University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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on him. He joined the Army Air Corps. Another old soldier had been a non-commissioned officer assigned to the crew of a bomber. One day, while the crew was putting in operational flight time, this man and other non-coms aboard the plane took themselves down into the empty bomb bay for a little game of dice, while the student pilot and navigator circled the ship, some two or three miles up, putting in required flying time. At length the plane was turned toward the home field, and ten miles away the eager pilot pulled the lever to drop the landing gear. He pulled the wrong lever, however, — it was the lever which opened the bomb bay door. Out tumbled the gamesters, their dice and their money. Fortunately, the men were equipped with parachutes, which they opened, and with which they made a safe landing. One became a stu- dent pilot with the 58th. He planned to be extra careful when, as a pilot, he should operate landing gear. The 58th published a weekly news- paper called Take Off. It was the first College Training Detachment paper in the United States. An article in Take Off on November 12, 1943, was this: For better or for worse, our time has come to leave the 58th. Other squadrons have done this and Squadron A must follow suit. It is the Army ' s relentless order. The thoughts upon leaving here are conflicting. Some are glad to be on the move, to see new country and people and experiences. Some are unconcerned, un- mindful ; and some there are who are truly sad. For these perhaps there is more than just a chance acquaintance; maybe some warm friends, a wife, a girl. They will watch the fading Amherst with thoughtful eyes. But no matter what the personal feelings, each knows there will never be another post which can parallel this. It will not soon be forgotten. There has been much that consti- tuted the swift and happy days here. The various classes; P.T. on the cool green turf; delightful swimming; the never- ending cross country run; retreats in the quietness of early evening; the welcome bunk at night; the unwelcome ' every- body up. ' Then came the flying period. At first, the unfavorable reaction to the ' Wild Blue Yonder ' ; but then we became accustomed to the air and liked it. The prevalent application of ' Hot Pilot ' and ' Tail Gunner. ' Well, these all formed a part of the program, and more, much more. Our course ahead we know is long, difficult and uncertain. In the utmost sense of the word we must become men. There is that day when the wings will 17]

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wind-sprints, grass drills, obstacle course running, swimming and first aid. Nearly 100 members of the faculty de- voted a great portion of their time to the teaching of courses for the 58th. In addi- tion, the A S were provided with the complete facilities in Draper Hall for their mess. The boys were housed in Lewis and Thatcher Halls and in Abigail Adams House, all of which had double decker beds installed by the Army. All of the facilities of the college in- firmary were turned over to the 58th, and the Phi Sigma Kappa house was con- verted into a temporary infirmary for the civilian students. Memorial Hall served as the 58th headquarters. During the course of the program the following statement was transmitted to the college staft ' : The Trustees of Massa- chusetts State College wish to express their appreciation to all members of the college staft ' for the splendid response which they have made to the challenge of the war. President Baker has reported to the Board the fine spirit in which in- structors have taken up new assignments in connection with the Army Air Force Training Program and how other mem- bers of the college staft ' have offered to assist regular instructors. We are con- vinced that through the efforts of all staff members Massachusetts State College is playing a vital and effective role in World War II. Captain Congleton ex- pressed himself in a similar vein in many talks which he gave before service clubs up and down the Connecticut Valley. He said, The citizens of this Commonwealth may well be proud and should be proud of the part which Massachusetts State College is playing in the war training program. The educational and military back- ground of students in the air corps pro- gram, as exemplified by the 58th, was varied. There were college graduates, college students, boys with high school diplomas, and those who had not com- pleted high school, enrolled in the groups on campus. There were men with no previous military experience, some who had ROTC training, and some old soldiers who had been all of two or three years in the service, both in the United States and overseas. One A S at the College was a transfer from the Navy. This man had been aboard the West Virginia when that ship was sunk at Pearl Harbor. He got ashore. He was aboard the carrier Lexington when that ship was sunk. He got ashore. Right at that point he decided he should learn how to drop the bombs himself, rather than, simply, have bombs dropped 16

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flash on proud chests: is not the goal worthy of our untiring effort? Thus, we leave Massachusetts State knowing that our training here will make the days ahead not especially easier, but touched with confidence. To the officers and teachers we pay our respect and gratitude. They have administered to our benefit. To the grand 58th itself: ' Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot. ' And so we go. In July, 1944, shortly after the 58th College Training Detachment had been closed, 300 young men 17 years of age, an Air Corps Enlisted Reserve group, were assigned to the College in an Army Specialized Training Reserve Program. This unit was in command of Captain Winslow E. Ryan ' 40. Their training program was much similar to that of the 58th. An article in the Providence, Rhode Island, Journal spoke of it in part as follows : The platoons swinging hungrily across the campus in the general direction of the college cafeteria and a heaping noon- day chow, were made up of boys who will some day be pilots, navigators, gunners and what-not in the Army Air Forces. Right at the moment they are in a pe- culiar betwixt-and-between state: of the Army but not in it, wearing government issue but drawing no pay, eating the Government ' s food but doing it on ration points, living with each other under discipline but not subject to military law, unable to frank their letters but paying no money for tuition or textbooks. In short, they are a combination of Joe College and rookie-boys of pre-military age receiving intensive academic prepara- tion fitting them for training in skills requiring more than a high school educa- tion. Alphabetically, they are members of the ACER — Air Corps Enlisted Reserve. Before the porticoed sweep of college buildings, the platoons dissolved and be- came individual boys, dropping their books by the musette-bagful on sunny lawns or snow-covered steps and relaxing in violent horseplay. ' It ' s the only chance they get to relax during the day, ' remarked Captain Ryan as we strolled across a campus dotted with groups of youngsters somersaulting each other in four-back flips or flinging a friend into the air. Including physical and military training, each student works a 51 to 54-hour week, depending on the curriculum and the term to which he is assigned. Broken down, this week runs to 12 to 20 hours in the classroom, from 4 to 13 hours a week in the laboratory, and from 16 to 19 hours a week in re- quired study. From 6:00 a.m. First Call to 10:30 p.m. Taps it makes for a good full academic day, especially when you sandwich in six hours a week of physical training and five hours of military train- ing. Students who complete the program, without being dropped for academic failure or misconduct go to Army Air Force Training Centers for classification. Because of his introduction to military duties and habits of living the ASTRP graduate has an appreciable edge on other enlisted men during his basic training period. [18]