Action Now

College is distinctly a prelude to action, as far as the Army and Navy are concerned. The Freshman who is inducted into V-1 or the Army Enlisted Reserve, and then told to go back home and study for four more years must feel a little impatient. Even though he may understand the value of a college education as officer training, there will be times like the night before a History 1 quiz when he finds it difficult to see the connection between learning the boundaries of the Roman Empire and winning the war.

But no Harvard man ought to feel that his contribution to the war effort must be devious and delayed. The civilian is as important as the soldier in this war, and there are enough opportunities for civilian defense work to take up the time of everyone who isn't in the Armed Services. The Harvard War Service Committee and the Harvard A. R. P. Organization need wardens, fire fighters, first aiders, and other workers. The Interceptor Command headquarters in Boston needs volunteers, as do a number of Boston hospitals, which are very short of orderlies. Settlement houses in defense worker communities need leaders for children's groups and weekend outings. The local Committees of Public Safety and civilian defense offices need volunteer office help, skilled and unskilled. The Army and Navy is in desperate need of blood plasma, which is being collected through the Red Cross blood banks. And the War Service Committee itself needs a large staff to take care of these volunteers, to sell War Savings Stamps, and to carry on other drives.

If you are registering today, you can sign up for these activities on the questionnaire in your registration envelope. If you have already handed in your questionnaire, but are willing to sign up for something else, you can do that at Phillips Brooks House at any time. Whether or not you have signed up, you can find out more about the work to be done by going to the War Service meeting tonight at 8 o'clock in Brooks House. While we're opening up second fronts, there's a promising one right here at home.