1940-1949

'We Need Intelligent Patriotism'

"I am satisfied from my observations that as a people we need no inspiration from abroad; we need not alien mentors among us to tell us here what to do or how to do it. ... Before we think of others in this war-mad world, Americanism implies that we must conserve our own strength, put just limits on our governmental largess and using it wisely, protecting and perfecting our own institutions, solving our vexatious domestic problems, building happiness and contentment to the end that, out of respect for the success of our peaceful and prosperous example, a war-weary world may some day come to our way of life--the way of Americanism."--Past American Legion Commander Stephen Chadwick, '15. March 1940

Do Big-Time Leagues Dip into College Athletics?

"Certainly professional baseball dips into college athletics. Everyone knows that. Not often, but every now and then, baseball reaches its ladle into the college gravy bowl and comes up with a choice morsel in the form of a clean-limbed, clear-eyed young chap who wants to follow the game as a profession. ... No one would criticize a student for quitting college to accept a business position that paid him a salary comparable to what a Coast League player gets. Why should he be criticized for quitting college for baseball? ...The fact is, however, that the boy doesn't need to do anything of the kind, ... he'll play ball and get his college degree too. ... Fred Hutchinson signed with Seattle just as soon as he finished high school, made a sensational success, was sold to Detroit for the biggest price a minor leaguer has brought in years, and entered the University. He is 20 years old, has money in the bank [and] gets a salary that would be comfortable for a man considerably older. ... You'd have a pretty hard time convincing Fred that he made a mistake when he entered professional baseball."--Roscoe "Torchy" Torrance, '23, April 1940.

We Woke to the Tune of Nazi Brass Bands

"We never expected Paris, our 'home', to fall as it did. We thought every shopkeeper would be out to defend his city. ... But by June 10th Parisians had started their mass exodus from the capital. The Germans were only a few miles away; and the gunfire we heard day and night we knew was coming from "the front." By June 13th ... there wasn't a human soul on the boulevards--only a few homeless dogs wandering in front of the Opéra. Even in such tense atmosphere one could not help noticing ironically humorous details. One fine lace and linen shop had taken time before it cleaned out to pin up three handkerchiefs--red, white, and blue--in an otherwise empty window as a final thumb-nosing gesture at the approaching enemy. ... We slept at the Embassy, where I worked, that night. We woke the next morning to the tune of Nazi brass bands in the Place de la Concorde and the marching of the spruce, well-equipped German troops as they swung around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysées, across the Seine and to the South. ...The next nine months weren't much fun. We had neither heat nor hot water, no thread of any kind, no soap, oil, tea or coffee, bath towels--often no potatoes, butter, meat, eggs or fish. Much of our stuff we got on a contraband market."-- U.S. Embassy employee Audrey Ames Cook, '32. June 1941

The Japanese in China: "I'm Having the Time of My Life"

"Tuesday's raid was the real thing. I had gone to the French Embassy to play bridge. We heard the planes, but it was a bright day and we couldn't seem to locate them. Suddenly there they were, practically above us and heading straight over. We ran! The anti-aircraft was firing before we were halfway to the dugout. ... The three of us huddled together. Then it came. Whoosh! Whoosh! and the Japs let go 160 bombs in our end of town. It's horrible to hear them coming down, particularly if one is not in a strong dugout, because then you know that they're near. The concussion nearly knocked us down as they landed, and we could hear them coming closer. ... None of us thought we'd get out alive. And a bomb any closer would have finished us off. We dashed up when the racket stopped. ... We toured the streets to see the damage, and I had my fill of horrors. Bombs certainly mess people up. Probably 400 or 500 killed. ... The city is beginning to look pretty bad now. I guess there isn't a house in town intact. Very few have any window glass left at least. Many have all the plaster down. Nearly every block has a couple of bombed places in it. ... Nevertheless, believe it or not, I like Chunking very well and wouldn't leave for the world. My job is fun ... and my living quarters are still standing--and, all in all, I'm having the time of my life."--Reuters war correspondent Betty Graham, '37. October 1940

