War Figures Released

A special issue of the CRIMSON on December 7, 1943, showed that some 19,000 Harvard men had entered military service, and the figure was still climbing. Almost 200 had been killed, taken prisoner, or were missing in action. The civilian enrollment had plunged to new depths, while the service personnel in training at the University had increased to a high of nearly 6,800; or more than four times the size of the civilian student body. Harvard was definitely at war.

Plans, perhaps premature, were already being made late in 1943 for the ultimate reconversion to peace. Long before the G.I. Bill of Rights hit the floor of Congress, President Conant and others were making tentative decisions for accommodating returning servicemen.

Civilian Enrollment Drops

Despite the continuing success of the war effort, however, the needs of the Armed Forces were growing and, correspondingly, the civilian enrollment of the University was decreasing. The bottom was reached at the beginning of the past summer term, when the total enrollment went down to 1,284 civilians, the smallest figure in 69 years, and a far cry from the peacetime averages of some 8,000 in the University.

With post-war plans being made with more assurance, the University entered its 309th year with 1900 civilians, 145 of them discharged veterans. Harvards participation in the war had reached its maximum--reconversion was, and is, still a long way off.