EM HSS" 
 
Harvard 
 in the War 
 
 
 1917 
 
7. ?r. ^U U^ 
 
^i>c^'^ HARVARD IN THE WAR 
 
 SINCE the outbreak of the War, President Lowell has 
 sought to use in the service of the nation every facility 
 which Harvard University could afford. The record of 
 the University thus far has been a creditable record and for 
 the duration of the war it must be maintained. The most 
 notable achievements and activities are as follows. 
 
 The French Mission 
 
 In response to the request of President Lowell and through 
 the courtesy of the French Government, six French Officers 
 under the leadership of Colonel Azan arrived in Cambridge 
 in May. They actively assisted in the instruction in the 
 Harvard Reserve Officers Training Corps, remaining for the 
 duration of the Corps. At the conclusion of the first Govern- 
 ment Camps, 550 officers selected from the 11 camps east of 
 the Mississippi River were ordered to Cambridge by the War 
 Department for a further four weeks' training under the 
 French Officers. Colonel Azan and his associates were the 
 first in the United States to demonstrate the value of French 
 Officers for instruction in modern warfare. For the coming 
 year they will assist in the training of the National Army at 
 the Government cantonments. 
 
 The Reserve Officers Training Corps 
 
 Immediately upon the declaration of war, the Harvard 
 Regiment was converted into a Reserve Officers Training 
 Camp. Intensive training was supplied from May 8, 1917, 
 to August 15, 1917. The total enrollment was 1885. Of 
 these 1139 were undergraduates at Harvard, 309 were Har- 
 vard graduates, 290 were men from other colleges, and 147 
 were men with no college affiliations. The Freshman Halls 
 
were used as barracks, the basement of University Hall for 
 administrative offices and lecture rooms, and field training 
 was supplied at Soldiers Field, at Fresh Pond, Waverley, and 
 Barre. 
 
 Naval School for Wireless Operators 
 
 This school was established in May under Commandant 
 Rush of the Charlestown Navy Yard. Enlisted naval cadets 
 are given a three months' course in wireless telegraphy. The 
 Navy Department at first assigned 250 men for this course. 
 The numbers have been constantly increasing until there are 
 now 1900 men in the school. They are housed, fed and 
 taught in university buildings in Cambridge. Other similar 
 schools throughout the country have now been closed and all 
 instruction in wireless for the Navy Department will for the 
 duration of the war be carried on at Harvard. 
 
 Cadet School for Ensigns 
 
 Under the authority of the Navy Department, the Cadet 
 School, First Naval District, is now established at Harvard 
 to supply selected members of the Naval Reserve and others 
 with the instruction necessary to qualify them for the 
 ensigns' examination. The instruction is substantially the 
 equivalent to that given in the similar course at Annapolis. 
 The course lasts four months and 150 men are now enrolled 
 at the School. Upon receiving their commissions, the men 
 are assigned to active duty. All of these 150 cadets are 
 housed and fed in university buildings in Cambridge and the 
 equipment of the university used in their instruction. 
 
 Special Training for Quartermaster and 
 Ordnance Corps 
 
 At the request of the Council of National Defense, the 
 Graduate School of Business Administration established two 
 
courses to give special training useful to those intending to 
 enter the Quartermaster or Ordnance Corps. One course, on 
 Military Stores Keeping, and one on Cost Inspection for War 
 Contracts. In addition, a course on Supply was offered to 
 members of the Harvard R. O. T. C. The course was de- 
 signed for prospective officers of the line who will serve with 
 troops. There were enrolled in these courses 145 men 
 selected for their fitness for the work. 
 
 Military Instruction, 1917-18 
 
 For the present year there are two courses of military in- 
 struction; one designed for those who have had no previous 
 experience and the other an advanced course for those who 
 have had previous training. There are about 700 under- 
 graduates enrolled in the elementary course and about 325 
 in the advanced course. 
 
 The elementary course is similar to that given heretofore 
 and includes instruction in Infantry Drill Regulations, Field 
 Service Regulations, Topography, Armaments, Formations 
 and Tactics, Military Organization and Hygiene, Camp 
 Sanitation, First Aid to the Wounded, and Military Policy 
 of the United States, 
 
 Of the 326 in the advanced course, 231 are graduates of 
 the summer Harvard R. O. T. C. and the remainder have 
 had previous military training at a Federal Camp, with the 
 State Militia, or with some similar organization. The in- 
 struction given these men is a continuation of their previous 
 training and is conducted primarily under the direction of 
 the French Officers. Such subjects are dealt with as ad- 
 vanced map reading and Military Topography, reading of 
 French maps, sand table work, entrenchments, etc., to scale, 
 company administration, military history, history of the 
 military development in the present war, field orders, minor 
 
tactics (French and the United States), and railroad trans- 
 portation. 
 
