US Naval Training School at Harvard University - All Hands Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

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extend the principles ot this training and defend and preserve those insti- tutions ot democratic America ot which the Universities are so great a part. John Ruskin once wrote, lt is well to have not only what men have thought and felt, but what their hands have handled, their strength wrought and their eyes beheld, all the days ot their lite. l-le suggested sensations which certainly have been ours during the days ol our lite at Harvard Naval Training School. What student otlicer can say he felt no emotion when First he held in his hand the trim white cap which he now wears so easily on his head, correctly squared away'?H ls there any one of us, ex- cepting those untortunates who had known the old Army manual of arms, who did not feel that he had handled something when he lugged a Winchester up from the musty cellars ot Memorial l-lallr? Where is the man who overlooked the grade his strength had wrought on the chinning bars or padded mats ot the Indoor Athletic Building? ls not the picture of the sharp steeple of the l-larvard Chapel, poking at a New England Fog, a sight which you have Hbeheldn . . . and will remember? This leads to reminiscence ot the sort already mentioned here and carries us back to the First ol the days in Cambridge when a hot September sun poured on a blue serge queue waiting before number seventeen Quincy Street to sign anything and everything in quintuplicatel Qurs not to question why, ours but to stand and Fryli' From the shock ol Hdrawingu bed linen at a Naval Store in an eighteenth century New England Chapel to the somewhat relieving sound of tatoo and taps, that day was one ol crowded paper-work, endless standing in line and very real automatic friendships. With the hideous bells of a second morning, Cthe Hhowlersn of the good ship l-larvardD, we found Hhit the deck was more than the name of a Broadway show and staggering from our 'ihammocksn we received presentation copies of that unique iournal ol the l-larvard Naval Training School, TI-IE SCUTTLE- BUTT. Somehow Tl-IE SCUTTLEBUTT lying on a barren desk-top in the halt light ot a Massachusetts dawn managed to replace the home town daily . . . and the cry Get out of the head soon superseded the more modulated announcement, 'Breakfast is readyf, The reveille ol that premier morning, together with our copies of the fountain ot intormationn quickly became a part of our earliest daily consciousness. -lhat this consciousness might not lapse, the -lraining School curriculum was tltoughttully arranged to include, each day, twenty minutes ol supervised calisthenics to keep us on our toes. Certainly not one of us Failed to tingle with anticipation at the dulcet voices ol the Chiefs, suggesting that we two-block our trousers, do away entirely with our stomachs and violently wave at each other in the unified execution ol four hundred and Fifty sky touchersln ' Every seemingly arbitrary duty had its humorous side and, oppositely, each had a deeper import. Many of us were feeling for the First time the real 25

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EXPERIENCE IN TRANSFORMATICN uEuT. CHARLES ivi. Biaoors, Jia., usmia This boolc is the illustrated roster ot a group of men who have chosen to put aside civilian interests in the vital cause of intelligent service to their country. As citizens we have represented the United States from the deep South to Oregon, from Vermont to California. As civilian Workers we have consti- tuted lavvyers and teachers . . . engineers, students and business execu- tives, to cite only a few ol our peacetime pursuits. But, and this is of im- mediate moment, with today vve advance toward more active duty as Re- serve Crlicers of the United States Navy in time of war. Al.l. HANDS is, as nearly as possible, the record ol an experience in utrans- formationf' as well as a printed muster of men which in post-vvar years will inspire satisfying reminiscence. Many aspects, human, humorous and historic, of our arrival and residence in l-larvard's Yard go to make up this experience. But before reviewing these there is need on all our parts to try to set down three deeply felt acknowl- edgments. Actually any narrative, no matter how long, which developed the lact of our pride in our relationship to the Navy, the fact of our indebtedness to the splendid men who have taught and trained us here, and the fact ol our gratelulness For l-larvard University's extended hospitality, would be under- statement. Qur determination is to iustily this relationship, uphold and 5 L. lo i

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need lor discipline and respect lor military ceremony. When, at colors, the chimes ol local church bells synchronized with the notes ol the Star Spangled Banner and the national ensign was brol4enH over the elms in the Yard, the real end to our daily means and the profound importance of our every eltort was impressively returned to mind. What at First was a sell-conscious salute turned into the subconscious action which means courtesy and mutual respect lor the uniform we have been taught AL 0 it o 7 9 gg to wear. ln daily formations we learned that 'ithe rules for military etiquette are founded on custom and tradition and that their strict observance is an important factor in discipline. From Commander Macgowanis welcoming address to our class in Sanders Theater to the admonitions of the Battalion Commanders we had respect, precision, gentlemanliness, honesty and pride in purpose drilled into us, both by advice and example. This has been an experience of privilege. Qther matters also were drilled into us thanlcs to the patience ol those young olrticers ol the staFl who warned their pupils against getting their heads caught in the proverbial Hbightf' What explaining it toolc on their parts to illumi- Q6