Knox College - Gale Yearbook (Galesburg, IL)

Page 17 text:

l'xRliA'I'l'llNCj liXliRClSlil Up on your toes at the count of one! The purpose of the compulsory ealistlienies pro- gram instituted during tht- second semester was to keep Knox men up on their toes .it all counts. The various sections mel for l'orly-minute periods three times i weelt. him respected and admired by all Knox students. His exhibit of Peruvian arts and products was well received. Nor was Whit- ing Hall without a foreign representative. Miette Auger, a French refugee, entered school at the begin- ning of the second semester and immedi- ately became a favor- rqmf HW-audfzn ite of Knox co-eds. As was to be expected, the contingent of foreign students did not include the usual scholar from japan. It was reported, however, that several such Japanese students from past years had vol- unteered their services to the United States government. The second semester went by in a hurry. Students became simultaneously more aware of the waris import and more emotionally calloused to the part they would have to play in it. Perhaps it was because the fierce reality of the situation had not been forced upon them. The draft was a worry to some, but the calisthenics program was much more immediate. This physical edu- cation program, introduced at the request of the government, was compulsory for all Wm Zjfaazf' Galuiheniu The classes were in the gym early in the spring Kas abovej but moved outdoors with the advent of suitable weather, Indoors or out, the calisthenics served their purposeg even the most cynical students had to admit the classes put them in better physical condition. men. Despite the comparatively lenient requirements, there were a few who groan- ed about the iicallous classes. Some of these back-sliders were encouraged by letters from friends in the army who told them to buck-up and maybe the two hours per week wouldn't seem so terrible after all. These same ex-classmates in the armed services were the beneficiaries of the most extensive student-initiated war pro ject. The Victory Hopi' was an all-student af- fair which raised approximately three hun- dred dollars for use in purchasing gifts for Knox service men. The V-Hop was Bill Bowling's idea and was executed in the Hotel Custer on March 27. Mortar Board, Friars, Scabbard and Blade, Sophomore Commission, and Key Club all joined in the effort. Bob Parkinson's special V-Hopi' band provided the music. The year was swift and packed with ex- citement. Although the work and general ends of the college program were of a high- ly serious nature, the students were seldom at a loss for a good time. But Knox stu- dents rationalized this fact with the thought that they would serve and serve well when their time came. 11

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CHAPTER TWO Training for Leadership The declaration of war gave Knox mil- itary students a clearer idea of the impor- tance of learning their subject well. The Monday drill periods, the assignments, and the discussions in class took on a significance far greater than ever before. Here was a chance to learn things which might mean the difference be- tween life and death for both self and country. Here was a chance for training in leadership. Knox students had recognized the value of R.O.T.C. training before December 7. The military science department had the largest enrollment in its history, 227 men, at the beginning of the school year. More than ninety per cent of the freshman men took the courseg many sophomores who had not taken military their first year enrolled as basic students. There were twenty-two juniors and twenty-two seniors in the ad- vanced course preparing to receive their second lieutenant's commissions at gradu- ation and thus join the army's yearly group of 10,000 new, college-trained officers. Competition for the limited number of vacancies in the advanced course each year ran high among the underclassmen. Among other things, advanced students were not required to register for the draft. The fact that Knox's enrollment drop- ped no more than it did was attributable to the existence of the R.O.T.C. and Civilian Pilot Training courses. The Knox military department is one of the oldest in the Mid- 7lw fb g dle West and the only such infantry unit in the state with the exception of the one at the University of Illinois. The Knox unit has consistently been given the highest possible rating by inspecting officers of the Sixth Corps Area. Actual active service by members of the unit while in school was limited to a short period of airport patrolling Cillustrated on the opposite pagej. Guarding the air- port was an emergency duty carried out by the R.O.T.C. unit at the request of the mayor of Galesburg during the week fol- lowing the declaration of war. But gradu- ates of the advanced course were seeing- and were to see-plenty of active service. EYES RIGHT! Company B, led by Cadet Captain Blanc, passes in review before the five co-ed sponsors of the military unit. The parade was in honor of the sponsors who were presented their insignia by the company com- manders earlier in the afternoon. 13