----------------------------------------------------------------- NAVY & MARINE CORPS WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE COMMITTEE A service of Navy Chief of Information Office (703)695-3161/DSN 225-3161 ----------------------------------------------------------------- V-12: The Navy College Training Program By Carolyn Alison WWII Committee The V-12 Navy College Training Program was initiated in 1943 to meet both the immediate and long-range needs for commissioned officers to man ships, fly planes and command troops called to duty in World War II. When the draft age was lowered to 18 in November 1942, the Navy quickly foresaw a shortage of college-educated officers for its operations. Likewise, hundreds of the nationžs colleges and universities feared economic collapse without students to fill suddenly empty classrooms. Help came from the federal government with the creation of the V-12 Navy College Training Program. V-12 accepted students already enrolled in the Navy and Marine Corps college reserve programs, enlisted men who were recommended by their commanding officers and high school seniors who passed a nationwide qualifying examination. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, over 125,000 college-age men were enrolled at 131 colleges and universities throughout the United States in the V-12 program. Fifteen thousand of these men were in the Marines Corps V-12 section of the program. All those in V-12 were on active duty, in uniform and subject to a very strict form of military discipline. Approximately 60,000 of those in the program were eventually commissioned as Navy ensigns or Marine Corps second lieutenants. V-12 schools ran the gamut from the Ivy League and large state universities to small, church-associated colleges in very small towns. V-12 participants were required to carry 17 credit hours and nine and one-half hours of physical training each week. Study was year-round, three terms of four months each. The number of terms for a trainee depended on his previous college background, if any, and his course of study. From the V-12 program, most of the Navy trainees went on to a four-month course at a reserve midshipmenžs school, and the Marines went to boot camp and then to the 12-week Officer Candidate Course at Quantico, Virginia. The curriculum was heavy on math and science for "regulars" -- or those entering college for the first time. "Irregulars," those students who already had some college credit, were allowed to continue in their majors with the addition of a course or two in mathematics and science. Blacks were allowed to enroll in the V-12 program in late March 1943, nearly a year before there were any black officers in the Navy. One black who gained prominence in the Navy after his V-12 graduation was Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr., the first black to command a Navy warship and the first black to advance to the rank of admiral. Referring to his experience, Gravely said: "The V-12 program was a turning point in my life. It gave me an opportunity to compete on an equal footing with people I had never competed with before. It gave me an opportunity to prove to myself that I could succeed if I tried." The V-12 program thrust heavy responsibilities upon young men at an early age. At least 38 admirals and 20 generals can trace their first officer training back to the V-12 program. Other V-12s who went on to prominence in many fields include: Senators Howard H. Baker Jr., Daniel P. Moynihan and Jeremiah A. Denton Jr.; former FBI director William Webster; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; business leaders Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. and Harold A. Poling; football coach George H. Allen; musician Roger Williams; writer William Styron; and entertainment personalities Johnny Carson and Jack Lemmon. The V-12 program was an unqualified success in meeting the urgent need for Navy and Marine Corps commissioned officers for duty in World War II. It also had a major impact on American education. Commandant of the 9th Naval District Rear Admiral John Downes remarked on the uniqueness of the V-12 program just 14 days after it began on July 1, 1943. Speaking to the V-12s at Northwestern University, Downes said, "For the first time on any large scale, men are allowed to go to college, not on the basis of social prestige or financial ability, but upon their own merit." The V-12 program provided educational and military leaders to the nation for the pivotal 40 years after the waržs end. Source Schneider, James G. The Navy V-12 Program; Leadership for a Lifetime. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Navy & Marine Corps World War II Commemorative Committee Navy Office of Information (CHINFO) The Pentagon, Room 2E352 Washington, DC 20350-1200 -----------------------------------------------------------------