Contract students are those who sign deferment agreements which protect them from the draft for four years. They are graduated as reservists subject only to call by the Secretary of Defense in case of emergencies. In their last two years, contract students are paid about $25 a month.
Most of the excitement of the R.O.T.C. courses comes in the summer months when the men go on training tours. In the winters, the semi-service life isn't as spectacular.
The artillerymen train at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for six weeks before their senior year. There they work out in the field tactical problems which they have done on paper and sand-table models through the winter. Live ammunition is brought up for the 105 m.m. howitzers which are used in dry runs at College. The soldiers live at camp with other members of the "Ivy League Battery."
Soft Sea Breezes
The Air Force has discontinued its summer program for all but a few. Although the Korean war may interfere with its plans this year, the Navy believes in sending its men to sea. Contract students take one cruise before their last year in College, in the past lasting three weeks and often going to some North American seaport such as Quebec.
Hawaii, Norway, France, or the Caribbean beckon the regular sailors who take three six-week summer cruises during their College careers. All the men perform regular shipboard duties at sea, but once ashore they try to duplicate Cambridge football weekends.
Men in the reserve units stick together outside of the classroom. Many extracurricular activities are sponsored by the groups themselves to keep up an esprit de corps. Rifle matches, basketball games, mimeographed tabloids, dances, and movies help relieve the monotony of the courses.
Upward and Onward
The history of the Harvard R.O.T.C. units goes back to an 864-man infantry regiment, established in 1916. President Lowell arranged for a mission of wounded French officers, including Andre Morize, now professor of French Literature, to come here to teach the latest battle tactics. Soon after, membership in undergraduate clubs was limited to those who could prove that they belonged to the voluntary regiment.
The Naval R.O.T.C. at Harvard was one of the first six in the country at its creation in 1926. The original six were the only college N.R.O.T.C. groups until after World War II when a 52-unit chain was set up over the country.
After the World War II programs ended, the present Army and Navy R.O.T.C. setups returned to Cambridge. The arrival of the Air Force in 1947 completed the lineup.