AASU
Honors WWII-Era Veterans with Special Collection for Memorial Day
Savannah, GA—May 25, 2005—On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany
invaded Poland and Europe was at war. World War II affected both the
curriculum and the enrollment at Armstrong with many of the male students
exchanging their Big A(rmstrong) sweaters for leather flight jackets.
The great exodus of male students occurred in the spring of 1943,
leaving behind an all-female campus.
In recognition of the 60th anniversary of World War II, Armstrong
Atlantic State University has created a special collection of war-era
memorabilia on display in the lobby of Solms Hall. Several university
librarians and a historian designed the exhibit and a companion web
site (http://www.library.armstrong.edu/greatestgen_2.html) to celebrate
the lives and contributions of "America's Greatest Generation."
Several veterans will visit the campus at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 27,
to view the special collection and share some of their favorite wartime
stories.
The exhibit provides details on the sudden addition of courses in
navigation, map-reading, military terminology, and wartime French
that were added to the college curriculum following the outbreak of
war. It also describes how the veterans returned at war's end with
G.I. pay checks and a lively presence that thrilled the girls.
The collection is based on the exhibit curated by Caroline Hopkinson,
reference librarian and head of special collections. All text was
written by Dr. Janet Stone of the history department. Jenna Rinalducci,
reference and instruction librarian, created the online exhibit based
on the work of Ms. Hopkinson and Dr. Stone.