 There is drill for both classes. The experienced men act as 
 the officers of the Regiment and have in addition advanced 
 work in French formations by themselves in the field. 
 Practical instruction is given to all in drills, close and ex- 
 tended order, sighting and aiming drills, bayonet practice, 
 gallery practice, map making, semaphore, wig- wag and in the 
 best methods of trench warfare developed in the European 
 War. 
 
 Major T. F. Flynn, U.S.A. Retired, is the Commandant. 
 Lt. Colonel Azan and Lt. Morize, of the French Mission to 
 Harvard, are again detailed to the University. 
 
 Naval Courses 
 
 Courses have been established designed primarily for under- 
 graduates in the Naval Reserve on leave of absence at the 
 University who expect to offer themselves for the Ensign's 
 examination. Instruction will be given in the Theory and 
 Practice of Navigation, Nautical Astronomy, Naval History, 
 Seamanship, Ordnance and Gunnery, Naval Regulations 
 and Drill. Those who satisfactorily pass these courses will 
 be permitted to take the examination for commissions as 
 Ensigns in the Naval Reserve. 
 
 Military Medicine 
 
 At the request of the Surgeon-General, courses in both Army 
 and Navy Medicine were given at the Harvard Medical 
 School. Also, a course in Orthopedic Surgery has recently 
 been established to give advanced instruction to selected 
 members of the Medical Corps. Upon completion of the 
 course they will be assigned for active duty to the Recon- 
 struction Hospitals in France and in the United States. 
 
Summer Instruction to Medical Students 
 
 In order to permit medical students to obtain their degrees 
 at the earliest possible moment, instruction for the fourth 
 year class was continued at the Medical School throughout 
 the summer months. By this procedure, ninety men will 
 obtain the degree of M.D. and become available for the 
 Medical Corps in February instead of in June. 
 
 Base Hospital Units 
 
 The medical personnel of four Base Hospital Units has been 
 composed almost wholly of members of the teaching force of 
 the Harvard Medical School or its graduates. Three of 
 these units are now on active service " Somewhere in 
 France " and the other is awaiting orders. 
 
 Dental Clinics 
 
 Upon the request of the Government, the clinic of the Har- 
 vard Dental School with its 125 chairs has been utilized to 
 give dental treatment both to drafted men and to those 
 temporarily exempted for physical unfitness on account of 
 the condition of their teeth. The Dental School also main- 
 tains 2 chairs at the Naval School for Wireless Operators and 
 1 at Commonwealth Pier for members of the Naval Reserve. 
 
 The Botanical Raw Products Committee 
 
 The Bussey Institution of Harvard University is serving as 
 the headquarters of this committee organized under the 
 authority of the Council for National Defense. It serves as 
 a clearing house where manufacturers needing raw products 
 of a botanical nature may obtain information in regard to 
 them. It also collects and disseminates agricultural, botani- 
 cal and commercial data on all species and varieties of plants 
 having an economic value. 
 
Psychological Tests for Aviators and 
 Submarine Operators 
 
 The Department of Psychology is engaged in developing and 
 standardizing psychological tests which will enable the 
 Government to select from a group of aviation recruits those 
 who will in all probability make successful fliers and those 
 who ought not to enter the service. With the authority of 
 the Government, 75 men have already been tested. They 
 are now at flying schools and as rapidly as the reports on 
 their ability are received, they will be compared with the 
 results of the various laboratory tests to determine which are 
 sensitive to aviation ability. Similar experiments are being 
 carried on, designed to determine the fitness of enlisted men 
 in the Navy to operate submarine detecting devices. 
 
 The Department of German 
 
 At the request of the authorities of the Charlestown Navy 
 Yard, members of this Department have been acting as 
 translators of German. They went over the German 
 steamers seized by the Government translating all inscrip- 
 tions, directions and papers found thereon, 
 
 French Conversation at West Point 
 
 At the request of the War Department, several members of 
 the French Department spent the summer months at West 
 Point helping the cadets become proficient in French con- 
 versation. The instruction was of a most informal character 
 and was carried on for the most part during meals and leisure 
 moments. 
 
