William R. Cronin ’61 says that ROTC was well known to some, but as ROTC classes were held near the old Scientific Labs past Memorial Hall, cadets and midshipmen only encountered a certain segment of the Harvard population. And the students in ROTC only wore their uniforms on occasion, for training and classes.

But there remained some tensions with the broader College community—although the former cadets say they were based on frivolous humor rather than anti-military sentiment. Morgan remembers non-ROTC students “having fun at our expense” and teasing the ROTC students with jokes about military careers.

But despite the teasing, Morgan says, “We weren’t castigated at all. It was sort of a fun difference.”

A FREE EDUCATION

However, there remained key differences in the experiences of ROTC students and others at Harvard in 1961.

At a time when financial aid was not prevalent, a number of participants in ROTC received scholarships from the military.

Some, like John R. Verani ’61, received money that covered their entire tuition, plus room and board. He says that when he agreed to serve four years in the Navy, the financial aid he received allowed him to go to Harvard, as his parents could not have afforded the tuition.

“It was an opportunity for me to have a Harvard education in exchange for the commitment,” he says.

Other students received funding only to pay for the extra ROTC courses they took.

In addition, all ROTC students participated in mandatory summer training.

Naval ROTC students were required to go on at least one summer cruise while at Harvard, while cadets of the other services fulfilled other missions. Verani’s cruises as a midshipman took him to the Netherlands, the Mediterranean Sea, Florida, and Texas in different summers.

“The summer cruises were for me a life -changing experience,” Verani says, adding that he had not traveled much before arriving at Harvard.

CHANGE ON THE HORIZON

The size of Harvard’s ROTC contingent fluctuated widely throughout the early 1960s. From a high of 138 graduates in 1958, it dropped in 1961, and then rose again to 100 in 1962—only to drop off sharply with the 1964 election of Lyndon B. Johnson, who had made campaign promises not to send troops to Vietnam. The next spring, Johnson went back on those promises and began a troop build-up in Asia.

Growing anger over the war soon swept through Harvard and the country, culminating with ROTC’s 1969 departure from campus and a subsequent ban on University support for the program.

The University only officially recognized the military’s presence on campus again in spring of this year.

But for many members of the Class of 1961 who served in the military, the experience made them more appreciative of civilian life.

Charles B. Condon ’61, who entered Harvard as an army veteran, says serving in the military made him take work more seriously.

“It was tantamount to a separate educational experience,” he says.

—Staff writer Monika L.S. Robbins can be reached at mrobbins@college.harvard.edu.