University of Nebraska Lincoln - Cornhusker Yearbook (Lincoln, NE)

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WAR n TTiat warning didn ' t seem to reach our ears here in the Mid- dle-west. We went on as usual. We laughed at ' Butterball ' Newman in the Delta Gamma beauty bar — we saw Becky Wait reign as Nebraska Sweetheart— all of this was part of Kosmet Klub. (If we had been told that this would be the last fraternity and sorority show or that Kosmet Klub would be abandoned in April 1943, we wouldn ' t have believed them.) All good Ne- braskans were still football fans— remember how everyone yelled until he was hoarse when the Pittsburgh Panthers beat UN 14-7 in the last fifteen seconds — Nebraska couldn ' t hold at the five yard that day— but around the world an entire nation, yes Russia, was holding that line as they attempted a double Dunkerque in the Crimea. ■Es.s£, November went by — and the campus wondered who would be honorary colonel. What kind of a corsage would John, Dick oco or Tom send? On December 5 five-hundred couples danced to the music of Gus Arnheim ' s orchestra — the coeds glittered in their new formals as they circled the Coliseum floor. Reigning over all was DG Harriett Talbot. Thus another tradition was carried out in full pomp and ceremony. It was the Sunday after the Military Ball — some people went to church; others slept. Some of us were eating dinner and others were listening to Sammy Kaye when the fantastic an- nouncement was made- PEARL ' HARBOR ATTACKED! — American Men Killed! — flashed the radio. In a few minutes December 7 became a date to live in infamy in the history of the US. The final chapter in our lives as a nation at peace had ended. ' ' ' rsTc ' r ' ' Uiii XL FAR EAST FLARES UP: HILIPPINES ATTACKED fiAM on ' Cir Germany, Italy Declare War

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ss After three months of vacation when we spent our time oj ear A y ' tf-3, OS ■A Fat w J playing and catching up on much needed sleep we came back J to University of Nebraska as sophomores. On September 1 8 we went to our first day of classes — we looked down our noses ] at the freshmen as we watched them trying to find Bessey Hall I or the library as we had done a year ago. Despite our not do- . . ing anything during the summer we still did not care to take time v » . , ( ot« ' to glance at the newspaper headlines. When we were packing T)ei « v AjJour trunks and saying the last good-byes we didn ' t know that the , , — A| B Nazis were claiming encirclement of Leningrad. H It was almost nine months from the Rose Bowl game to Hthe day when Biff Jones called his 1941 football team into suit. Remember those players: Tall, blond Al Zikmund; short, fast Dale Bradley, and others whose names we will never forget — Athey, Metheny, Partington? Now they are taking part in a different battle. While the footballers spent their afternoons at Memorial Stadium other NU students were settling down to their books or coking in the Crib with their friends. Mrs. Verna H. Boyles took over the reins as dean of women and other new pro- fessors were welcomed. Everything looked the same in Lincoln, on the world stage the USA was gradually moving into the spot- light of war. Early in October the Nazi hoards were only fifty miles from g Moscow. At sea the U-boat warfare was an American problem Toi J — two destroyers were sunk and our supply route to Russia was Toj threatened. In the Far East the political pot was nearly boiling over. Militaristic yellow dog Tojo became Jap premier, and on Oct Armistice day Churchill warned, The rest of the globe will soon - a »- A T o etK tb e m me war. Q v?? o 2 4 . ' ( y ' T ' f jv « Churchill . . . t ' ep -yATj, Won

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f:t ' ' iViVt rst AEF Force linds In Iceland ii es ' f ' ° The entire Far East had flared up into a raging furnace. It didn ' t take us long to realize that we were in the throes of a great world war. The next day we rushed to the nearest radio to hear Roosevelt say that the United States had been suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air power of Japan. His request for a declaration of war was answered with only one dissenting vote. Events moved so fast that an awakened American public was in a daze. Guam Taken By Japs— 100,000 Japs Attack Euzon— Roosevelt Calls War Council— Churchill in Washington —with these headlines in large black letters how could we feel at ease when we went home for Christmas vacation. We closed our books but kept our eyes open. We were a nation at war. We read about the Japs taking Manilla-then the dash through Malaya and the Indies. First semester exams were over and students concentrated on doing something for the war effort. In February the third draft registration caught scores of UN men. Students started to stream- AC Ij e campus events to a wartime basis. Fraternities and sorori- « t 1 ties promoted good feeling in an all Greek week. The third month of World War II looked black for the United Nations. Some of the headlines: Japs Threaten The Indies — Fall of Singapore Is Near. Despite the dark clouds, students at Ne- braska still had their fun. There was the Interfraternity Ball, the Junior-Senior Prom. One of the most perplexing situations to be combined with Jim Selzer ' s secrets about the Prom was the shortage of cokes in the Union Grill. Every day brought some- thing new, and so UN also presented something new— an opera in full costume: Cavalleria Rusticana. iMew lorK nas 4 Co Co 4 O VP ZA Al