 College Buildings Devoted to Military Purposes 
 
 The following college buildings are being used by the Govern- 
 ment or for the exclusive military needs of the University: 
 Pierce Hall, The Hemenway Gymnasium, Memorial Hall, 
 
Hastings Hall, Perkins Hall, The Studio Building, The 
 Crufts Laboratory, Holyoke House, the dining room in 
 Standish Hall, lecture rooms in Harvard Hall, the basement 
 of University Hall, and a portion of Dane Hall. 
 
 Opportunities for French Conversation 
 
 A room in the yard has been reserved for those who wish 
 to acquire proficiency in French conversation. Under the 
 auspices of the French Department, some one will at stated 
 times be on hand to converse informally in the French lan- 
 guage. The French Ofiicers, the Exchange Professor, and 
 other Frenchmen in Cambridge are cooperating in order 
 to supply an adequate opportunity for undergraduates and 
 graduates to become familiar with the everyday use of that 
 language. In many ways every effort will be made to build 
 up a French centre at Harvard. 
 
 War Records of Harvard Men 
 
 For the immediate needs of Harvard men, their families and 
 friends, as well as for the future historian, complete data is 
 being gathered together of the war activity and present 
 address of every Harvard man engaged in any form of 
 national service. This work is being carried on under the 
 auspices of the Alumni Association and the information is 
 available to all. The records thus far collected show that 
 Harvard's contribution of men is as follows : 
 
 United States Army 1,997 
 
 Harvard R. O. T. C. and other military bodies. . . . 917 
 
 Foreign armies 122 
 
 United States Navy 713 
 
 Red Cross and other relief work 229 
 
 Ambulance service 420 
 
 National, State and other committee work 498 
 
 Miscellaneous 125 
 
 Total 5,429 
 
The Harvard Bureau in Paris 
 
 For the convenience of Harvard men in France, a Bureau has 
 been established in Paris. It is quartered in the American 
 University Union, 6 Rue de Richeheu. The Union has been 
 estabhshed and will be maintained by the leading American 
 colleges and technical schools to meet the needs of American 
 college men and their friends in Europe. It includes bed- 
 rooms, reading rooms, baths, and restaurant. The American 
 Red Cross and the Y. M. C. A. are cooperating in its manage- 
 ment. Within the Union several of the larger universities 
 are maintaining separate bureaus. The Harvard Bureau will 
 be the centre for all information relating to Harvard men. 
 Several graduates will be in readiness to follow up special 
 inquiries where the regular channels fail, to visit the injured 
 in hospitals and to render every possible service to Harvard 
 men and their families. Harvard has offered to perform this 
 same service for men of Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, and 
 Williams in the event that they do not find it desirable to 
 send a representative to France and to join forces with them 
 in any case. 
 
 War Activities of the Teaching Staff 
 
 One hundred and sixteen members of the teaching staff have 
 either severed their connection with the University or ob- 
 tained a leave of absence to devote their full time to war 
 work for the government. One hundred others are engaged 
 in some form of national service while conducting their regu- 
 lar courses of instruction at the University. 
 
AN APPEAL TO HARVARD MEN 
 
 Thus has Harvard met her obligations to the nation. The 
 policy of the University has been to offer every facility to 
 the country, consistent with maintaining the regular course 
 of instruction, and as a university to make the same ready 
 response to the call of the nation that Harvard men have 
 made as individuals. 
 
 Much of this war work involves additional expense which 
 cannot be met from the regular funds of the University. 
 Harvard men and friends of the University are therefore 
 asked for subscriptions to enable Harvard to maintain and 
 to develop as occasion demands every opportunity for ser- 
 vice to the Government. Realizing the enormous demands 
 at the present time for subscriptions for worthy causes, we 
 are asking now only for the amount necessary to meet the 
 immediate needs. 
 
 $30,000 is needed now 
 
 Robert F. Herrick, Chairman. 
 Charles Francis Adams, Treasurer. 
 Langdon p. Marvin. 
 F. L. HiGGiNsoN, Jr. 
 J. W. Hallowell. 
 
 Special CommiUee of the Board of Overseers 
 on Military Affairs. 
 
 Checks should be made payable to the order 
 of C. F. Adams, Treasurer, and mailed to him 
 at 50 State Street, Boston. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 020 914 371 9