During the war, more than 16 million Americans served in the United States Armed Forces—including more than half a million men and women from Michigan. Students, faculty, and staff all participated in the war, and campus felt the effects in many ways throughout the war and even once it was over.
Western Michigan University, then Western Michigan College, was a participant in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which supplemented the force of commissioned officers in World War II. Western was utilized in training officers for a variety of roles, but was especially useful in aviation training.
As cities around the world dimmed their lights in fear of attacks from the sky, campus gathering places such as the library were also dimming their lights.
The sentiment of impending doom echoed in a Letter from President Sangren in the 1943 Brown and Gold yearbook. “This will go down in the history of this college as a year of uncertainties and confusion, and also a year in which many of the experimental practices will affect the character of the institution for years to come.”
But administrators understood that one day the war would end, and the G.I. Bill would likely attract veterans to campuses across the nation. Western was no different. President Sangren went about securing land to expand campus, which meant moving west. Construction began on one-story houses for married veterans, and counseling and guidance services were established just in time for the fall 1945 semester.
“I think in some instances that the campus underwent a more rapid and drastic changer after the war during 1946 and 1947 than it did following the outbreak of the war. It seemed like the returning servicemen literally swarmed back on campus in waves. They filled the rooming houses, the dorms, the trailer camp…” Robert Burgoyne recalled in Brown and Golden Memories.
From 1946 to 1950, Western’s enrollment doubled.
In 1946-47, efforts were made to memorialize those who served in WWII. A flag pole was dedicated on campus and a wall of honor was installed in Walwood Hall, then known as the Walwood Union. The plaque next to the ”Honor Roll” reads:
This Honor Roll is a listing of faculty, students, staff and alumni who served in World War II. Stars appear next to the names of those who died or were missing in action. The list is incomplete. The Honor Roll was placed in Walwood Union in 1947.
World War II was pivotal for Western, and the contributions of each Bronco who served will not be forgotten.
The Honor Roll is the process of being digitized and rearranged to include all names in alphabetical order, allowing more names to be added. If you know of anyone connected to WMU (alumnus/a, student, faculty, staff) who served in ANY war, please forward them this link: MyWMU.com/BroncoVeterans. The digitized Honor Roll will be updated periodically to reflect the addition of new veterans from all U.S. wars. If you do not wish to have your name included on the Honor Roll, but would like to submit your service, please indicate that in the comment section of the form.
Much of the information found in this posting was taken from Larry Massie’s book, “Brown and Golden Memories: Western Michigan University’s First Century”.
Posted by Samantha Macy and Catherine VanDerMaas