Magnuson Notes Strategic Value of Alaska Highway

"Congress until lately has looked upon the proposal with an indifferent eye, for Alaska has seemed a long, long ways off. ... Alaska suddenly flashed into view when the Army and Navy pointed out its strategic value to the North American continent. No longer is it far away. It is only a few hours by air from the important cities of Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver and Victoria. ... In case of war (thought impossible when the first highway commission issued its study in 1930) few people would travel to Alaska by sea, but many would travel by land. ... The road would be used for innumerable purposes beside tourist and settler traffic. It would have real military value." --Warren Magnuson, '29. December 1940

'Greetings from Uncle Sam': Peacetime Draft Begins

According to the present Selective Service Act, approximately 3,500 UW students have been required to register. This number comprises over half of the male students or one-third of the entire University enrollment. ... If the act is revised to include men from 18 to 23 as has been proposed, then an even larger number of UW students will be affected. Approximately 80 percent of the male students, which represents almost 50 percent of the total University enrollment, would be included. May 1941

The USS Arizona burns after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

ALL OUT WAR!

As we go to press, with its fury and disruption, ALL OUT WAR has begun in the Pacific. Many of our alumni and recent students are in Uncle Sam's army, navy, marines and flying services. Many of our engineers and other alumni are engaged in defense construction and in turning out war supplies needed for our armed forces. Many of our alumnae are actively serving in varied volunteer capacities where they are needed. Wherever they are and in all the capacities that they are serving the Democracy that educated them, we wish them ALL OUT SUCCESS. December 1941


Henry M. Jackson

'Scoop' Jackson on Intangible Enemy--Inflation

"The American people are now bending every effort to turn this Nation into a mighty arsenal of democracy. ... The very magnitude of our task exposes us to danger from an intangible enemy whose subtle and swift attack may hit us hard. I refer to the danger of inflation. ... Firm action by Congress to curb the speculator and profiteer must not be delayed. The number of those who seize upon a national emergency as an opportunity for private profit may be small, but their influence is extremely destructive. Immediate price control legislation is imperative."-- Henry M. Jackson, '35. December 1941

Filipinos Treated 'Like the Negro'

"Sprinkled through the Philippines are some 200 ...UW alumni. Some people might just be a bit surprised about that. They have seen Filipinos on the skid road, in the whirling mill of the taxi-dance halls; they've seen them working in the fields, the canneries, the kitchens. Those are the only places most people have seen the Filipinos. ... It has been pretty tough for them much of the time. There are 83,000 of them in the U.S. and their position has been a lot like that of the Negro in the South. That is why you find them--my people--in the lower end of town. What would happen if we tried to move onto Capitol Hill?"--Julius B. Ruiz, '41. March 1942


Football Coach Ralph "Pest" Welch (right) lost most of his juniors and seniors to the military. In 1943 the team only played four regular-season games against such opponents as the Spokane Air Command and the March Field Flyers. Photo courtesy UW Sports Information.

Where Have All the Young Men Gone?

The records show that upwards of 10 percent, or close to 50 members of the faculty, now are in service in the armed forces. ... The enrollment of the University dropped below 10,000 for the first Fall Quarter in more than five years. ... The largest number of withdrawals of young men [occurred] during Winter Quarter--totaling 584--entirely out of proportion to any other enrollment withdrawal period. ... Registration officials believe that the greater portion of these young men entered civilian war work or the armed forces. ... What effect the war will have on the sports situation at the University is problematical. Spring football practice indications are that Coach "Pest" Welch, barring any further losses, will have a well balanced football team. What will happen to basketball, baseball, track, crew and other sports cannot be forecast. May 1942







Under military escort, Japanese Americans board trains during the "evacuation" of the West Coast in early 1942. Photo from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer collection, Museum of History and Industry.

Japanese Americans Evacuated Without Any "Upheaval"

Although the University has an enrollment of some 300 Japanese students, the evacuation of these citizens was carried on without any upheaval. Every effort was made to aid the students to locate in places in which they could continue their educations. In some instances this was possible, in others the students were interned the same as other American citizens of Japanese ancestry. May 1942

Don't You Know There's a War Going On?

Social life on the campus will be on a wartime basis for the duration. First action by the student council was the cancellation of the Varsity Ball and the Junior Prom for the duration. All dances are required to close at 11:30 p.m. ... Up for approval is the proposal that a one o'clock curfew be placed on coeds, in place of the present two o'clock weekend closing hour. ... Mum corsages at the football games are out for the duration. ... Every noon-time bong of the University chimes will hail an Axis defeat. Each will represent an enemy plane or ship destroyed in the Pacific area the week before. November 1942


Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940.

