WWII: A Campus at War

With the tragedy of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States responded with fear and horror. People were conflicted about the event because it traumatized them about the future of the nation in foreign affairs. As an immediate response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war a day after the event. The U.S. Military then recruited as many American men possible to serve in the armed forces. In the state of Georgia, the U.S. Navy discovered that the campus of the University of Georgia seemed appropriate to train young students into the ranks. They even "built several new new buildings on campus" (UGA Student) and operated a Pre-Flight school there. The program trained about 20,000 cadets in skills that they needed for the battlefield. The Navy also used up several spaces on campus and built many buildings and athletic facilities in the later years of the university. By February 1942, UGA alumnis Richard Russell and Carl Vinson accepted the deal so that the Navy could train on campus. The contract with the Navy was signed on March 19, 1942, and that allowed them to acquire the facilities for extensive training. The photograph presented in the exhibit shows the opening ceremony for the Pre-Flight school that occurred on June 18, 1942 (A Brief History). The ceremony took place at Sanford Stadium and featured around 3,000 cadets marching in attendance. Two hundred and forty-two men who served for the first Athens Pre-Flight Battalion were also presented as they formed a giant Navy for the Georgia public to see. The University of Georgia then had an important policy for students departing for battle. The deal was that, "Any student who left for service would be permitted to resume education after the war 'as nearly as possible at the point where it was interrupted’" (UGA Student). This was a risk for the University, but it ultimately showed their patriotism and therefore improved their righteous reputation.