goats before him, Bear was a fun-loving, charismatic, resourceful cadet who much preferred adventure-seeking to studying. One classmate, Dana Rucinski, said he was “one of the most cheerful, friendly, positive people at school. You couldn’t help but smile when talking to Bear, and nothing ever seemed to get him down—no matter what his academic worry of the week!”

      Bear played on the West Point varsity football squad as a plebe, but injured his back and neck in his first season and was forbidden by Army doctors ever to play football again. It was a severe blow to him, since the sport had always been a big part of his life. But then, “demonstrating the lack of intellect and common sense” prevalent among Army rugby players, as classmate Chris Jenks put it, Bear “decided that technically the doctors never said he couldn’t play rugby.” So he joined the rugby team the next year and played “a devastating wing forward.”

      What eventually kept Bear out of sports in his firstie (senior) year was his dismal grades, but he hung on and graduated on time, at the foot of his class. As is traditional, he received the loudest applause at the ceremony and was given a dollar by each of the other graduating members of his class. Some of his rugby pals had plans to help Bear spend his $961 windfall that summer during the Infantry Officers Basic Course, but by the time he showed up at Fort Benning the money was long gone.

      Bear served first as an infantry officer, then became a Green Beret with the 1st Special Forces Group out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He deployed to the Balkans and served with distinction, winning the respect of all who came into contact with him. Bear left the Army as a captain in August 2000 to join the Seattle Police Department. He was much more serious about law enforcement training than he had been about his studies at West Point, and he finished at the top of his police academy class. He kept a hand in the military, too, serving as a major in the 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group of the Washington State National Guard.

      Bear’s unit was activated following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and in 2002 he found himself in Kuwait preparing for the invasion of Iraq. He fought bravely in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His team was attached to the 101st Airborne Division and led the way in the advance toward Baghdad in March 2003. Bear was credited with capturing three of the Iraqi leaders featured on the famous “Most Wanted” deck of cards, and was recognized