Eleanor Comes to Campus

The nation's first lady, Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, made two appearances on the University of Washington campus early in October. Her first visit was to introduce the famous Russian girl sniper, Liudmila Pavlichenko, to Seattle audiences. The second was to launch a bond sales drive. November 1942

Women Outnumber Men, Even Take Over Sports Page

For the first time since World War I., women outnumber men on the University of Washington campus. Spring quarter registration stands at 2,591 for women, 2,584 for men. During normal times, men outnumber women 60 to 40. ... Coeds invaded the sacred field of sports this quarter, as women editors placed their names over the masthead of the sports page of the University of Washington Daily. April 1943 * More than 1,300 cadets will come to Washington on July 1, when the University becomes the site for a branch school under the Naval Training Program.... Under the plan, 12 to 15 men's fraternity houses on Greek Row will be used to house 700 trainees. The remainder will live in the women's residence halls. ... The Commons will be closed to civilians and used solely to feed Army and Navy trainees. May 1943

Wartime Rose Bowl: Huskies Were Ice Cold

Digging in now for the last and biggest game of their short season, the University of Washington Huskies are preparing for a stiff battle with USC's Trojans on January 1. The Rose Bowl game comes as a climax to the Husky season of four games which Washington won by wide margins. Plans for a full football season with Northern Division teams were abruptly cut off for the Huskies early this fall when Oregon quite grid conference ball, followed immediately by Washington State, Oregon State and Idaho. December 1943 * Running against a tradition that was so strong it could not admit defeat, the Huskies were overwhelmingly beaten by an inspired Southern California team [29-0]. ... The Huskies has not played a ball game since Oct. 30, and in the words of Coach Welch, were "ice cold" on the field. January 1944

Another Type of Bowl Game

Bowling alleys are first on the list of features that University students want to see included in the new Student Union Building, scheduled to be erected immediately after the war. The almost unanimous preference for bowling alleys was revealed in a campus pool conducted by the Daily. April 1944


Lt. Col. Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, '34, stands at attention after receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945. Boyington, the Marine Corps' top ace in World War II, wrote a book about his squadron which was the basis for the TV show Ba Ba Black Sheep. Photo courtesy of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

War Hero Back from the Dead, Earns Medal of Honor

Major Gregory Boyington last month joined Lt. Col. Bob Galer on the University of Washington roll of men who have won their country's highest honor--the Congressional Medal of Honor. Announcement of "Pappy" Boyington's decoration came several months after the Rabaul mission on which he boosted his individual score of enemy planes to 26 and from which he did not return. April 1944 * Just last month, Colonel Boyington came "Back from the Dead." ... Shot down near Rabaul, he was strafed in the water by Japanese planes, finally picked up by a Japanese submarine which happened to surface near him. ... Not officially listed as a prisoner of war for reasons known only to the Japanese, and unable to send prison cards to his family at home, Boyington managed to notify his mother that he was alive when a prisoner left the special compound for regular imprisonment. ... That was the only word that she had until her son was rescued on Aug. 29. November 1945

Football a Casualty of the War

The loss of 19 lettermen will be a blow to the University of Washington team of 1944. Probably no team with limited material can stand the loss of so many letter-winners and still come up on top of the field. For Coach Welch, it will be like coaching freshmen, since most of the players are in the 17- and 18-year-old class. October 1944

Rolling Your Own in 1945

The "fag" shortage on the campus has resulted in a rash of inventions designed to make "rolling your own" an easy and safe process. Among the better inventions is a "cig-jig" contrived by two graduate students in chemical engineering. A description of it reads like a Rube Goldberg cartoon but the inventors state that a skilled operator can manufacture a plump, well-tailored cigarette with it in 20 seconds flat. January 1945

