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Black and white photo of four young men in front of a closet, holding and wearing uniforms.

Willamette University and World War II

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Written by Hannah Mosher, Class of 2026

The United States’ entry into the Second World War, in 1943, completely altered student and faculty life at Willamette. As the fighting went on, Willamette students volunteered for the draft and were sent to local and overseas stations while those on campus adjusted to college education during wartime. In addition to his duties on campus, the school’s Director of Physical Education, Lestle Sparks kept correspondence with many of these students from 1943-1945. In contribution to the war effort, Sparks took up the task of mailing out copies of Willamette Collegian (student newspaper) as “a service of the athletic department for those boys who had represented us in athletics.”1 His correspondence with these students not only reveals the day-to-day experiences of soldiers in war but provides insight into what life was like back on the home front. During the conflict, the university contributed to the war effort by centering wartime needs in the curriculum, following physical education mandates, and hosting a Navy V-12 training unit. Campus life was drastically altered by the changes in athletic programs and the emerging challenge of building relationships between the civilians and their naval counterparts. The loss of life in the war overseas was felt by students and faculty alike, Les Sparks writing to a student, “there have been 155 Salem men reported killed. I am hoping that it will soon be over so that we do not lose more of our young men.”2

Wartime Changes

Due to the war, the United States government requested that universities place more emphasis on physical education and fitness programs which were to focus on instruction as well as competition through intramural and intercollegiate sports.3 As the head of the department, these duties fell to Lestle Sparks. The university centered wartime needs in other disciplines as well, placing emphasis on “classes better designed to help young men win the war,” some of which included physics and math.4 Additionally, a “new class in mechanical drawing was formed and classes in nutrition were offered by the home economics department so that women could equip themselves to do war work.”5 

In addition to the physical education mandate, select schools were contracted to host Navy V-12 training programs. In addition to serving the war effort, participating in these programs could provide schools with financial benefits and government assistance.6 Willamette began its V-12 program after the school signed a contract with the United States Government on November 15th, 1943.7 The recruits underwent an accelerated program, finishing two years of coursework in just over a year. After finishing the program they were sent to midshipman school and eventually deployed as deck officers in the Navy.8 The accelerated program altered many student activities on campus and kept faculty under pressure, in particular Sparks who was in charge of the P.E programs for the V-12.9 These recruits became a large part of life at Willamette, comprising a sizeable portion of the male student population.10 The program caused many changes on campus including the conversion of Lausanne Hall from a women’s dormitory to a V-12 housing building, mess hall, and study space. The women previously housed in Lausanne were moved to sorority and fraternity housing. Additionally, Gatke Hall, the previous home of the College of Law became the Navy administration building that housed the V-12 program in 1944.11

Athletic Programs

Due to the low enrollment of civilian men, the V-12 recruits comprised a large part of Athletic participation on campus and were heavily relied on to field enough players for team sports.12 This reliance created a number of complications as Willamette athletic programs now had to adhere to Navy regulations and eligibility requirements for their V-12 players. Additionally, the high turnover of recruits due to the accelerated program followed by the V-12 unit posed a challenge to the level of participation.13 Athletics also dealt with a lack of intercollegiate competition due to wartime.14

Despite the setbacks of wartime, campus life experienced many positives. As intercollegiate competition wasn’t always possible due to V-12 turnover and regulations, intramural participation became quite popular.15 In September 1945 the university was able to field an intramural football team of forty players to play against one another in two groups: cardinal and gold.16 Additionally, the annual State High School Basketball Tournament held was able to continue through the war, earning a high number of reservations in 1945.17

The 1944 Wallulah captured the challenges of the era with a dedication to its student body: “We dedicate this book to the student body which came to Willamette University in –44, a disorganized group, its navy and civilian factions not knowing how to unite under the confusion and restriction of a wartime world. But gradually… sailors and civilians, with understanding and determination developed a unified activity program and organized college life embodying the spirit that is truly Willamette.”18 

Written Fall 2024

Endnotes

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  1. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to William Stone, November 25, 1944.
  2. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to Lawrence E. Walden, January 12, 1945.
  3. ˆ “Report on the increased needs of the physical education department” 1.
  4. ˆ Wallulah 1943, 6.
  5. ˆ Wallulah 1943, 6.
  6. ˆ Schneider, The Navy V-12 Program : Leadership for a Lifetime, 10.
  7. ˆ “Navy College Contract 9/15/43” Navy V-12 Program, 1943-1944.
  8. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to Wayne Sturdivant, November 17 1944.
  9. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to Tom Oye, December 29 1943.
  10. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to Dan Moses, October 14 1943.
  11. ˆ Wallulah 1944, 13.
  12. ˆ Lestle Sparks letters to C.J Wood, June 5 1945.
  13. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to William Stone, November 25 1944.
  14. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to Joe Van Winkle, March 21 1944.
  15. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to C.J Wood, June 22 1945.
  16. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to William Stone, September 10 1945.
  17. ˆ Lestle Sparks letter to C.J Wood, February 24 1945.
  18. ˆ Wallulah 1944, 39.

Works Referenced

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  • Les Sparks documents, 1942, Subseries A, Box: 2, Folder: 6. Willamette University Athletics Department records, WUA056. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections. https://willamette.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/archival_objects/10044 Accessed August 28, 2024.
  • Moses, Dan, 1943-1944, Box: 1, Folder: 28. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • Navy V-12 Program, 1943-1944, Box 51, Folder 15. Office of the President Records WUA2016-04.
  • Oye, Tom J., 1943-1945, Box: 1, Folder: 30. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • Walden, Lawrence E., 1943-1945, Box: 1, Folder: 39. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • Wallulah 1943, Willamette University Digital Collections, Wallulah (Student Yearbook,) 1943, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/11859. Accessed September 18, 2024.
  • Wallulah 1944, Willamette University Digital Collections, Wallulah (Student Yearbook,) 1944, https://hdl.handle.net/10177/11841. Accessed 28 August 2024.
  • Wood, C. J., 1944, Box: 1, Folder: 40. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • Schneider, James G. The Navy V-12 Program : Leadership for a Lifetime. Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
  • Stone, Wm. (William), 1944-1945, Box: 1, Folder: 35. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • Sturdivant, Wayne, 1944, Box: 1, Folder: 36. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.
  • Van Winkle, J. S., 1943-1944, Box: 1, Folder: 38. Lestle J. Sparks Willamette Students World War II Correspondence collection, WUA086. Willamette University Archives and Special Collections.

Image Citations

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