It began at 8 a.m. sharp, while the campus was still cool and quiet.

Nine members of Cornell's Class of 2007, in crisp blue uniforms and shiny black shoes, marched into Alice B. Statler Auditorium. In their final moments as cadets, they stood with their families and classmates for the national anthem and received the congratulations of their commanding officer.

Then, one by one, they walked onstage, pivoted smartly, swore allegiance to the Constitution and became the U.S. Air Force's newest second lieutenants.

An hour later in the same place, eight Navy midshipmen and one Marine Corps cadet repeated the ritual, with a few altered nuances. White uniforms replaced blue. The Navy Hymn, "Eternal Father, strong to save/Whose arm hath bound the restless wave," replaced "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder."

And in Willard Straight's Memorial Room, as the morning sun began burning away the clouds, six cadets in Army green received bright gold officer bars and their first salute as officers.

The ceremonies were not about war or politics, and in fact most graduates will have months or years of specialized training before facing deployment. Instead, commanding officers praised graduates for their sense of honor, service and commitment. And graduates spoke of sadness at leaving Cornell and of the adventure ahead -- in South Korea for Army graduate Caroline Griffe; or in pilot training for the Air Force's Anil Nathan; or surface warfare training in Japan for Navy Ensign Thomas Fulham.

For the new officers it was a day for celebrating the end of four years of classes, drills, physical training and rigorous summer assignments. "It's been a long, hard road," said Nathan.

But it was also a day for their families.

More than a few fathers, and one or two mothers, all retired officers, read the commissioning oath to their sons and daughters. Sisters stood on tiptoe to pin bars on their brothers' and sisters' shoulders. Mothers, aunts, uncles and grandmothers were there for hugs and a few tears.

For parents like Marcia Fulham, lieutenant commander, retired, and Ensign Fulham's mother, it was a pleasingly familiar ritual. "It felt like we had come full circle," Marcia Fulham said. "It felt like the legacy will continue."

And for others, like Sulu and Anil Nisargand, parents of Army 2nd Lt. Neal Nisargand, it was a new experience: a little strange and more than a little scary -- but mostly, very proud.

"Four years go by very quickly," said Sulu. "As a parent, you travel with them, picturing what they're doing. You hope for a safe journey."