Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Taiwanese students Ying-Chie Hsieh (left) and Hung-Ruei Chen will return to Taiwan to be officers in the military. The relationship between VMI and Taiwan goes back more than 100 years.

Hung-Ruei Chen (left) and Ying-Chie Hsieh enjoy one of their last meals at VMI's Crozet Hall on Monday. The men and 244 others graduate today.

LEXINGTON -- They persevered through the dreaded rat line, struggled to learn English amid the barking orders of upperclassmen and rose to leadership positions at a school known for churning out authority figures.

Among the 246 cadets graduating today from Virginia Military Institute are Ying-Chie Hsieh and Hung-Ruei Chen from Taiwan.

About half of the graduates will commission as officers in the various branches of the military.

Hsieh, 22, will go into the Army and Chen, 23, is joining the Navy.

But they won't be part of the U.S. Armed Forces.

When Hsieh and Chen return to Taiwan this weekend, they will use their VMI training as members of the Republic of China's military defense force.

VMI has a long history of educating Chinese cadets. The most notable may be Sun Li-Jen, a 1927 VMI graduate who went on to become a general in the Nationalist Chinese army and who's known for his heroic achievements in fighting the Japanese during World War II.

"We actually started getting cadets from China in the early 20th century," said Cmdr. Tim McElhannon, the director of VMI's international programs. "We have a long history and relationship with China."

In addition to VMI, top students from the Republic of China's military and naval academies are given the chance to attend other American military schools, including West Point and The Citadel.

VMI also accepts four-year students from Thailand who have commissioned in the Royal Thai Armed Forces and has a semester exchange program with military schools in Germany, France, Hungary and Lithuania.

"One of the reasons they come to us is to improve their English language skills," McElhannon said.

About 3 percent of VMI's graduates today are international students.

Hsieh and Chen came to Lexington with a basic understanding of English and little knowledge of VMI's tradition of a Spartan barracks, strong honor code and rigorous military discipline.

They were slow at first following orders as they struggled to understand what they were being told to do.

Going through the rat line, a hellish, boot-camp style initiation for first-year cadets led by upperclassmen, was particularly difficult.

"The first year for me was really tough," said Hsieh. "I really couldn't speak much English at all. I just kind of see what people do and mimic them."

The Taiwanese students were thrown off by the amount of English slang terms their fellow cadets seemed to use all the time.

"We learned English out of the textbook in Taiwan," Chen said.

But when they got to VMI, "mostly, in daily conversations, it was all slang," he said. "People would say 'screw up,' 'awesome,' a lot. We never learned that."

Part of the VMI experience is the bond made among cadets as they suffer together. Both Hsieh and Chen said they wouldn't have survived VMI without the help of their roommates, who taught them English words, proofread their homework and befriended them in true VMI Brother Rat fashion.

"Here, I think it's a lot different from other colleges in America," Chen said. "It's a military environment, You do stuff with your company. People actually have to interact with you."

When they were granted furloughs from VMI, Hsieh and Chen visited Virginia Tech and other colleges. There they met other Chinese students who kept to themselves and seemed isolated from the American students.

"They're getting an American education, but they're not learning American culture and interacting with American people," Chen said. "That's one great thing I think about being at VMI. You really get to see a lot of stuff that other people don't get to see."

Hsieh and Chen said their roommates also made sure they had a place to stay during holidays when they couldn't go back to Taiwan and showed them other cities in America.

"My brother rats would take me to their house and experience a traditional Thanksgiving dinner," said Hsieh, who has particularly enjoyed American food. "We're definitely going to stay in touch. I highly encourage them to come to Taiwan. I want to return the favor."

Knowing very little about VMI when they first came, Hsieh and Chen said they were impressed with the school's history and devotion to military service and the honor code.

Hsieh read a biography of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, the famed VMI instructor and Civil War Confederate general, and was inspired by his bravery as portrayed in the movie "Gods and Generals."

"He was the one who grabbed the hearts of VMI cadets," Hsieh said.

Both cadets served this year in highly sought-after leadership positions with the Corps of Cadets: Hsieh as a company commander, Chen as an officer in charge of cadet life.

The cadets have earned degrees in mechanical engineering, and excelled in math and science. Academic stars they will wear on their uniforms today indicate they're among cadets with a 3.5 grade point average or higher.

"Every year, it's amazing," McElhannon said. "We love getting the Taiwanese cadets because they excel in all endeavors, whether it's leadership or academics."