University of San Francisco - USF Don Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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The Adios basketball tournament was started to buy a bomber. Bonds were doing a landslide business at the bookstore, and this led to the most famous venture of them all—the Buy a Jeep campaign headed by Ed Robinson, Jim Moser and Gene Murray. Colonel Sanger received an Honorary Degree from the University before departing for active duty. Father Jerome Sullivan, S.J., as the first priest from the University to leave for Chaplain's School. The Spring registration figures showed a small drop and the jeep drive got into full gear. With the slogan “Make them weep—buy a Jeep,” the Dons flocked for bonds and bought not seven as originally planned but twenty jeeps. A special commendation was received from the Treasury Department praising the University for its initiative. The Frosh Fandango was held at the California Country Club, the last formal for many of the old-timers. Big name radio and screen stars made personal appearances on the campus to spur the bond drives. Shortly, thereafter, the football situation changed as A1 Tassi replaced Jeff Cravath and a physical education program invaded the Hilltop. More men were called into the Armed Forces but still the college continued its activities schedule. The student body elections were held and Junior Week was a success. Father and Sons’ night and President’s Day were long-remembered days while the Mother’s Day Communion-Breakfast, sponsored by the Sodality was proclaimed most successfully by the studentbody. Nineteen seniors were commissioned and the “Adios” made its appearance. There was no rest during the summer recess as accelerated courses were offered and taken by most of the students. There was no activity during the summer months save for one breathing-spell dance as the Dons concentrated on their books. With the Fall Semester, the “Foghorn” had been reduced to tabloid version, another indication that the time was near at hand when the exodus would take place. A rigid schedule of classes had been planned for the remaining students. The student body had been slashed by nearly forty percent and activities were held to a minimum as the University swung into full steam to train men for the Armed Forces. The next several months saw the students confine their affairs to academic functions; it was evident that most of them would be called soon. It mattered little what happened on the gridiron or at the dances; these were only last gatherings before Dons would leave to join their friends who had preceded them. Already, many of the Dons were playing a featured part in the tremendous 'trugglc. In the Spring of ’43, the University dropped to the lowest ebb of its existence. By me end of the summer months ninety percent of the students had deserted the campus for the Armed Forces. A score of Dons had been shipped to the Air Forces via Lincoln, Nebraska, to begin training for their silver wings. Close on the heels of the Air Corps’ call came the Enlisted Reserve active orders. These two orders alone swept seventy percent of the student body into the service. The Navy Department entered the scene and snatched away most of the remaining Dons. Finally, the few remaining advanced course ROTC students were ordered to Monterey, California, for basic training. Although there were but a few students left, the University would continue to teach its Credo as long as there were men eager to learn. Meanwhile the War Department had heeded the gracious offer of Father President, and established an Army Specialized Training Unit on the eastern slopes of the campus—ASTP No. 3925. The slacks, T-shirts and saddle shoes were replaced by neatly pressed army pants, dull O. D. shirts and military high-cut shoes. For over a year, Catholics, Protestants, and Jews served shoulder to shoulder in the shadows of the twin spires to absorb training for the great conflict—a true exemplification of the Credo of the University of San Francisco. With the end of the war in sight, the University turned to the task of rehabilitating itself for the new joh ahead. The G. I. Bill of Rights had offered educational opportunities to untold thousands of Americans. The Hilltop had already started huge preparations to meet this demand. Critical shortages of professors and materials were evident throughout the nation, but the University, never ceasing to maintain its high standards, began to scour the country in search of the l cst. The Fall of ’45, the year most of the Freshmen of ’41 had expected to graduate, saw

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University of San Francisco of thirty Dons, the Senior Class President included. Father Patrick Foote, S.J. was honored hy the City for his sixty years of devotion to the Jesuit order. New professors had been added to the faculty; and the Activities Committee, under the head of the colorful John Gallagher, was already laying plans for the various rallies and functions for the football season. “George Washington Slept Here, a West Coast premiere at that, was handled in a masterful fashion by the College Players and was the first grand production viewed by the new Freshmen. Father Joseph Stack, S.J. conducted the first Retreat most of the new students had ever attended. I he Maraschi Club was holding its annual cioppino feed for the footballers and the St. Ives I.aw Club was featuring well-known alumni speakers. Ed Cremcn was elected president of the young ciass while other officers included: Hill Barry, Frank O’Connell, Fran Blackwell, and Mario Barsotti. An impromptu rally on the Friday before the Bronco game landed the Dons at the Mayor’s office, the Chief of Police’s office, and eventually to Third and Market streets where the (Irccn and Cold banner was strung up at this, one of the busiest intersections in the city. A premonition of things to come occurred early in November when Dan Fisk, one of die beloved football immortals of the I lilltop, was killed in an air training crash. The University took some time to recover from this blow. 'lhe football machine continued to roll on with the Dons breaking even in their contests but having the distinction of being the highest scoring eleven on the Pacific Coast. Alpha Sigma Nu was conducting a club survey of the University while the Gavel, IRC, Wasmann and Bio-Chem Clubs were all having their own special programs. The Soph Drag came and went with Ernie I leckshcr and his band supplying the music. The Senior Raffie was conducted and the Adios stall appointed while the Execs attempted early morning meetings because of conflicting class schedules. 