Campus Arms For Fight

Thomas J. Carens '44 remembers the exact moment on the afternoon of December 7, 1941.

"I can remember sitting in my room at Adams House," Carens says. "We were listening to the radio and heard it announced that Pearl Harbor had been bombed."

Many members of the Harvard and Radcliffe classes of 1944, like Carens, still recall exactly where they were when they found out.

"I was in Boylston Library studying for an exam," Paul F. Butler '44-'46 says. "Everyone was shocked and that following Monday those of us who were excused because they knew none of us had studied for them."

Pearl Harbor marked a dramatic shift in the middle of the undergraduate careers of the class of 1944. From a liberal arts college, Harvard became a war factory, with classes,professors and students all geared toward theconflict in Europe.

Following the announcement of the Pearl Harborattack, Harvard President James B. Conant '13convened a mass meeting in Sanders TheatreDecember 8 to discuss Harvard's role in theinevitable conflict: "No one of you will beunconscious of the fact that he may soon be calledupon to serve," he said.

E. Thayer Drake '44 was at the meeting.Conant's words marked the abrupt change in theHarvard atmosphere, he says.

"Some people began leaving for warimmediately," he says.

Opinion Was Mixed

Before Pearl Harbor, opinion about the war onthe Harvard campus was mixed, with studentsfeeling strongly on both sides of the issue.

Harvard College, according to a year book poll,was evenly split at the beginning of the war: 36percent non-interventionist, 36 percentinterventionist, 11 percent pacifist and 17percent undecided.

During Commencement exercises in June 1941, anumber of seniors picketed against the pro-warstance of Conant and the University.

Barbara B. Kerner '44 says she remembers"people would miss classes and hold peace strikesat Memorial Hall" before Peal Harbor.

But in the fall of 1941, The Crimson and theStudent Union--the Undergraduate Council of itsday--both reversed isolationist stances andpublished strongly-written statements againstHitler and Nazi Germany.

After December 7, opinions firmed behind thewar effort, Peter Eustis '44-'43 says.

"Before Pearl Harbor people tried to beisolationist in their views," Eustis says, "butonce Americans had been attacked and killed therewas a strong surge of nationalism."

Those against the war were a tiny minority,Drake says.

"Three people that I know of in our class wereconscientious objectors to the war," Drake says."It took a lot of guts at the time to be able toadmit that you did not support the war."

The College Transformed

After 1941, Harvard's administration quicklytransformed the College itself to fit into thecountry's war effort.

A. C. Hanford, then dean of the College, wrotein his annual report for 1943-44 that "HarvardCollege has become in large part a military andnaval training school."

The College added new classes, includingcamouflage, navigation and extra physics and math,to prepare students for war. According to theyearbook, an athletic program--"an absurdpotpourri of push-ups and flank movements"--wasrequired for students in the expectation that mostwould soon be in military service.

"I took cartography because I thought it wouldhelp me when I had to go to war," says J. RobertMoskin '44-'45.

The College also went on a trimester plan whichallowed most students to graduate in three yearsand take classes during the summer.

"All our courses were compressed," Butler says."We were doing everything at a much faster pacethan normal."

By 1944, civilian students were living inAdams, Dunster and Lowell Houses, with Navy-boundstudents in Eliot and Kirkland and the ArmySpecialized Training program in Leverett andWinthrop, according to Hanford's report.

Such details as an air-raid siren on the top ofWidener Library showed the College's all-outeffort at war mobilization.

"When we first came to Harvard we had dininghalls with waitresses to serve us and maids tomake our beds," Drake says. "That all changed whenwe went into war. The shift was placed on how toprepare the best soldiers."

Perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of thewar at Harvard was a huge drop in enrollment. InJanuary 1944, according to Conant's annual report,the College had 850 students, down from a normalpre-war level of 3,527. The University had just1,826 students instead of its normal 8,078.

"People were leaving for war every month." HughM. Hyde '44-'46 says. "It was hard to keep trackof who was here and who had left."

According to the 1943-44 yearbook poll, 44percent of the men in those classes were enteringthe army, 19 percent going into the navy and fivepercent to the air corps.

By D-Day in June of 1944, "There were very fewpeople from my class left at Harvard, and most howwere there were not there by choice," Carens says.

Radcliffe students as well were part of the wareffort, with many enrolled in Women Accepted forVoluntary Emergency Service (WAVES) and working involunteer efforts for the Red Cross and otherorganizations.

"Many of my classmates were recruited into the[United service Organizations] and attended dancesand ate with military men in Boston," Ginny Hayes'44 says.

Eva Marie Bendix Leonard '44 recalls "programsgiven by the Red Cross where we learned aboutdifferent kinds of bombs."

Hard to Focus

In such a military atmosphere, it was hard forstudents to focus on anything other than the war.

"Hearing air force and navy troops marching upand down the streets near our dorms were constantreminders of the war," Edward T. Wentworth Jr.'44-'43 says. "It was a regular topic ofconversation during meals and at the libraries."

