World War II
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World War II
More than 15,000 Columbians served in the armed forces during World War II. As many as 450 are reported to have died. Among the first was Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, who earned an MS in engineering at the University in 1917, and who received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroism as the captain of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
Beginning in 1942, Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus served as a training center for the Navy. It used twelve Columbia-owned buildings to house a Midshipmen’s School that trained more than 20,000 officer candidates during the next four years for duty in the fleet. In addition, Columbia was a site for the Navy’s V-12 programs, which trained doctors and dentists for military service. A third program, the Military Government School, was established under the direction of Professor Schuyler Wallace of the Department of Government to train a cadre of Naval officers to handle the administration of occupied territories. These contributions to the war effort gave the military a strong presence on the Columbia campus, a presence that was recorded in many ways, including in the artwork of the students who illustrated the yearbooks during the war years.
As in World War I, the College of Physicians and Surgeons created a hospital in Europe to minister to the wounded, following U.S. troops first to England and later to France, sometimes operating in hospitals behind the lines and at other times in tents nearer the front. In addition, in 1942, the College organized the Second General Hospital on the Washington Heights campus to treat soldiers and sailors who were sent home due to the severity of their wounds. Staffed with 65 doctors and 120 nurses, the facility remained in operation until June 1945.
Columbians also supported the war effort through their research. For example, the Manhattan Project was started at the University in 1940, and members of the faculty made contributions to the improvement of the detection capacity of radar.
At the end of the conflict, many veterans enrolled in the University with support from the G.I. Bill of Rights. Other veterans resumed academic careers as members of the faculty or joined the administrative ranks of the University.
Midshipmen entering the gates of Columbia University, circa 1943.
Alumni who perished in this war
| A - Architecture | J - Journalism |
| BARD - Bard College | L - School of Law |
| BU - Business | OPT - Optometry |
| CC - Columbia College | PH - Pharmacy |
| DEN - Dental & Oral Surgery | PS - Physicians & Surgeons |
| ENG - Engineering | TC - Teachers College |
| EXT - University Extension | UNC - Unconfirmed |
| GR - Graduate Faculties |
| Name | School | Year | Date of Death |
| Adams, Jr., John Popkin | L | 1943 | August, 1943 |
| Allingham, George Edmond | TC | 1939 | April 11, 1945 |
| Altglass, Edward Altglass | BU | 1935 | April 3, 1943 |
| Andrews, John Rankin | CC | 1946 | February 24, 1944 |
| Austin, Donald E. | L | 1941 | |
| Bamberger, Alan Jordan | CC, L | 1936, 1938 | March 24, 1943 |
| Bangs, Jr., Francis Nathan | CC | 1940 | December 18, 1944 |
| Barnes III, Albert McClellan | L | 1940 | May 5, 1944 |
