Four Bentonville Men Graduate From U.S. Military Academy

Bentonville High School was represented well when the U.S. Military Academy held its graduation last month.

Among the academy's 1,064 graduates May 28 were four young men who had graduated from Bentonville four years earlier.

Adam Irons, Jonathan Mortensen, Ben Nichols and Chris Smith became friends during their high school years. Each one decided at various times they wanted to attend the academy in West Point, N.Y.

The fact all four were accepted to the academy and eventually graduated is notable because the academy accepts fewer than 10 percent of applicants and its graduation rate is 78 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report.

This year, three students from Benton County received appointments to one of the nation's five service academies, according to U.S. Rep. Steve Womack's office.

Michael Poore, district superintendent, mentioned the four Bentonville men during last week's School Board meeting.

"When talking to Representative Womack, he does not believe there's another school district in the country that has had as many folks in the last decade attend military installations as our district. He would put it up against anyone," Poore said.

Irons, Mortensen, Nichols and Smith became friends in the eighth grade. Mortensen, Nichols and Smith played for the Tigers football team together.

Upon arriving at the academy, they were placed in separate companies.

"We didn't see each other a lot, but we kept up with each other and talked every now and then," Mortensen said. "It was good having them there."

Mortensen remained at West Point after graduation to facilitate training for cadets. He'll remain there until July 25. Then he's scheduled to begin an internship with the National Security Agency in Pensacola, Fla.

The academy was a challenging but rewarding experience, he said.

"You have to manage academics, your physical performance. You have jobs here and there they'll assign you," he said. "But it's not like there's no help, because if you look to your left and your right there are people who will help pull you through."

Pamela Mortensen, Jonathan's mother, moved to Texas after he graduated from Bentonville High. Jeff Mortensen, his father, remains in Bentonville. Jon Simpson, Bentonville's police chief, is Jonathan's uncle.

Pamela Mortensen said she's proud of her son.

"One of the things about Jonathan is his tenacity. He never really gives up on anything he sets his mind to," she said. "I'm proud he stuck with it. It definitely wasn't easy for any of the boys who went."

Jeremy Mortensen, Jonathan's brother, is following in his brother's footsteps. He will start at the academy this fall.

It's been a busy past month for Nichols. Three days after graduating the academy he married Sarah Jeffery, whom he met in spring 2012. The couple recently returned from their honeymoon in Honduras.

Nichols said Army football games were some of his most memorable experiences from the academy.

"Nothing is like an Army game," Nichols said. "When it gets to the football game, everybody is pumped up. It's the most raucous crowd."

He knew the academy would be a challenge, but he didn't realize how much he'd miss his family and Bentonville.

"I knew I loved Arkansas, but I didn't realize how much I loved Arkansas until I got to West Point," Nichols said.

Smith abandoned his hope of walking onto the Army football team during his freshman year. He found a new joy jumping out of aircraft. The second semester of his freshman year, he earned a spot on the parachute team. Since then he has made more than 600 jumps.

On Sept. 14, before a football game between Army and Stanford, Smith joined his teammates on a jump from a helicopter into Michie Stadium.

"You start to hear the roar of the stadium at about 1,000 feet," Smith said.

Smith and Nichols, who teamed up on defense for Bentonville High's football team, will reunite this summer. Both are reporting to Fort Rucker in Alabama for flight school. Both say they want to fly helicopters.

Irons departed on a European vacation shortly after graduation and wasn't available to be interviewed for this story, according to his mother, Nicole Hughes.

In high school, Irons' first and second choices were the Air Force Academy and Naval Academy, Hughes said. He received appointments to both academies and hoped to become a pilot.

Prior to attending, however, Irons' medical review showed his color vision wasn't within the range either academy would accept. It was then his friend Nichols encouraged him to consider West Point, Hughes said.

"Adam's stepdad, Rod, took him out for a visit last minute and within two days at West Point, Adam totally bought in to becoming a (U.S. Military Academy) cadet," she said.

Irons will attend Army Ranger School next month at Fort Benning in Georgia. Next year he will move to Schofield Barracks, an Army installation in Honolulu, Hughes said.