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Volume CXXXII, Number 23 |
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Remembrance at the memorial reunion
KID WONGSRICHANALAI
STAFF WRITER
On Saturday, June 4, 1994 Bowdoin College alumni, students, faculty, staff, guests, and family members gathered in front of Gibson Hall to dedicate "The Bowdoin Memorial," which commemorated the College's sons, who had given their lives in the defense of their country during three global conflicts-the Second World War, the Korean War, and Vietnam.
As part of the usually joyous reunion weekend, this solemn ceremony brought together many Bowdoin veterans and civilians who had lived through the troubling times of the mid-twentieth century. Made of pure Maine granite, and flanked by two low granite walls and a low granite bench, the Memorial was etched with one hundred and eleven names representing men from forty-four different Bowdoin classes. It was the final tribute to many generations of men who had given all they had so that their country-and with it, their college, family, and friends-might live on.
At the close of World War II there were many gatherings like this one-men who had traveled the world came together, shook hands, reminisced about old times, and remembered their classmates who had not returned. One of these who did not return was Andrew A. Haldane, who had been killed in action on Peleliu Island in 1944. In his memory, men who had known him and who respected him as a leader, a friend, and a very decent human being came together and donated the Haldane Cup, which is awarded annually to the graduating senior who has shown the most outstanding leadership character. It was a fitting tribute.
There were countless heroes in the Second World War, and the Bowdoin community was happy to know many of them. From the frontlines there came dozens of Purple Hearts, Distinguished Unit Citations, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stars, Air Medals, Croix de Guerre, Distinguished Flying Crosses, and even one Congressional Medal of Honor. Yet, these ribbons and pieces of metal speak to only a mere fraction of the courage and the dedication that Bowdoin men endured along with those of their generation. From the field of battle to laboratories where cures for deadly diseases were found to the small offices where intelligence gatherers hunted and sifted through mounds of information that could save lives or turn the tide of a battle, there were men who, with their lives and souls, kept faith in their cause even when the hour was darkest.
Kenneth C. M. Sills, who had lived and led his beloved college through yet another world war, was glad when the Japanese finally surrendered in August 1945. During the war, the mother of a Bowdoin man killed in action wrote, "I think I write all this to you because you, without a son, have yet so many sons of Bowdoin, and many of these fine boys whom you have helped and cared for are now dying in battle." It was true that the Second World War had been very hard. Sills personally mourned the death of his students and friends, and when the guns finally fell silent, he was glad, not only because the killing would stop, but also because many would be returning to the college to finish their education and many new faces would also appear to take the places of those who were no more-in short, the business of educating American's youth could continue unabated now that the war had been ended.
Dozens of Bowdoin men, who had had their college careers interrupted, returned to finish their studies. Armed with the new GI Bill, hundreds of other veterans also joined up to take classes. Amidst the Bowdoin Pines there was once again laughter and cheer and partying. The men who had faced down the great evils of the world could now return to their civilian lives, relax, and complete their education. Again the house parties roared with singing and dancing and again the small college in Maine, which had weathered many crises, got back on track as the Chapel bells tolled the beginning of classes.
As the men, young and old, veteran and freshman, filed into the Chapel, as generations had done before them, Kenneth Sills imparted messages for the future of the world. Of course he welcomed the men back to campus, but he also warned them that the new atomic age was not one that guaranteed peace. Fear of annihilation alone cannot prevent wars, he said; rather, it was true human understanding that was man's only hope for a continued peace. A few years later the Korean War broke out and again Sills led the college through its bloody months, watching again as students were sent across the Pacific to shed blood and die for their country. As an educator and the symbol of Bowdoin to generations of graduates, Sills had also seen much of the death and destruction in the world. It must have been strange for him to be a man who could craft marvelous prose and teach students to love each other, only to wave his students off to war after war. Seven years after the close of the Second World War, Sills would walk away from Bowdoin, retiring after three decades as its president. For those who knew him, an era had ended.
Before Sills left, however, he spoke to the graduates of the Class of 1946 and to the returning veterans in the first commencement since the start of World War II. On a beautiful Maine day, amidst a large crowd of onlookers and old friends, with the U.S. flag flying proudly in the blue sky, Kenneth Sills rose, smiled at the family, which was gathered before him, and read the address he had entitled "Prisoners of Hope." In this ten-page speech Sills spoke of the continuing challenges. Yes, peace had been won, he said but the greater challenge was now learning to keep it. He entrusted this task to the graduates. "Every one of you," he said, "must from now on study with all your energy and might before this country and the world."
In whatever field and in the many different ways of studying the world's problems, Sills emphasized understanding between people. Only when there was understanding, he said, could there be "unity and good-will." In conclusion, the President wished them well, saying that he had faith "that you will give a good account of yourselves in peace as in war…" Bowdoin College, he reminded them, would follow each one of them, "with interest and affection unto your life's end."
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This concludes my World War II Series. I have been unable to cover many aspects of the war and have been unable to tell many stories of courage and bravery by the thousands of Bowdoin men who served with great distinction and great commitment during that trying conflict. It is to them and to their generation that this series of articles is dedicated.
This also concludes my undergraduate writing for the Bowdoin Orient. I am moving on to the graduate world at the University of Virginia, but I leave you with a successor. I am passing the torch onto Kathryn Ostrofsky '06, a promising and enthusiastic student of history. I trust you will enjoy her stories and her writing.
It has been a long four years, and it has been an incredible journey for me. I hope that you have enjoyed my exploration of Bowdoin's Civil War figures, as well as this attempt to broaden my horizons and tell the story of men from the 1930s and 1940s. I thank you for all the very kind letters I have received in the past years and hope that Bowdoin's history-as well as the history of this great country-will continue to fascinate you in the years to come. If I've learned one thing in writing these articles, it is that there is no end to the courageous deeds that Bowdoin men have done in their lives. Many other stories remain to be told. I urge you to find them and to tell others about them. Our past and our history are things that we cannot afford to loose or forget. Many are the tales of greatness and goodness. They inspire and guide us in our own troubled times. The study of their virtue and their strength can only make us better. That, I believe, should be our ultimate goal.
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In writing these series I have the following people to thank:
Belinda Lovett '02, my first editor and the one who got me to actually start this long journey. Everett, Eleanor & Laurence Pope, (Classes of 1941 & 1967) for their friendship and kindness; Ed Langbein '57; John Cross '76; Janet Cross; Robert Cross '45; Sherman Spector '50; Richard Burston '49; Richard Johnstone '44; Henry Shorey '41; Robert Page '41; Kevin Wesley '89; Joanie Taylor '03; Anne Chamberlain '03; Prof. Steven R. Cerf; Prof. Patrick J. Rael; Prof. David J. Silbey; Charlotte Magnuson; John W. Claghorn IV '04; Kathryn Ostrofsky '06; Ian Graham, Caroline Mosley, Kathy Peterson and the staff of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives.
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