history
A True American at Yale
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TL;DR
- The Nathan Hale statue at Yale University is a point of family interest for the author.
- The statue depicts Hale before his execution, hands and feet bound, looking upward.
- Inscribed at the base are Hale's supposed last words: 'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.'
- Hale attended Yale, briefly taught, joined the war effort, and was captured and executed in New York at age 21.
- The statue was commissioned by Yale alumni and installed in 1914, near Connecticut Hall.
- A replica statue at CIA headquarters has a tradition where officers leave a coin for good luck before missions.
- The author views the statue as a lesson about historical throughlines and individual impact on the nation.