Graduates Participated in Unusual Commencement

The Commencement ceremony in 1946, the first such ceremony held after World War II, was unusual in many ways.

'Many students' college years were interrupted by service in the armed forces, and few undergraduates were able to finish college in the traditional four years.

Out of the 1,500 entering students, only 32 original members of the Class of 1946 graduated on time, with some class members finishing their degrees as late as the mid-1950s.

Because so few students were graduating in June 1946, the tradition-laden Commencement Week program was significantly pared down. The graduating seniors and those students graduating late from earlier classes left Harvard without formalities such as Class Day and a baccalaureate service. Even the class' first marshal was not present at Commencement that year; his naval tour of duty was not yet complete.

But the abbreviated ceremonies were only one reflection of the fact that the war had just recently ended. Alumni of the period remember the general military atmosphere that prevailed on campus.

"It was very different from now or at any other time," says J. Anthony Lewis '48, a Crimson editor who is currently a Boston-based columnist for The New York Times.

"There were a lot of older people, those whose years at Harvard had been interrupted by the war," says Lewis, who served briefly in the Navy. "They went off to fight, then they came back and were four or five years older than everyone else."

"Everybody was in uniform," says James J. Collins '46, who served in the Navy for a year and a half before receiving an early discharge and graduating in June 1946. "If you weren't, you were a little bit odd. I remember when I got out of the Navy and didn't have a uniform anymore, it was strange."

To commemorate the end of World War II and recognize those who had fought in the war, several prominent military leaders were awarded honorary degrees at Commencement ceremonies in 1946.

In recognition of their leadership during the war, Harvard gave honorary Doctor of Laws degrees to Commandant Alexander A. Vandegrift, head of the Marine Corps; Chester W. Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the Navy; Henry H. Arnold, Air Force chief; and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was then the Army chief of staff.

Eisenhower, who served as supreme commander of Allied Forces in Europe during the war, also spoke to the alumni after the "Victory Commencement," as the ceremonies were titled.

In addition to the commanders of the armed forces, nine other alumni, University affiliates and community luminaries were recognized for their service to Harvard and the United States during the war.

Pierpont M. Hamilton, who served in the North Africa campaign during the war and received the Congressional Medal of Honor, was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree for his military service.

The Crimson's June 7, 1946 issue reported the award citation for Byron Price, who was granted an A.M. for his work as a military censor, and lauded Price for having "preserved freedom while guarding with vigilance the security of an embattled nation."

Also awarded Master of Arts degrees for military valor were William D. Cleary, who spent three years at Harvard during the war as head of the school for military chaplains, and John L. O'Brien, a lawyer who served as an adviser to the War Production Board.

Students graduating at the time regarded the presence on campus of the nation's premier military leaders as logical given the post-war atmosphere on campus and Harvard's reputation.

"The speakers were among the most prestigious speakers in the world," says Collins, now a lawyer in Milton, Mass. "At that time in my life, I just expected it."

"That was the first Commencement after the war was all over, so I'm sure the powers that be thought that was the time to say thank you to the military," says Robert S. Sturgis '44, a former Crimson president who graduated in 1947.

Regardless of the wartime problems that still remained by Commencement 1946, students still retained hope for the future.

"There was a feeling of relief at coming out of the war," Sturgis says. "We had all sorts of expectations of a great new life."

"We were not long out of our teens, and we were really starting out," reminisces Sturgis, who is now an architect.

Unlike today, there was no controversy over the issue of the military in 1946.

"We were certainly not having any argument about ROTC on campus," says Sturgis, laughing. "It wasn't as though the military was an issue. There was no discussion over whether it was a good thing or not. It was clearly a fact of life."