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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1993)
he official Col| cgeSiaiior l 1940' 1945- The Battalion is forced to publish only weekly because of war restrictions on materials. Spring, 1947 — The only known extra edition of The Battalion is run off on a mimeograph one Saturday afternoon. The paper ran to cover the excess stories happening that particular weekend. Fall, 1947 - The Battalion begins publishing daily again. & The Battalion becomes an associate member of the Associated Press wire service. In 1986, the paper is elected to Regular membership, and becomes one of only a handful of college newspapers in the nation that are Regular members. the presi- ny class- tcopnized heoule. 2 issue of st, A&M ner an- uld be no irk of the ■ire. Tem- 'ere made the col- vas to be o the reg- 1 after the :search to f the fire, 1 students laze. ed a story ■ Jan. 29, o the arti- uled out .tse of the d not in- :ement bv .. “Lindy’ ommittee , seen two Did Main volun- g to was Thursday, September 30, 1993 1893 •The Battalion • 1993 Page 3 1941 — Aggies battle global tyranny on land, in air, at sea as World War II rages A&M cranks into gear contributing to war effort “Give me an army of West Point graduates, and I’ll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies, and I’ll win a war.” — Gen. George S. Patton The government restricted travel during the war years because of the its use of rail road, tires and gasoline for the war effort. On Oct. 22, 1942, The Battalion re- By Carrie Miura and Mark Smith The Battalion Gen. George S. Patton’s words symbol ized the spirit of the young men from Texas A&M that left home to serve their country during World War II. Almost 20,000 Aggies served in the armed services during the war, 14,000 as officers. Not even the U.S. Military Acad emy at West Point could boast more offi cers fighting the Axis than Texas A&M. Japan sparked America’s entry in the hostilities with its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. In its Dec. 9 is sue, The Battalion polled students on their reaction to America’s involvement in the war. ‘Beat the hell outta Japan!’ “We’ve been fooling around so long I’m glad things finally came to a head, said Chuck Chalmers, Class of ‘42. “Now the only thinp; to do is to ‘beat the hell out of Japan.” This statement typified the way many students felt about the war. Cadets showed their support for Ameri ca's war effort by displaying spirit signs outside their dormitories. “I feel that the war was inevitable, and now that it has come, we can only hope for the best,” said Bill Delaney, Class of ‘43. “Above all, cooperate with those men who are capable of leading our country to our ultimate victory, which we all pray will come.” I Col. M. D. Welty, infantry comman- fl dm, wrote a message in the Dec. 9 issue to the cadets at A&M. “I urge each of you to remain in college at the present time,” Welty said. “Every American will have a place in this nations defense efforts. At the present, your place in national defense is here at college where you can better prepare yourself for the task ahead. You can rest assured that when your country needs you, it will call.” Soon after the declaration of war, the United States called many A&M students to active duty. Although many Aggies were eld ' Electrical course in mzzer prac- to become Air Service, n unication also -ell Hall in problem of v students. jf them to ;sue of The 1917-1918 e largest in stationed overseas, the College remained open during the war and Aggie spirit and camaraderie stayed alive. Throughout 1942, The Battalion was published three times a week. During the war, The Battalion focused mainly on cam pus news and contained a limited amount of information on events that occurred on the front. Streamlined school year The war forced many changes in the op eration of the College. On January 8, 1942,The Battalion reported the Academic Council’s proposal to the Board of Direc tors of a new, streamlined plan to begin a tri-semester year, in which students would attend classes year-round? “The plan would prevent the $13 mil lion college plant faedities from lying idle during the summer months but would use them continuously in the production of trained men and Army officers,” A&M President T. O. Walton said. s The Academic Council, which was cofti- prised of the deans and heads of depart ments of the college, met on Jan. 7 to con- ; sider the recommendation. “The total war in which our nation is now engaged has created an urgent demand that young men be trained both for certain essential industries and as reserve officers as rapidly as possible,” the recommendation read. ‘ Both industry and the Army have re quested the college to graduate the students as rapidly as possible.’’ The Board of Directors adopted the plan Jan. 22, 1942. Pour days later, classes began under the new system. Because of the change in the structure of the academic year, drills increased and there were more reserve officers in training. The average age of entering freshmen was 17 years and three months. Changes on the home front The war caused many changes in day- to-day procedures of the College. On Jan. 30, 1943, The Battalion reported several changes in the students’ work week. Classes would be held six days a week, and a supervised study and compulsory physical education was added to the school’s operation. “These measures are necessary to satisfy War Department requirements on essen tially MC Colleges (Military College) of which Texas A&M is one, and the success of the new program here will be a deciding factor in the future of A&M and of its stu dents in the war effort,” Walton said. companies ollegt to pr with transportation. Federal regulations prevented special trains from running. “Under the new cut system, if the stu dent feels that he is up in his work and will miss no quizzes, it is up to him to decide whether or not he can make the out of town games,” Dean Bolton said in the Oc tober 22, 1942 issue of The Battalion. “But the question of special transportation is definitely out.” An article in the June 19, 1943 issue de scribed the recent troubles with Aggies in their attempts to hitchhike. The article, written by Ben Fortson, said that as a result of tire and gas rationing, motorists were in scarce numbers. “With Schickelgruber, Tojo, and II Duce raising all the ruckus around the drink, tire and gas rationing, and what have you, this highwaying situation has be come pretty serious at times,” Fortson said. Bolton initiated sugar rationing on April 25, 1942 under the direction of the registration board to help supply sugar to the men stationed overseas. Those 18 years or older applied for their own ra tioning books. Students under the age of 18 fifed an application under their guardian’s names. The College even restricted the wearing of senior boots because of the clothing and textiles shortage in the United States dur ing the war. There was also a nationwide steel shortage, which delayed the plans for an outdoor dance area. The structure — now called the Grove — was re-designed to make do without the steel. Because of its all-male student body, dances \yere a large part of life at A&M. These socials were held on campus in Sbisa, Walton and Guion Hall — A&M’s theater at the time. The students’ dates came from women’s colleges around the state, particularly Texas State College ft^ Women (now Texas Women’s University) in Denton, A&M’s sister school. The war even affected the dances. For one dance, the tickets were printed before the College was placed on Central War Time — the time on the tickets was off by half an hour. Thirty seconds over Tokyo Victories for the Allies were slow com ing in the eariv years of the war. Howev er, former stuqent Maj. John Hilger, Class of ‘32, was one of the first Americans to strike back at the enemy. Hilger was sec ond in command to Brig. Gen. James H. Doolittle, who led the April 18 bombing of Tokyo. As the war dragged on, Texas A&M pre pared cadets for military duty in many A U.S. aircraft carrier launched B-24 bombers — originally designed for land- based runways — to bomh the Japanese capital, after which they would fly to Chi na. The planes, however, were forced to launch early and many of the crews did not make it safely to China. Hilger made it to the Chinese coast and later returned to A&M to tell of his ex ploits. Although the raid did not cause much physical damage to Tokyo, the Unit ed States used it as a propaganda tool to raise morale. Another former student. Ensign George H. Gay, Class of‘40, became famous after his plane was shot down after a failed at tempt to sink a Japanese aircraft carrier during the Battle of Midway on June 4. Gay witnessed the battle from the water, using his plane’s seat to stay afloat, al though occasionally he had to dive beneath the surface to avoid shots from Japanese fighter planes. Because U.S. Navy planes sank three of Japans top-class aircraft carriers, the battle was one of the major turning points in the ways, both in the classroom and with ac tivities such as Commando training. war in the Pacific. Many other Aggies received decorations for their courage and resourcefulness dur ing the war. ‘Above and beyond ...’ The headline for the March 9, 1944 is sue of The Battalion read, “First Aggie to Receive Medal of Honor comes from Class of 1943.” Second Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes was posthumously rewarded the Congres sional Medal of Honor. Hughes lost his life when he flew his B-24 bomber in a raid on the oilfield at Ploesti, Rumania on Aug. 1, 1943. “Approaching the target through intense and accurate anti-aircraft and dense bal loon barrages at dangerously low altitude, his plane received several direct hits from both large and small caliber anti-aircraft guns which seriously damaged his aircraft causing sheets of escaping gasoline to stream from the bomb bay and the left wing,” read the citation to Lt. Hughes. See World War ll/Page 12 if JfiV, Serving Aggies for 20 years Saluting The Battalion on your 100th Anniversary See our weekly specials ad in The Battalion every Thursday 1600 Texas Ave. S. College Station 693-2627 1219 Texas Ave. 822-1042 Bryan To: The Battalion Happy 100 th Anniversary Come Celebrate With Us! •FIRST CLASS FREE •NO MEMBERSHIP FEE •FORMER AGGIE SPECIALS •FORMER MEMBER SPECIALS •Child Care Available •Morning, Afternoon and Evening Classes Jazzercise Fitness Center Wellborn at Grove, College Station, (1 block south of George Bush Drive) 764-1183 or 776-6696 • 14 Years in the B/CS area See our ad in next weeks Battalion for Open House Info Celebrate This Anniversary With Usi Whoop! For The Battalion's 100th Anniversary TRAMMAMK* Post Oak Mall Sttfflwaiting' {for goaf 0 to come in? Why wait? Complete your education by studying abroad. Discover the opportunities at Representatives from various study abroad programs will be in the MSC from 10:00-2:00. Co-sponsored by Study Abroad Programs 161 Bizzell Hall West (845-0544) and the TAMU Student Government's International Programs Subcommittee