06/02/2020
4 years ago on this day we lost one of our own in a training accident which took the life of Brother Mitchell Winey and 8 other soldiers. Mitch was a stellar cadet, earning Dean’s List recognition for the 4 semesters he was at the academy. Mitch loved to ski, and was both a member of thr Ski Patrol and a founder of the Freestyle Ski Team.
We remember Mitch not just as a cadet, but as a Brother of Theta Chi. Mitch was one of the founding members of our Theta Chi chapter at West Point. Zain Shaikh, a Kappa Iota alumni, said: “Often times throughout the colonization and initiation process for Kappa Iota, the brothers would refer to our fraternity as a fire. We would bear the fire by shielding it from the challenges we faced and feed it by actively pursuing our goals. Eventually we knew it would be our fraternal duty to pass the fire onto new bearers. Mitchell Winey was the very first bearer of the fire at West Point. He was the spark that set everything into motion, and we are eternally grateful to have known a man of his caliber.”
Every year, the day after initiation we hike up “The Trail of the Fallen” which is a landmark where people leave marked stones to memorialize fallen soldiers. Then, as a chapter with newly initiated members we leave one for Mitch.
We would encourage everyone to check out both the Mitchell Winey Memorial Foundation, and the which will donate $10 to the Mitchell Winey Memorial Foundation for every CDT Mitchell A. Winey bracelet sold.
http://steel-hearts.org/usma-2018
Be thou at peace, Mitch. @ Trail of the Fallen
