50
Years Ago began to feel the pinch of lost tuition income. The Navy's V-12 program saved many colleges by inviting their participation in the training program. Trinity was
pancake-thin mattresses the Navy provided. We also exchanged our dressers for some in better' shape.
one of those selected to provide training for officer candidates.
straggling in and we quickly became acquainted. There were 11 fleet men assig?-ed to Trinity; about half of us
The first classes convened, after much planning and logistical headaches, on July 1, 1943, with men reporting to 131 colleges and universities to start their training.
22
During the day, other men from the fleet began
had had sea duty and had experienced combat. Under the provisions of the V-12 program, all men from the fleet were required to revert from their present rate to that of
Five percent of the selectees came from the active fleet. I had been in the Navy since early February 1942, serving as a signalman assigned to the Navy Armed
Apprentice Seaman (NS), so all personnel in the program would be equals. For some of us, this entailed a
Guard, Atlantic. The Armed Guard provided gun crews, radiomen and signalmen to ride merchant ships deliver-
S, which was $50 per month. For me, it meant a loss of approximately $100 per month, no small sun in 1943.
ing men, equipment and supplies to our troops in all theaters of war around the world. In March of 1943, a
The next morning we assembled in the auditorium, where we were greeted, and the curriculum was
written examination was given to interested, qualified personnel in the Navy to fill the five percent of billets
explained to us. For the first year, we were required to
loss of pay, since we also reverted to the pay scale of an N
take English, History, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering Drawing, Descriptive Geometry and Naval Organiza-
allocated to the fleet. Upon passing the written test, selectees were given an oral interview and a physical
tion. The Commanding Officer was tasked with
examination. Passing these, the men were then issued
instructing the Naval Organization course, consisting of
orders to report to their respective schools. Mine ordered me to report to the Commanding Officer, Navy V-12
two years, at the conclusion of which the student would be sent to midshipman school at Columbia University, to be schooled in naval officer duties and be commissioned
Unit, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, no later than midnight, 15 June, 1943. When I arrived at Trinity, the campus was empty, except for some administrative staff and maintenance personnel. Checking in at the Admissions Office, I was directed to the office of the Commanding Officer, where
Ensign in the Naval Reserve. The Executive Officer, Paul Brust '45, told us that, because of our prior military training and experience, we would be assigned as platoon commanders, with the men of each dormitory constituting a platoon. There were 10
a yeoman took my records, logged me in and assigned me to Jarvis II, which was to be my home for the next
platoons and, since there were 11 of us from the fleet,
seven months. I was told to report to the auditorium at 0800 the next morning. When I took my gear to the dormitory, I entered the
request was promptly granted. During the last week of June, the other members of the V-12 program began checking in. They were students
first room on the right, on the ground floor, and looked around. There was a large study room with two small
from high schools and other colleges, and some were carry-overs who had been civilian students at Trinity and
bedrooms adjoining. Coming out of one of the bedrooms to greet me was Robert Sernoffsky '49, a signalman third class (I was second class), who also came from
stayed on for V-12. The total enrollment was 204 cadets, plus a small handful of civilian students who went their
the Armed Guard, Atlantic, where we had met briefly during the examination process. We decided to share a
various platoons and housed in the respective dorms.
room, if they would allow us to do so. Temporarily, however, we moved into one of the bedrooms and then went exploring our new environment.
aboard tea" for the men from the fleet, where it quickly became apparent that he had a special affinity for this small group who had experienced wartime military
Touring other dorms, we found a set of matching
Sernoffsky asked to be assigned as my assistant. His
separate way. The V-12 members were assigned to the President Remsen B. Ogilby held a "welcome
service. Many a Sunday afternoon, he would pile some of
twin beds that apparently belonged to a former resident who left them behind. Noticing that all other beds were
us into his Buick sedan, with personalized license plates of"RBO," and drive us off to some lake to picnic and
Navy steel double (two-high) bunks, we immediately appropriated the twin beds, along with their box springs and mattresses and moved them into our room. They
swim. We dearly loved that venerable old gentleman. On the other hand, we soon learned that we were held in low esteem by our non-fleet shipmates. They
were a great improvement over the flat wire springs and
resented having to take orders from us, as their platoon