Eustis says the Harvard social life changedtoo, as more and more students departed.

"When I first came to Harvard there were a lotof social events taking place. There were dances,athletic events and other forms of entertainment,"he says. "But when we went to war, changesoccurred, mainly because so many of us wereleaving for war."

The social atmosphere at Radcliffe was alsoaffected as the war progressed, alumnae say.

"Classes before us had junior and senior proms.All of those were cancelled when we entered thewar," Hayes says. "The attention shifted away fromHarvard and was placed on the war."

Wartime rationing of gas and food added to theomnipresent awareness of the overseas battles.

"You couldn't go anywhere because of gasrationing," Drake says. "We all stayed on campusfor entertainment. Most of us were just waitingfor the call to go to war."

Some students tried to experience collegenormally, despite their looming military service.

"Everyone knew they would eventually dosomething for the war," Lyman G. Bullard '44-'43says, "but while they were here, things werebusiness as usual."

Still, most students were eager to join the wareffort, he says.

"People were eating carrots to improve theireyesight to get into the air force," Bullardrecalls. "Generally, everyone had a positivefeeling about what they were doing."

Hayes says even a simple walk around campuscould remind a student that the war was going on.

The government enforced a blackout at night toprotect the coast from air attack, she recalls,and the walk home from the library at night waspitch black.

"We had to feel our way along a brick walk pathin order to get back to our dorms," Hayes says."It was scary and it took a lot of time."

Faculty in the War

Students were not the only ones in Cambridge tobe affected by the war effort. Conant noted in his1943-44 report that "some faculties have beenheavily denuded" by the war, with professorsleaving for Washington or overseas.

By the fall of 1943, according to one historyof Harvard, the Physics department had just eightprofessors, down from the 44 lecturers andinstructors it boasted before the war.

The gaps were filled with European refugees,retired professors, humanities teachers given aquick cram refresher and even "threeundergraduates and a woman," according to anAlumni Bulletin of the time.

The exodus of teachers added to the academicchaos of the period. "My senior thesis advisor whowas an expert in near eastern studies was draftedinto the military," Hayes says. "Consequently Iwas left without a thesis advisor and I could notdo my senior thesis."

Perhaps the most prominent Harvard figure inthe war was Conant himself.

An outspoken advocate of American interventionbefore Pearl Harbor, Conant was instrumental inthe development of the atomic bomb.

He accumulated 250,000 miles on trains betweenCambridge and Washington, where he was chair ofthe National Defense Research Committee,overseeing development of such key technologies asradar and chemical warfare.

The Harvard president left little doubt wherehe believed the University's priorities during thewar period should lie.

"Defense work is war work and takes precedenceover every other consideration," he told studentsafter Pearl Harbor. "For the immediate present,the task before us is to carry on as usual."Photo Courtesy Harvard YearbookCivilians and soldiers sit and talk in alounge in Dudley Hall. Photo from 1943-44yearbook.

Following the announcement of the Pearl Harborattack, Harvard President James B. Conant '13convened a mass meeting in Sanders TheatreDecember 8 to discuss Harvard's role in theinevitable conflict: "No one of you will beunconscious of the fact that he may soon be calledupon to serve," he said.

E. Thayer Drake '44 was at the meeting.Conant's words marked the abrupt change in theHarvard atmosphere, he says.

"Some people began leaving for warimmediately," he says.

Opinion Was Mixed

Before Pearl Harbor, opinion about the war onthe Harvard campus was mixed, with studentsfeeling strongly on both sides of the issue.

Harvard College, according to a year book poll,was evenly split at the beginning of the war: 36percent non-interventionist, 36 percentinterventionist, 11 percent pacifist and 17percent undecided.

During Commencement exercises in June 1941, anumber of seniors picketed against the pro-warstance of Conant and the University.

Barbara B. Kerner '44 says she remembers"people would miss classes and hold peace strikesat Memorial Hall" before Peal Harbor.

But in the fall of 1941, The Crimson and theStudent Union--the Undergraduate Council of itsday--both reversed isolationist stances andpublished strongly-written statements againstHitler and Nazi Germany.

After December 7, opinions firmed behind thewar effort, Peter Eustis '44-'43 says.

"Before Pearl Harbor people tried to beisolationist in their views," Eustis says, "butonce Americans had been attacked and killed therewas a strong surge of nationalism."

Those against the war were a tiny minority,Drake says.

"Three people that I know of in our class wereconscientious objectors to the war," Drake says."It took a lot of guts at the time to be able toadmit that you did not support the war."

The College Transformed

After 1941, Harvard's administration quicklytransformed the College itself to fit into thecountry's war effort.

A. C. Hanford, then dean of the College, wrotein his annual report for 1943-44 that "HarvardCollege has become in large part a military andnaval training school."

The College added new classes, includingcamouflage, navigation and extra physics and math,to prepare students for war. According to theyearbook, an athletic program--"an absurdpotpourri of push-ups and flank movements"--wasrequired for students in the expectation that mostwould soon be in military service.

