It’s been a challenging six weeks for the West Point class of 2027.

The incoming freshmen have been through a trial by fire this summer, getting their first taste of what their West Point experience will be like.

Their summer ends with the annual “march back," a 12-mile hike in full gear from Camp Buckner back to the West Point main campus.

For Greenwich native Declan Kelleher, this last stretch is only the beginning of something more.

“It's been pretty gritty, pretty wet, but it's been a lot of fun," he said. "It's encouraging to know what's, what's down the road for me.”

The new cadets are getting some help from their squad leaders, like Buffalo native Ben Heltz. He was inspired by both his grandfathers’ military service, including one who had a special place in his heart for West Point.

"It was always his dream to come to West Point," Heltz said. "So I figured that I'd try my best to fill his dream for him.”

Entering his third year, Heltz is trying to impart as much wisdom as he can on the freshmen.

“Try to find your passion here and rely on your battle buddies as much as possible, because no one gets through this alone," he said.

The march takes the cadets through the mountainous terrain around West Point, back onto campus where their classmates and families await.

It was a short trip for Susan Shea and her family, 40 minutes away in Wallkill, here to see her son, Charlie.

“Amazingly proud," she said of her son. "You know, it's kind of hard. We won't see much of him, but we know he's here doing amazing things.”

It’s a feeling of victory once the cadets, with their class motto of "Earned Not Given," reach West Point’s Thayer Field to be greeted by family, classmates and the academy’s superintendent.

“A really proud feeling," Kelleher said. "It's been a long six weeks. And so I think it's going to be really nice for it to be over and seeing all those people lined on the streets. It's going to be really proud and it's going to be humbling.”

The class of 2027 and the rest of the West Point cadets will start their academic year on Aug. 14.