On a Virginia hillside overlooking the Rappahannock River, at Christchurch School, sits a simple granite monument. It was placed there to honor the school's faculty, staff, and alumni who have served in the American uniformed services. From its early years, and continuing still today, Christchurch has been home to men and women of diligence, accountability, and humble valor, often taking in struggling youths and cultivating in them the virtues and life skills they'll need to make their way in the world. The path many graduates have chosen is one of service to country. Wherein lies the ineffable link between Christchurch School and the American uniformed services? What are the values and philosophies that the men and women of these institutions hold dear? And what common vision guides the footfall of those who walk the halls of the school, and those who find their callings on U.S. ships, planes, coastlines, and on distant bases and battlefields? These are the questions that Captain Alexander "Sandy" G. Monroe '60, USN, seeks to answer through the histories and personal interviews compiled in In Service to Their Country. Together with the hillside monument, this book exists in tribute to those members of the Christchurch family who have dedicated years of their lives-often their best years, and sometimes their last-to the protection of the United States of America.
