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

Page 29 text:

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

Page 28 text:

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

Page 30 text:

n U. S. BOMBERS RAID TOKYC Doolittle Heads Attack J f .s. OAr T RonZ ' Mr ' OPs t ' JSHlr 44iV t:a ' ' J ' e 8 ftVe . Gt-a aV There was unrest in occupied Europe and in Paris there were demonstrations. And the political field at UN was alive . Finally C a stormy student council meeting brought the election issues to T battle. Campus politics could soon be forgotten but any decisions between dictators as were made then could be looked upon warily. The Allies, too, had been making decisions and so early in May when General Wainwright could no longer hold Cor- regidor the US fleet went out to battle and sunk seventeen Jap battle wagons. Thus the yellow-dogs both lost and gained. Their loss was strategically as important as their gain. TTie flowers were starting to bloom when Ivy Day came and Frances Keefer was crowned May Queen. The heavy rain which drove the afternoon program to the Coliseum was the first on Ivy Day since 1 90 1 . The new Innocents hit the Coliseum floor in- stead of biting the dust when they were tackled — but one can ' t change the weather! The class of 1 944 had been through an exciting and unbe- lievable year. Pearl Harbor— Bataan— Kharkov and Wake Island were only a few of the places where history had been made. A great change had swept the campus and everyone had become conscious of the fact that the US was at war. As we started home we resolved to keep up on the news and not be caught asleep ' W again — we had learned that the US was not immune to attack. College had become more than a place to have a good time when we left for home in May, 1942. ' Dawn ' s Early Light ' Now an Hour Later INNOCENTS HIT COLI.SEIM FLOOl WHEN TAPPED •i; ' i :: oofl T nA ' C - ' T ' ' ' '