Lincoln Hall Project
War and the New Era
Service and Sacrifice
Combat and Sacrifice
The University of Illinois received high praise from the military for its assistance in training personnel during World War II. But Illini also made contributions overseas. Almost 20,000 students and alumni and some 600 faculty and staff from the University served in World War II. An estimated 738 of them were killed in service.
Measuring Leftovers and Tire Treads
Sometimes on its own initiative, and sometimes under orders from the government, the University of Illinois rationed essential materials during the war. Campus efforts in this matter were careful and even extreme. Air conditioning was turned off and elevators were shut down. Tires and gasoline were preserved through the close monitoring of odometers and tire treads (tire theft was a problem). In one of the more exhaustive efforts, the University, at the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, carefully weighed food portions and leftovers at eating halls to determine how much food students ate (22.84 lb. per week per student) and how much was thrown away (4.25 lb. per week per student).
Voices of Skepticism
Nerves on campus were frayed in the grim, early months of the war. As the University designated air wardens, erected anti-sabotage lights, and formed war committees, however, some maintained cooler heads. One professor, W.A. Oldfather, mindful of salary cuts, staff reductions, course restrictions, and other cost-saving measures that had already occurred, complained in a letter to his dean that a plan to repave streets in anticipation of possible troop movements was “just a bit too thick,” and quoted Madame Roland: “O Liberty! What crimes are committed in thy name!” At least one administrator at the physical plant agreed with him, though it’s unclear if the dissent affected any paving plans.