While bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, Helen Crossley '42 was singing.

Little did she know that after her Radcliffe Choral Society concert at Brown University, she would return to a college shocked by the news that war had finally reached American soil.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, disrupted the peaceful atmosphere of the Radcliffe Quad. The war which only yesterday had seemed so far away now became an immediate and threatening crisis.

"Pearl Harbor was a surprise," Crossley says. "We weren't quite as close then to the wars as we are now."

The day after the bombing, Radcliffe President Ada L. Comstock addressed the college's entire student body, emphasizing the key role Radcliffe would play in the war and encouraging students to support their country's cause.

"[You] should stay in college until summoned," said Comstock. "Only those with training and experience are needed immediately, and the longer the war lasts, the greater will be the value of the knowledge, imagination and trained skill [you] shall acquire here."

A Double Challenge

For the seniors--the first class to graduate during World War II--the war proved both a challenge to finish the year successfully and an opportunity to explore exciting new careers.

"We were seniors, so the best thing we could do was to finish," says one member of the Radcliffe Class of '42. But, she adds, "We were all doing all that we could to help."

Once sparked, the desire to participate in the war effort spread throughout the classes. Mealtime conversations turned to debate on war-time strategy and politics.

"Our lives changed," says Crossley. "Before the war ... most people didn't think there was anything worth fighting about."

"It changed overnight," she continues. "There was a job to be done and there was far more support because it was a direct attack."

Training for War

The new-found energy translated into a series of war-aid efforts and training sessions to prepare Radcliffe women for the responsibilities of war.

In response to a request from the director of U.S. naval operations, Radcliffe launched a course on cryptanalysis, the study and practice of decoding and sending war-time information.