"I took cartography because I thought it wouldhelp me when I had to go to war," says J. RobertMoskin '44-'45.

The College also went on a trimester plan whichallowed most students to graduate in three yearsand take classes during the summer.

"All our courses were compressed," Butler says."We were doing everything at a much faster pacethan normal."

By 1944, civilian students were living inAdams, Dunster and Lowell Houses, with Navy-boundstudents in Eliot and Kirkland and the ArmySpecialized Training program in Leverett andWinthrop, according to Hanford's report.

Such details as an air-raid siren on the top ofWidener Library showed the College's all-outeffort at war mobilization.

"When we first came to Harvard we had dininghalls with waitresses to serve us and maids tomake our beds," Drake says. "That all changed whenwe went into war. The shift was placed on how toprepare the best soldiers."

Perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of thewar at Harvard was a huge drop in enrollment. InJanuary 1944, according to Conant's annual report,the College had 850 students, down from a normalpre-war level of 3,527. The University had just1,826 students instead of its normal 8,078.

"People were leaving for war every month." HughM. Hyde '44-'46 says. "It was hard to keep trackof who was here and who had left."

According to the 1943-44 yearbook poll, 44percent of the men in those classes were enteringthe army, 19 percent going into the navy and fivepercent to the air corps.

By D-Day in June of 1944, "There were very fewpeople from my class left at Harvard, and most howwere there were not there by choice," Carens says.

Radcliffe students as well were part of the wareffort, with many enrolled in Women Accepted forVoluntary Emergency Service (WAVES) and working involunteer efforts for the Red Cross and otherorganizations.

"Many of my classmates were recruited into the[United service Organizations] and attended dancesand ate with military men in Boston," Ginny Hayes'44 says.

Eva Marie Bendix Leonard '44 recalls "programsgiven by the Red Cross where we learned aboutdifferent kinds of bombs."

Hard to Focus

In such a military atmosphere, it was hard forstudents to focus on anything other than the war.

"Hearing air force and navy troops marching upand down the streets near our dorms were constantreminders of the war," Edward T. Wentworth Jr.'44-'43 says. "It was a regular topic ofconversation during meals and at the libraries."

Eustis says the Harvard social life changedtoo, as more and more students departed.

"When I first came to Harvard there were a lotof social events taking place. There were dances,athletic events and other forms of entertainment,"he says. "But when we went to war, changesoccurred, mainly because so many of us wereleaving for war."

The social atmosphere at Radcliffe was alsoaffected as the war progressed, alumnae say.

"Classes before us had junior and senior proms.All of those were cancelled when we entered thewar," Hayes says. "The attention shifted away fromHarvard and was placed on the war."

Wartime rationing of gas and food added to theomnipresent awareness of the overseas battles.

"You couldn't go anywhere because of gasrationing," Drake says. "We all stayed on campusfor entertainment. Most of us were just waitingfor the call to go to war."

Some students tried to experience collegenormally, despite their looming military service.

"Everyone knew they would eventually dosomething for the war," Lyman G. Bullard '44-'43says, "but while they were here, things werebusiness as usual."

Still, most students were eager to join the wareffort, he says.

"People were eating carrots to improve theireyesight to get into the air force," Bullardrecalls. "Generally, everyone had a positivefeeling about what they were doing."

Hayes says even a simple walk around campuscould remind a student that the war was going on.

The government enforced a blackout at night toprotect the coast from air attack, she recalls,and the walk home from the library at night waspitch black.

"We had to feel our way along a brick walk pathin order to get back to our dorms," Hayes says."It was scary and it took a lot of time."

Faculty in the War

Students were not the only ones in Cambridge tobe affected by the war effort. Conant noted in his1943-44 report that "some faculties have beenheavily denuded" by the war, with professorsleaving for Washington or overseas.

By the fall of 1943, according to one historyof Harvard, the Physics department had just eightprofessors, down from the 44 lecturers andinstructors it boasted before the war.

The gaps were filled with European refugees,retired professors, humanities teachers given aquick cram refresher and even "threeundergraduates and a woman," according to anAlumni Bulletin of the time.

The exodus of teachers added to the academicchaos of the period. "My senior thesis advisor whowas an expert in near eastern studies was draftedinto the military," Hayes says. "Consequently Iwas left without a thesis advisor and I could notdo my senior thesis."

Perhaps the most prominent Harvard figure inthe war was Conant himself.

An outspoken advocate of American interventionbefore Pearl Harbor, Conant was instrumental inthe development of the atomic bomb.

He accumulated 250,000 miles on trains betweenCambridge and Washington, where he was chair ofthe National Defense Research Committee,overseeing development of such key technologies asradar and chemical warfare.

The Harvard president left little doubt wherehe believed the University's priorities during thewar period should lie.

"Defense work is war work and takes precedenceover every other consideration," he told studentsafter Pearl Harbor. "For the immediate present,the task before us is to carry on as usual."Photo Courtesy Harvard YearbookCivilians and soldiers sit and talk in alounge in Dudley Hall. Photo from 1943-44yearbook.