'Hie famed Jesuit, Father Martin Cyril D’Arcy, S.J., made one of his rare public appearances at the University and s|K ke to an interested capacity audience in the University Auditorium. Bob Riordan, Joe Kelly, and Frank Poggi represented the Freshman ('lass in a northern California debate. Mississippi State was welcomed into town with a huge reception, a parade up Market Street and pre-game festivities, featuring a huge night rally which was broadcasted. This was the first great interscctional tilt the school had contracted. The first issue of the Quarterly went on sale in December with Gene Murray, Pete Eojo and Bob Riordan well representing the ('lass of “ ’45 . Though the Dons lost the interscctional game, they were not a defeated group of men as they relived the day’s experiences that night at their post-game dance. 1 Jardly had the cheering died down on that Saturday night—the last peaceful night many Dons were to enjoy—when the black cloud of war appeared on the horizon. Pearl Harbor had been attacked and a new chapter was to Ik- added to the story of the ('lass of ’45. The University was to Ik mobilized. At the assembly held the following Tuesday, the late Colonel Donald Sanger delivered one of the most inspiring speeches ever heard on the campus. His conclusion was a prophecy: “We won’t be on the short end. I lis words had been paraphrased by Father William Dunne, S.J., in a message to the Secretary of War, offering the full facilities of the University to the War Department. Like the lull before a storm when things are normal, the University continued its full round of activities for the students, but deep in the hearts of all was the knowledge that a greater task was in the offing for the majority. Believing that memories were to play an important part in the future of students, the various activities were conducted as previously planned. The Winter Festival was held successfully along with several receptions and the Class of ’45 took an active part in the leadership of these affairs. It was the prelude to fare wells which were to conic. In addition to all of this, the Class of ’45 began spearheaded drives to help the war effort. Under the direction of Father Lyons, S.J., a Civilian Defense Hospital Corps was organized with over 200 men taking part. A benefit dance for the Red Cross was held, while a

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University of San Francisco ihc students beginning to trickle back. At first, the trickle was hardly noticeable, but like the unrushing water which tumbles down the hillside gaining momentum with every mile, the trickle turned into a mighty torrent by the summer of 1946. USF had not been caught totally unprepared. The faculty was the largest in history. Campus improvements were begun. Insurmountable obstacles were overcome after long and patient hours of struggle, and always the Credo of the University was the guiding light. When the doors opened in the Spring, the registration soared over the 1000 mark; in the Fall of 1946, registration figures mounted as over 1500 students were enrolled in the day division alone; then, incredibly, over 2200 students had been registered in all the school’s departments by the Spring of 1947. The Class of ’45 had entered the University with the distinction of being the pace-making Class, but recent events and the tremendous expansion of the University had replaced this burden on the incoming freshmen, the Class of 1950. To the Class of 1950, the Class of ’45 (now the Class of ’47) will leave the example of a fine record of the past six years. In years to come, the Class of ’47 will look back on their adventures with sentimental thoughts and remembrances of happy years; to many, these four broken years will have been the happiest of their lives; to all, these months will be the most unforgettable. Jerry Kelly was a Don; he was one of the first to be called to active duty. He w-as killed in an airplane crash on the bleak Nevada desert. Though Jerry did not return, he did pen a letter before his fatal crash, a letter which should be placed in the archives of the University, for it truly epitomizes the love for the University which every Don cherishes in his heart. Reminiscing in this letter, Jerry said, “I thought of all the good times I had in my few years there and how I wished I could re-live them. Remember the first dance I went to, our Frosh Fandango, wasn’t it? It was the first time I had my father’s car and we used up most of the gas driving around the city. . . . “Remember the football games and the teams we had? And that Fresno trip, will I ever forget it! You’ll never forget the time we got into trouble in Trig class and almost got thrown out. And those book reports for History class, how we used to plug them out together the night before they were due. . . . “I can’t help laughing when you were almost caught smoking in the halls by a member of the BSC and you ditched the smoke in your pocket so they wouldn’t see it. It burned almost everything including your bid to the Soph Drag. We had a lot of fun down in the Green and Gold Room when I used to beat you at pool. Cutting classes just to get the thrill out of it . . . hardly realizing that we were in college. You first thought of betting on the colors of the gum in that machine when they first installed it in the G and G room. . . .” Yes, Jerry felt the same way that members of the Class of ’47 will feel come June 1 when they will sever the closer tics with the University they have called home for over four years —four years split by an interval of history making headlines. With them, the Class of ’47 will be carrying the University of San Francisco Credo, a creed which they will adhere to the rest of their lives, a creed which will lead them to happiness. The path has been long and hazardous; many times have the Class members stumbled and fell, but always, like the evening star along the horizon, the Credo of the University has lighted their path. It is the shining star of the Jesuit system of education and its final sentence summarizes in the most succinct manner possible, the philosophy which has been the standard for our four years at the Hilltop: The University believes, briefly, in the teachings of Christ, Who held that morality must regulate the personal, family, economic, political and international life of men if civilization is to endure.