Racism on the Home Front

"In a war of competing ideologies the question of race has come to occupy a prominent place. Reluctantly we have had to face it, not merely in order to increase the solidarity and effectiveness of the home front, but to counteract the effective use of race as a major weapon by our enemy. ... Because even the most obtuse among us recognize that Jim Crowism is hardly a help in this situation, we have taken to using unfamiliar words and practices. As one Negro leader in the Northwest has put it: 'We Negroes don't feel quite the same about the war as some of you. We have discovered that only when war comes do you admit that you need us, and needing us, you are ready to grant us the justice that you deny us in peace time.' ... A few months ago a group of Negro soldiers in a typical labor battalion in an army camp in the Northwest asked a morale officer quite bluntly why they should fight for the rights of Czechs and Poles when they themselves were denied rights at home. ... On another occasion Negro soldiers from the same post rallied to the defense of a Japanese American who was contesting the legality of certain parts of the evacuation order. The Negroes insisted upon contributing to the payment of the legal fees and collected from their own handful $700. ... America may yet discover that the question is not merely one of leadership but rather one of survival. The racism which has produced increasing tension in this country is not basically different from that [of] Germany. ... Its incompatibility with the continued existence of the American state, while it is less apparent, is demonstrable. The premise of racism nullifies the very principle upon which the American commonwealth is based."--Frank G. Williston, February 1945 * "There is no difference in kind, only in degree, between Hitler's racism and the racism which beats Jews on the streets of Boston, would keep Negroes 'in their place'" in Texas, or organizes a 'Don't Let the Japs Back' movement in Seattle."--Joseph Bartlett and Arthur Zuckerman, February 1945

Postwar Rise in Enrollment--and Parking

It has been conservatively estimated that after the war more than 650,000 veterans financed by the Federal government will be taking work on college and university campuses. ... It is reasonable to suppose that the postwar enrollment at the University of Washington will reach a level of from 14,000 to 16,000. ... The size of the faculty will have to be greatly expanded, and additional administrative, secretarial and maintenance personnel will be required. January 1945 * Harold M. Hines, counselor for men at the University, had good news for our definitely female dominated campus when he reported expectation of 600 to 1,000 discharged veterans to attend classes this fall. This is quite a jump from the 240 veterans registered last winter quarter. October 1945 * The big problem on campus is where to park that car. With more than 12,000 students on the campus, a good number of them driving to school, there is no humor in the problem. It just doesn't go over very big, this half hour search for a spot. ... A student parking lot to be designated at the Pavilion is under motion. April 1946

Debunking Racist Stereotypes

"Many Americans entertain a number of curious and superstitious beliefs regarding Negroes. For example, many suppose that there are fingernail markings which reveal Negro heredity in persons who are predominantly white. Many believe that Negro mouth construction, lips, teeth and palate account for Negro dialect. Many believe that Negro foot and leg bones tend to produce especially good sprinters. Many believe that Negroes have some special racial talent to dance, music or hot jazz rhythms. Beliefs such as these are racist beliefs and are entirely lacking in scientific support. ... The belief in the hereditary mental inferiority of so-called Negroes is so old and so widespread in the United States that every educator and informed person is under a profound obligation to explain clearly the scientific evidence on this matter. ... This evidence proves that no population is hereditary superior or inferior to any other populations. It proves that the Negro is our potential equal in every respect."--Anthropology Professor Melville Jacobs, May 1946


The first medical school dean, Edward Turner (left), and the first dental school dean, Ernest Jones, survey Health Sciences Center construction. File photo.

Here Come the Doctors

With the appointment of Dr. Edward L. Turner, former president of Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn., as dean of the medical school, the organization of the medical and dental schools of the University will be started soon. ... Upon the arrival of Dr. Tuner, intensive work will be undertaken in order that both the School of Medicine and the School of Dentistry may be opened as soon as space and faculty employment will permit. October 1945 * The bulk of the medical school appropriation will go for construction of the Health Sciences Building, which will house the schools of medicine, dentistry and nursing and a 400-bed hospital. The proposed building will be located on the southern part of the campus occupying a portion of the University golf course. January 1947

Atomic U

Experience gained in developing a torpedo exploder during the war netted the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University a definite role in the recent atom-bomb experiments carried on at Bikini Atoll. ... The laboratory designed, manufactured (with the aid of local naval establishments), and shipped several types of instruments to measure pressure as a function of time resulting from two atom-bomb explosions. October 1946

University Enrollment Reaches All-Time High

The all-time peak enrollment of 15,594 students is 4,489 higher than the previous peak which occurred in 1938. ... It should be pointed out that 9,699 are veterans. January 1947 * According to the most Registrar's most recent report, 71.1 percent of the students enrolled at the University of Washington are men and 28.9 percent are women. ... Between 1919 and 1941, the percentage of male students varied from a minimum of 56.9 percent to a maximum of 62.7 percent. ... Most of the male students are veterans. April 1947

