Eavesdropping to Go On, Cheney Tells Midshipmen

"The president took the view that we should be lenient," he said. "Me, I could have gone either way. But he's the boss."

Cheney then shook the hands of each of the 980 graduates as they received their diplomas.

After the celebratory hat toss ending the ceremony, the stadium was a mix of tears and applause as family members descended onto the field in another ritual: pinning Marine second lieutenant bars and Navy ensign boards on their graduating loved ones.

"Oh, man," said Tristan Gerritsen of Baltimore, commissioned as a second lieutenant, as he hugged his comrades. Although his immediate plans are to go to graduate school, he hopes to fly. "I have an air contract, and, hopefully, I will be flying jets," he said.

For 23-year-old Marshall Pagaling of Sacramento, receiving his commission as an ensign was an extension of a family tradition.

"My other son graduated from the academy in 2003, and now he is flying and in the Marine Corps," said his mother, Sharon Hagan.

Theo Williams, 22, of Artesia, N.M., credited his parents and supportive relatives for his graduation and commission as a naval officer. "I couldn't have done this by myself," said Williams, his mother, Donna, at his side.

Staff writer Hamil R. Harris contributed to this report.