Students graduating at the time regarded the presence on campus of the nation's premier military leaders as logical given the post-war atmosphere on campus and Harvard's reputation.
"The speakers were among the most prestigious speakers in the world," says Collins, now a lawyer in Milton, Mass. "At that time in my life, I just expected it."
"That was the first Commencement after the war was all over, so I'm sure the powers that be thought that was the time to say thank you to the military," says Robert S. Sturgis '44, a former Crimson president who graduated in 1947.
Regardless of the wartime problems that still remained by Commencement 1946, students still retained hope for the future.
"There was a feeling of relief at coming out of the war," Sturgis says. "We had all sorts of expectations of a great new life."
"We were not long out of our teens, and we were really starting out," reminisces Sturgis, who is now an architect.
Unlike today, there was no controversy over the issue of the military in 1946.
"We were certainly not having any argument about ROTC on campus," says Sturgis, laughing. "It wasn't as though the military was an issue. There was no discussion over whether it was a good thing or not. It was clearly a fact of life."