Egging on the Author of The Egg and I

"I know that my 'outrageous' success has been very galling to some writers who feel, and probably rightly so, that their books are far better than mine and cannot understand why theirs only sold a few thousand copies and The Egg sold over a million. ... Certainly when I was crouched in my kitchen on Vashon Island writing The Egg I didn't dream that I was oozing out a best seller. The most I hoped for was to get the damn thing finished and published so that I wouldn't have to move off the Island because I had told so many people on the ferry that I was writing a book. ... George Savage ... told me that if I made a great deal of money and spent it freely I would be called a show off--a try-to-be-grand. If I made a great deal of money and saved it, I would be called stingy and a miser. He said that I would encounter envy and jealousy where I lest expected it and instead of getting my feelings hurt I should learn to brace my feet and let the blows glance off. I have tried and tried but ... I still cannot understand why people will crawl for miles over broken glass just to tell me how hideous I look."--Betty MacDonald, Fall 1947.

Vets Crowd Ever Corner of Campus, Building Boom Begins

Construction has hit its full stride in the $21.5 million post-war building program which, this biennium, will double the floor area and increase by 60 percent the cubic footage of useful space at the University. ... The building needs ... have been highlighted the past two years as the great influx of veterans, coming to the University under the GI Bill of Rights, has crowded every corner of the campus. ... One building already completed is Charles Church More Hall ... Next to be completed is David Thomson Hall ... The huge new Health Sciences Building will be one of the finest medical training centers in American ... Also under construction are Electrical Engineering, the Administration Building, the Art Wing of the Fine Arts Building and additions to the Library, Johnson Hall and the Physics Building. Winter 47-48.

Having a 'Hec' of a Time

At half-time a hush fell over the crowd, then suddenly it changes into a mighty ovation with 12,000 fans cheering wildly as "Uncle Hec" strolled slowly to the center of the floor. After the band played "Bow Down to Washington." Rusty Calle, ASUW prexy; Dr. Allen, University President; and Harvey Cassill, director of athletics, ...officially dedicated the athletic plant as the "Clarence S. Edmundson Pavilion." Winter 47-48


This 15-kiloton nuclear blast took place in Nevada in 1953. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy.

Bikini Blowout: Fish Experts Study a Blast

The most spectacular honor came to the University when the Atomic Energy Commission and War and Navy departments chose the Applied Fisheries Laboratory to coordinate almost all federally supported research on the effects of radioactivity on marine life. ... Lauren Donaldson and some of his staff members were present at the Bikini "Operation Crossroads" experimental blast as Navy observers in 1946. * While detailed results may not be disclosed, it has been revealed that the rays have had a definite effect on reproductive processes and growth. Defects have been noted also in blood-forming tissues. In the first generation, numerous deformities and damaged nervous systems were found. Summer 1948

Members of the Canwell Committee, which in 1948 investigated Communists on the UW faculty, include the chair, Rep. Albert Canwell, in the center holding the index card. Other committee members are (left to right) Rep. Grant Sisson, Chief Investigator William J. Houston, Sen. R.L. Rutter, Rep. Sydney Stevens and Sen. Thomas Bienz. Photo courtesy of Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History and Industry.

Canwell Hearings Weren't a 'Witch Hunt'

A large majority of the American people want to know the facts about the Community Party and its membership. ... If we fail to obtain our facts in this legal way, we may find them later and less happily as have the people of Czechoslovakia and other nations of Eastern, Central and Southern Europe. While the procedures followed by the Legislative Committee doubtless could have been improved in some particulars, it is apparent that an honest effort was made to bring to light necessary and pertinent facts. No honest man with a clear conscience about his political activities and affiliations need have fear of the committee's questions. Those who have been disposed to label the hearings a "witch hunt" are either unaware of, or have chosen to disregard, the fact that the hearings did not degenerate into indiscriminate charges against any faculty member who may have at one time or another happened to disagree with the political philosophy of the committee members. It is a credit to the committee that it did painstakingly avoid the smearing of honest and sincere liberals with a red brush. Summer 1948

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