The Albright campus began to feel the impact of World War II in October 1940, when the Selective Service Act was passed and 70 students and 10 faculty were registered for the draft.

In June 1941, a tuition-free program for engineering, science, management and defense training was offered on campus by the federal government. In November of that same year the Albright College Council of Defense was officially formed. This group of seven students and seven faculty were charged with maintaining an air raid and fire warning system; training persons in first aid; conserving essential materials; and providing aid in the cause of defense during an emergency.

A short 27 days later the Japanese launched their attack on Pearl Harbor. Roy Sharman ’43 remembers the dramatic changes that took place on campus after that fateful attack. Sharman was in the middle of his sophomore year when the United States was pulled into the war. “Programs and sports were diminished or cut and I saw many of my classmates called up for duty,” he says. In February 1943, just three months before he was scheduled to graduate, Sharman was also called to duty. But he was one of the lucky ones. Because of his skills as an interpreter Sharman never left the United States. He served domestically training other soldiers for combat. When he returned to Albright at the war’s end, President Masters awarded him credit for his military training. With his parents at his side, Sharman was presented his diploma in President Masters’ office.

Enrollment was particularly unstable during the war, as students, faculty and staff were all at the mercy of the draft. Eugene Shirk began work on July 1, 1942, as the manager of the Albright athletics faculty. He was called into active duty only five days later.

“Programs and sports were diminished or cut
and I saw many of my classmates called up for duty,”

- Roy Sharman ’43

President Masters made it a point to hold formal farewells for all members of the college community as they headed off to war. In 1942, the spring house along Sylvan Pond was renovated and Sylvan Chapel was created to allow space for private devotions and religious services. All members of the Albright community used the space to pray for the safe return of their family and friends.

Students worked hard to maintain contact with all of the community members who were called to duty. The Albrightian was regularly mailed to service men and women to keep them abreast of current events on campus. Support packages also went out on a regular basis to lift the spirits of those serving their country.

Educational programming in support of the war effort came in many different ways. In 1942, 52 air cadets arrived to begin an eight-week course on the Albright campus. A civilian pilot training course known as “The Flying Lions” was created. The program consisted of three classes – airology, meteorology and celestial navigation. It also included flying lessons conducted at the Reading Airport.

The Army Air Force arrived on campus in 1943 to activate the Seventh College Training Detachment. The government took over all of Selwyn Hall as well as the third floors of Teel and Masters Hall. Full-time students in the regular academic programs were relocated to other buildings on campus and some were even housed in private homes. Every four weeks a new “flight” of students would arrive to replace an outgoing group, maintaining an average of 200 students on campus. Members received military training by the Army, and courses in mathematics, physics, history, geography and English by the College faculty. This program remained on campus until May 1944.

In 1942, the springhouse along Sylvan Pond was renovated and
Sylvan Chapel was created to allow space for private devotions and
religious services. All members of the Albright community used the
space to pray for the safe return of their family and friends.

Polly (Walls) Eshelman ’44 remembers what the campus was like after all but 50 of the male students left and hundreds of soldiers took their place. “All the women on campus were relocated from the dorms to the fraternity houses so no men were left in those buildings.” Eshelman moved out of Selwyn Hall and into the Kappa house. The biggest change for her, she says, was to learn to react to the military guards posted all over the College. “The guards would yell, ‘halt who goes there’ and you needed to know how to respond,” she says.

The most difficult aspect of the war for Albright was when word of a student or faculty fatality reached the campus. Lt. Leslie B. Knox, USN ’38 was the first member of the college community killed in battle. Lt. Knox, a former member of Albright’s 1937 undefeated football team, was reported lost over the Coral Sea on May 7, 1942.

The remains of Knox nor his plane were ever found. A Navy destroyer escort was christened the U.S.S. Leslie L.B. Knox in his honor in 1944.

By the end of the war Albright had lost 19 members of the college community.

- David S. Johnson