| Bartlett, John Phillip | CC | 1939 | November, 1942 |
| Bayer, Philip Palmer | TC | 1942 | September 18, 1944 |
| Berck, Maurice Marshall | CC | 1925 | January 4, 1943 |
| Bergamini, Jr., John Van Wie | CC | 1942 | July 28, 1944 |
| Berta, John Joseph | CC | 1945 | June 8, 1944 |
| Bertull, Henry | CC | 1938 | August 28, 1944 |
| Bezazian, Harold Arsene | J | 1934 | March 11, 1945 |
| Blanchard, John | J | 1937 | September 30, 1945 |
| Bode, Bruce Herbert | BU | 1944 | February 2, 1945 |
| Bolen, Edward James | CC | 1945 | |
| Boles, Burton B. | UNC | ||
| Bowden, Herbert Ellis | CC, BU | 1940, 1940 | March 26, 1945 |
| Bowdery, George John | CC | 1937 | April 5, 1945 |
| Brand, John Eliot | BARD | 1936-1939 | March 12, 1945 |
| Brugge, Byron E. | CC | 1930 | March 4, 1945 |
| Bruns, Christopher Leslie | ENG | 1908 | July 10, 1943 |
| Budington, Thomas Gunton | CC, BU | 1937, 1938 | MIA October 25, 1944 |
| Buettner, Edward Charles | CC | 1945 | October 17, 1944 |
| Burgess, Jr., Julian Howard | CC | 1940 | July 2, 1944 |
| Burke, John | CC, L | 1932, 1934 | March 31, 1946 |
| Busch, Frederick Anderson | CC | 1941 | June 13, 1943 |
| Byrne, Austin Patrick | CC | 1941 | August 5, 1944 |
| Candiello, S. Albert | ENG | 1940 | January 1, 1943 |
| Carberry, Vincent James | BU | 1940 | |
| Cassell, Clement Lloyd | CC | 1944 | August 15, 1944 |
| Cassidy, Edward | UNC | 1930s | November 11, 1944 |
| Chamberlin, Theodore L. | PH | ||
| Chermak, Jerry J. | CC | 1943 | |
| Christianson, Jr., Thomas Cornell | BU, CC | 1939 | April 28, 1905 |
| Clarke, Jr., William Joseph | CC | 1941 | January 6, 1945 |
| Cohn, Walter J. | CC | 1943 | June 5, 1945 |
| Colwin, Jr., Martin Bruce | CC | 1938 | |
| Connolly, Dixon Petherick | OPT | 1942 | July 24, 1945 |
| Convoy, James G. | L | 1913 | |
| Cook, Robert Seabury | BARD | January 23, 1944 | |
| Cooper, Leonard Sidney | PH | 1943 | September 27, 1944 |
| Cooper, Leslie B. | L | 1918 | October 18, 1944 |
| Cothran, Walter Monroe | CC | 1941 | |
| Curtis, Leslie LaVerne | CC, GR, L | 1920, 1921, 1922 | December 9, 1944 |
| Cuthbert, Jr., George Kydd | CC | 1943 | April 18, 1945 |
| Davis, John Edward | A | 1945 | August 19, 1944 |
| Dawson, Richard | PH | June 6, 1944 | |
| De Soucey, Joseph Edward | BU | July, 1944 | |
| Deacy, James T. | J | 1936 | July 13, 1944 |
| Dean, James Peyton | CC | November 19, 1943 | |
| Dehnert, Henry John, Jr. | ENG | 1946 | February 23, 1945 |
| DeJarnette, James B. | CC | July 8, 1944 | |
| Des Marets, Jr., Herbert Neville | CC | 1930 | July 29, 1944 |
| DeWitt, Paul B. | L | 1942 | August 25, 1944 |
| Di Sesa, Richard Henry | CC | 1946 | August 31, 1945 |
| Dounce, Roger Esty | CC | 1942 | February 21, 1946 |
| Drogula, Ralph Lee | BARD | September 22, 1942 | |
| Dunbar, Glenn Stanley | CC | 1937 | June 14, 1945 |
| Dunn, Robert James | CC | 1942 | July 4, 1944 |
| Durnan, Thomas Richard | CC | 1941 | October 1, 1944 |
| Duschatko, Alfred Maloch | CC, PS | 1938, 1942 | December 16, 1944 |
| Dutile, Yope | UNC | ||
| Eckerson, Edwin B. | PS | 1931 | April 28, 1945 |
| Ehrichs, William Holcombe | CC | 1937 | |
| Eiwen, Frank Wendlin | CC | December 3, 1944 | |
| Epstein, Julius | CC, DEN | 1934 | |
| Evers, William Clancy | CC, L | 1940, 1943 | February 26, 1945 |
| Evison, Robert Appleton | CC | July 31, 1944 | |
