The twenty-one-year-old Pershing continued to have hopes of a legal career, but that changed upon hearing about a vacancy from his congressional district for a cadetship at the US Military Academy at West Point.

二十一岁的潘兴仍然对从事法律职业抱有希望，但当听说他所在的国会选区有西点军校学员职位的空缺时， 这种想法发生了变化。