From the Collections: Wesleyan and War, The Seven Years' War to Vietnam
Every generation has a war or global conflict that defines it. In times of uncertainty, looking to the past can be a valuable tool for putting conflict into context and analyzing how institutions and society have historically responded to the specter of war.
Wesleyan’s responses to the conflicts have been unique, and primary sources in our collection reflect that. Did you know that Wesleyan hosted a V-5 and V-12 naval training unit on campus during World War II? Or that they built housing for married veterans so they could finish their degrees after the war? Or that Wesleyan students fought on both sides of the Civil War?
Photographs, letters, and books from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam are all accessible as part of Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives. And this coming fall, in a new course on Wesleyan and war, we will lead students in an exploration of the Library’s rich collections beginning with the Seven Years’ War (1750s). Analyzing primary sources, including those collected by H. Richard Dietrich Jr. ’60, to study the events of the early Republic will allow students to learn about these historical events through the personal lens of those who created the records in the collection. Moving to the Civil War, students will also analyze the Wesleyan community’s participation in the nation’s wars, including the different responses of campus and alumni from World War I to World War II through the Vietnam War and its transformative impact on the University.
The items shown here are just a sampling of the materials available to aid students in gaining a better understanding of the conflicts that helped to shape America as well as how Wesleyan has participated, supported, or fought against these conflicts and the impacts that had on the University and society at large.
Once America entered World War I in April 1917, Wesleyan established an infantry unit of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and a Certificate of Military Training. This certificate was a three-year course designed for students under 21 years of age to become officers in the national army. As the draft age dropped to 18, Wesleyan immediately adopted the Student Army Training Corps (SATC), which the War Department created to replace the ROTC program. This photograph shows the SATC marching in formation on Andrus Field. To learn more about the alumni who served in World War I, you can find over 900 completed surveys available online.
Similar to World War I, once America joined World War II in 1941, Wesleyan hosted the V-5 and V-12 naval training units on its campus. The V-5 unit was called the Navy Flight Preparatory School and lasted from January 1943 until August 1944. Coursework focused on aerology and naval science. The V-12 unit, also known as the Navy College Training Program, began in July 1943 and included coursework more akin to Wesleyan’s traditional liberal arts curriculum. Immediately after the war, the students who left halfway through their coursework wanted to return to finish, but they often had wives and sometimes children. With normal dormitories not suitable for family units, Wesleyan built Veterans’ Village, a set of buildings near Andrus Field with families in mind. Shown here is the outside of one of the Veterans’ Village dorms. Veterans’ Village lasted until 1959, once the majority of World War II veteran students had completed their degrees.
Brochure for Wesleyan’s Vietnam commencement, 1968. The University had a very different reaction to the Vietnam War than the previous two wars in the 20th century. A large portion of the University community protested against the war and especially the idea of draft and military recruitment on campus. In May 1968, students put together a separate “Vietnam commencement” ceremony for those that didn’t agree with the draft and had attendees sign pledges against serving.