| Fairbrook, Warren Seelye | BU | 1940 | March 27, 1945 |
| Fairchild, Jr., Willard | EXT | 1937-1938 | May 1, 1942 |
| Feigen, Melvin | PH | 1940 | July 13, 1943 |
| Feinberg, Sydney Charles | CC | December 25, 1944 | |
| Fisher, Wayne A. | PS | 1938 | January 9, 1945 |
| Foshay, Morgan | BU | November 21, 1942 | |
| Fowler, Denman | L | 1937 | April 23, 1943 |
| Fredericks, George Robert | CC | 1944 | April 1, 1945 |
| Fredericks, Williams | UNC | MIA June 1945 | |
| Freidman, Leo Mitchell | CC | ||
| Frelinghuysen, Theodore | L | 1936 | February 19, 1943 |
| Frese, Raymond L. | L | 1943 | April 6, 1944 |
| Fritz, George Henry | CC | 1944 | July 15, 1944 |
| Froehlich, Charles J. | CC, BU | 1940, 1940 | August 20, 1942 |
| Fuglseth, Tor | CC | 1944 | November 19, 1944 |
| Gendar, John Richard | CC, BU | 1940 | |
| Gifford, Jr., James Parsons | CC | 1941 | July 25, 1945 |
| Gillespie, Jr., John Stuart | CC | 1931 | April 23, 1942 |
| Gillespie, William Hildreth | PS | 1938 | June 7, 1945 |
| Gillmore, Sigmund (Goldberg) | CC, L | 1939, 1942 | December 9, 1944 |
| Gittins, Clarence Elmore | CC | 1944 | December, 1944 |
| Goodman, Howard K. | L | 1941 | |
| Gore, Herbert Robert | CC | 1929 | July 26, 1944 |
| Granetz, Abraham Bernard | DEN | 1939 | October 11, 1946 |
| Greenbaum, Jerome William | CC | 1934 | December 7, 1944 |
| Greenfield, Morris I. | L | 1934 | June 1, 1944 |
| Gunter, Manning | PS | 1938 |
NROTC Officers in front of Low Library surrounded by flags and banners
| Name | School | Year | Date of Death |
| Hagstrom, Carl Gustaf | CC | August 30, 1945 | |
| Halbrecht, Samuel Abraham | CC | May 18, 1944 | |
| Hale, William Goodwin | BARD | January 30, 1944 | |
| Hall, John O. | CC | 1937 | MIA July 1943 |
| Haltom, Winfield Scott | BU | 1923 | December 15, 1944 |
| Hansen, William D. | L | 1942 | MIA April 30, 1943 |
| Hanson, John Dennett | CC | 1932 | April 27, 1905 |
| Harrison, Jr., J. Robert | CC | ||
| Hartwell, Griffith | CC | 1944 | April 12, 1945 |
| Hawkes, Albert W. | L | 1935 | |
| Hegblom, Allen | PH | ||
| Heider, Donald Peter | CC | 1946 | March 19, 1945 |
| Hetfield, Francis Ward | BU | November 8, 1946 | |
| Hildenbrand, John Charles | CC | December 19, 1944 | |
| Holt, John Ernest | CC | ||
| Houghton, Royal A. | CC | 1928 | November 21, 1939 |
| Howett, Paul David | CC | Winter 1945 | |
| Hoyt, John D. H. | BU | 1923 | January 8, 1943 |
| Huber, Jr., Charles Eugene | CC | ||
| Hughes, Jr., Harold Kenneth | CC | 1934 | MIA July 1943 |
| Hyland, Joseph Matthew | ENG | 1942 | January 13, 1946 |
| Jacobius, Herman Lawrence | CC | 1936 | September 23, 1944 |
| Johnson, Harry Bradbury | CC | 1942 | September 7, 1945 |
| Johnston, Donald Elliott | CC | ||
| Jones, Holcomb E. M. | CC | 1940 | August 8, 1943 |
| Joseph, Jacob (Jack) | CC | 1940 | October 22, 1942 |
| Kamen, Paul | DEN | 1941 | April 20, 1945 |
| Kantzler, Conrad Louis | CC, TC | 1940, 1941 | September 13, 1944 |
| Katz, Alton H. | CC | 1936 | |
| Katz, Lester | DEN | 1946 | |
| Kelly, Robert Harry | CC | 1944 | November 24, 1945 |
| Kimmelsman, Jay Maurice | CC | 1946 | January 15, 1945 |
| King, Robert Nicholas | L | 1938 | December 7, 1941 |
| Kingston, Paul Williams | BARD | ||
| Kirchmer, Harold Frederick | CC, PS | 1934, 1938 | July 28, 1945 |
| Kirkman, Robert | CC | ||
| Kleeberg, Gordon Saul | CC, L | 1907 | |
| Kline, Edward F. | CC, PS | 1928, 1931 | April 25, 1905 |
| Klube, Robert | CC | April 24, 1945 | |
| Knott, Widnell D. | CC | 1939 | September 3, 1944 |
| Kober, William Melvin | CC | 1934 | August 29, 1944 |
| Koceniak, John Joseph | PH | 1945 | |
| Krakes, Victor F. | CC | July 1, 1945 | |
| Kuser, John Mitchell | CC | June 26, 1943 | |
| Lamont, Rogers S. | L | 1924 | May 27, 1940 |
| Lang, William A. | UNC | ||
| LaRosa, Julius | CC | February 22, 1945 | |
| Lawson, James Brooks | CC, BARD | ||
| Lee, Kenneth Gordon | CC, ENG | 1935, 1937 | June 8, 1942 |
| Lemmon, Thomas W. | L | 1936 | |
| Leroy, Jean Louis | CC | 1945 | |
| Levinson, Louis I. | GR | 1931 | October 24, 1944 |
| Linz, John Clarence | CC, L | 1934, 1936 | May 6, 1945 |
| Lowe, Harry | CC | ||
| Lussier, Alfred O. | UNC | ||
| Lyons, Alfred Labori | CC | 1922 | April 28, 1945 |
| MacDonald, John Alger | CC | 1946 | November 11, 1944 |
| Mack, Ira James | CC | 1932 | |
| Mackenzie, John Grant | PS | 1941 | September 4, 1943 |
| Magin, Louis Hughes | UNC | April 7, 1945 | |
| Maloy, Joseph H. | L | 1943 | October 22, 1944 |
| Mansell, Paul Allan | CC | 1940 | |
| Mara, Raymond P. | CC | 1940 | January 7, 1945 |
| Marino, Mario A. | CC | April 19, 1945 | |
| Marshall, Pardee | L | 1938 | April 19, 1945 |
| Mason, Newton Henry | DEN | 1943 | |
| Masterson, John L. | CC | ||
| Maxon, James M. | J | 1931 | September 18, 1941 |
| McCraw, Nelson Stewart | BU | ||
| McCuistion, John Ed | CC | ||
| McDonnell, Jr., Alexander Angus | L | 1942 | June 20, 1944 |
| McGuinness, Jr., Raymond Joseph | CC | ||
| McKenzie, John Grant | PS | 1941 | |
| Mersereau, Robert | UNC | ||
| Millen, Harry Charles | CC | 1933 | March 20, 1944 |
| Miller, John Anthony | CC | 1946 | February 8, 1945 |
| Miller, Robert Sanford | CC | ||
| Mohr, George C. | CC | ||
| Moller, John Thomas | CC | ||
| Moller, Paul Andrew | CC | ||
| Morrison, John R. | L | 1934 | April 27, 1945 |
| Moser, Rene Norman | BU | March 29, 1941 | |
| Movelle, Paul Thomas | CC | 1941 | January 17, 1943 |
| Mullen, John Joseph | UNC | ||
| Muss, Larry | CC | 1946 | |
| Nate, Jr., Joseph | J | ||
| Neuman, David Leonard | ENG | 1913 | November 24, 1944 |
| Neville, Francis William | CC, BU | 1940, 1941 | |
| Nierengarden, John S. | CC | 1944 |
Navy Review on campus, 1944-1945
| Name | School | Year | Date of Death |
| O'Brien, James Milton | CC | 1944 | |
| O'Connell, James Joseph | CC | ||
| Ostapow, Edward T. | UNC | August 2, 1944 | |
| Packard, Harry B. | GR | 1939 | December 15, 1944 |
| Pangalos, George M. | UNC | January 15, 1944 | |
| Pellicci, Pasquale Mario | CC | 1943 | April 11, 1945 |
| Perine, Irving Van Gilder | UNC | Augst 21, 1942 | |
| Perry, Joseph | CC | 1945 | |
| Pessin, Lewis David | BARD | ||
| Peterson, James H. | UNC | ||
| Pfeil, William Herbert | CC | 1945 | April 25, 1905 |
| Phelan, John James | CC | 1935 | April 15, 1945 |
| Piccirilli, Nathan Fabio | CC, GR | 1939, 1941 | |
| Pinter, Bruce Edmund | J | 1933 | December 3, 1944 |
| Pitcher, Lynn Richardson | BARD | February 18, 1945 | |
| Plante, Amos Alexander | CC | May 23, 1945 | |
| Plese, Thomas Michael | CC | 1944 | September 9, 1944 |
| Porterfield, Joseph Arthur | BU | 1941 | December 19, 1944 |
| Procita, Gerald | CC, L | 1945 | February 19, 1945 |
| Puglisi, John | CC | March 10, 1945 | |
| Rafferty, William Edward | UNC | ||
| Rahmstorf, Warren H. | CC | 1943 | October 1, 1942 |
| Ralston, Thomas H. | L | 1943 | October 19, 1944 |
| Rapp, Alvin | L | 1944 | |
| Redes, Rosario Robert | CC | 1942 | |
| Reidy, Daniel C. | BU | 1937 | May 6, 1944 |
| Ripley, Warren Albro | BARD | ||
| Robbins, Eugene | BARD | ||
| Roche, James Michael | CC | ||
| Rogers, Jr., Sanford | CC | 1941 | June 26, 1944 |
| Roseberry, William John | J | ||
| Rosenberg, Martin John | CC | 1946 | MIA November 5, 1944 |
| Russell, Henry Potter | CC | March 3, 1943 | |
| Samuel, Harry Lawrence | CC | 1924 | December, 1944 |
| Schlesinger, Stanley Allen | L | 1939, 1941 | November 25, 1944 |
| Schwartz, Sidney | L | 1939 | August 11, 1944 |
| Seixas, Jr., Everett M. | L | 1935 | December 27, 1944 |
| Shanley, James Vincent | CC | 1941 | August 4, 1944 |
| Sharp, William L. | L | 1942 | February 26, 1945 |
| Shedden, Robert L. | L | 1943 | January 22, 1943 |
| Sica, Robert Joseph | CC | 1943 | August 1, 1944 |
| Siddall, John R. | PH | ||
| Sideri, Rudolph David | CC | 1946 | October 28, 1944 |
| Siegal, Norman Jay | UNC | 1943-1944 | |
| Simmons, Conrad Christopher | CC | 1921 | June 24, 1944 |
| Skalski, Gus Stanely | CC | January 12, 1941 | |
| Skinner, Charles B. | PS | 1941 | March 23, 1944 |
| Smith, Florence | UNC | November 1, 1943 | |
| Sommerville, Robert Gibson | CC, BU | 1937, 1938 | October 25, 1944 |
| Spencer, Jr., Herbert | UNC | ||
| Standerwick, Jr., Henry Fischer | CC, PS | 1935, 1940 | January 5, 1943 |
| Stavers, Stephen | CC, GR | 1940, 1941 | September 18, 1944 |
| Stevens, David Stetson | BARD | ||
| Stoller, William | UNC | ||
| Stricker, George Jacques | PS | 1940 | October 5, 1945 |
| Taylor, Edward Jessup | ENG | 1926 | |
| Thoman, William Perley | CC | 1942 | June 24, 1943 |
| Thomas, William Herman | CC | 1945 | |
| Tilghman, George Hammond | EXT | 1920-1922 | January 3, 1944 |
| Turino, Thomas Robert | PS | 1931 | MIA July 19, 1944 |
| Unhoch, Philip George | CC | 1940 | November 7, 1944 |
| Upton, Robert Carleton | BARD | ||
| Vagoun, Edward Jerrome | CC | 1942 | May 14, 1945 |
| Vail, William Henry | PS | 1939 | September 19, 1942 |
| Van Valkenburgh, Franklin | ENG | 1917 | December 7, 1941 |
| Veitch, Jr., Charles Veitch | CC | 1945 | |
| Vincent, James Michael | CC | ||
| Wainwright, Talcott | PS | 1933 | April 19, 1945 |
| Waller, Russell | CC | 1944 | |
| Ward, Milton J. | UNC | February 20, 1945 | |
| Warner, Harry | CC | ||
| Weinberg, Howard George | CC | 1944 | April 6, 1945 |
| Weinrib, Morton Coleman | DEN | 1940 | September 29, 1944 |
| Werner, Donald Pierre | CC | ||
| Wheeler, Henry Smeallie | CC, ENG | 1940, 1942 | August 23, 1943 |
| Wheeler, Joseph Towne | L | 1939 | October 25, 1944 |
| Wight, Douglas Robert | CC | March 27, 1944 | |
| Williams, Francis Morgan | CC, PS | 1933, 1937 | March 24, 1942 |
| Wing, Lucius Townshend | PS | ||
| Winterbottom, Harry Vincent | BARD | 1941 | January 9, 1945 |
| Wladyka, Alexander Luke | CC | 1946 | |
| Wolff, Clifford Martin | CC | 1938 | MIA July 1943 |
| Wood, Alden Nelson | CC | 1942 | MIA July 4, 1943 |
| Wortis, Herman L. | PH | August 23, 1942 | |
| Zasuly, Lester | CC | January, 1945 | |
| Zelinsky, Robert Martin | CC | January 4, 1945 |