Collection Title:

Navy V-12 Program Records, 1939-1947, undated

Repository:

The Holloway Archives at Milligan University
P. H. Welshimer Memorial Library
200 Blowers Blvd.
Milligan, TN 37682
Email: archives@milligan.edu

Creator:

Milligan University (Milligan College)

United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel

Title:

Navy V-12 Program Records, 1939-1947, undated

Collection No.

C0140

Extent

2 cubic feet (2 boxes)

Language(s):

English

Abstract:

Milligan College (now Milligan University) participated in the Navy V-12 Program that trained officers on college campuses during World War II, turning the entire school over to the program, the only school in the nation to do so. This record collection contains correspondence, reports, bulletins, and other information relating to that time period in Milligan’s history.

Administrative History:

“The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleges and universities in the United States. Numerous participants attended classes and lectures at the respective colleges and earned completion degrees for their studies. Some even returned from their naval obligations to earn a degree from the colleges where they were previously stationed.” (Wikipedia: “V-12 Navy College Training Program,” paragraph 1)

Milligan College (now Milligan University) decided to participate in the Navy V-12 Program and subsequently turned the entire school over to the program, the only school in the nation to do so. From July 1, 1943 to June 30, 1945, no civilian students attended Milligan College. The men who came to the college as part of the program hailed from many different states, including Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and California. These men took college courses taught by Milligan faculty while also training for the Navy. Commanding officers for Milligan included Lt. R.F. Sessions (1943-1944), Lt. Russell Griffin (1944-1945), and Lt. Gordon R. Wellborn (1945), with Lt. (jg) Jane E. Rollman as the local disbursing officer stationed at Milligan. In 1944, Charles Burns resigned as president due to his pacifist views and was replaced first by Dean Steve Lacy as interim and then Virgil Elliott.

When not studying or doing military exercises, the V-12 men found a wide variety of activities for entertainment. Because dancing was not allowed on the college campus, the V-12 men attended dances in Johnson City instead. They also formed their own newspaper, The Masthead, and participated in athletic activities. The basketball team, which included several all-state high school basketball players, beat both Duke University and University of North Carolina on successive nights. 

Milligan College re-opened to civilian students in the fall of 1945. Although the school was in need of thousands of dollars of repairs, not to mention rebuilding the student and faculty population, Milligan College continued to thrive after the war. In later years, V-12 alumni reunions gathered at the college to reminisce about their days when Milligan was part of the Navy.

Arrangement:

The collection appears to have come from file cabinets and was originally arranged in alphabetical order by folder title. Several people have worked on arranging the files into series and subseries as listed below. Most folder titles were kept intact, although some folders were rearranged or renamed. All series and subseries are arranged in alphabetical order.

I. Series: Armed Forces (General), 1939-1944

II. Series: Bulletins, 1942-1945

III. Series: Correspondence, 1941-1945

IV. Series: Navy V-12 Program, 1940-1947, undated

1. Subseries: Academic, 1942-1945, undated

2. Subseries: Administration, 1940-1947, undated

3. Subseries: Athletics and Social Activities, 1943-1945, undated

V. Series: Reports and Lists, 1943-1946, undated

1. Subseries: Academic and Military, 1943-1945, undated RESTRICTED

2. Subseries: Financial, 1943-1946, undated

3. Subseries: Health, 1944-1945

4. Subseries: Property, 1944-1945

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Navy V-12 program at Milligan are arranged into five series: Armed Forces (General), Bulletins, Correspondence, Navy V-12 Program, and Reports and Lists. The Navy V-12 Program series is further divided into three subseries: Academic, Administration, and Athletics and Social Activities. The Reports and Lists series is further divided into four subseries: Academic and Military, Financial, Health, and Property.

The Armed Forces (General) series spans 1939 to 1944 and contains information that is related to the armed forces and World War II but is not directly Navy V-12 program-related.

The Bulletins series spans 1942 to 1945 and contains bulletins from the Navy Department regarding the V-1 and V-12 programs.

The Correspondence series spans 1941 to 1945 and contains correspondence related to the time period of the Navy V-12 program at Milligan.

The Navy V-12 Program series spans 1940 to 1947 and contains undated material. It is further divided into the Academic subseries, which spans 1942 to 1945 and contains undated material. This subseries contains academic information from the Navy V-12 program at Milligan. The Administration subseries spans 1940 to 1947 and contains undated material. This subseries contains material for administration of the program. The Athletics and Social Activities subseries spans 1943 to 1945 and contains undated material. This subseries contains information on the athletics programs during the Navy V-12 program as well as information about social activities for the Navy V-12 students.

The Reports and Lists series spans 1943 to 1946 and contains undated material. The Academic and Military subseries spans 1943 to 1945 and contains undated material. This subseries contains items such as class lists and demerit lists. The Financial subseries spans 1943 to 1946 and contains undated material. This subseries contains financial information, including reports, purchase order information, and contracts. The Health subseries spans 1944 t5o 1945 and contains information relating to both personal health records and overall campus sanitation and food rationing. The Property subseries spans 1944 to 1945 and contains property reports.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information:

Accession 1986-001

Note: There was no accession year available when this collection was processed, therefore the year when processing started is used for the accession record.

Access Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Some folders are restricted at this time due to personal information contained within those folders. The Academic and Military subseries is restricted as a whole. These restricted items are marked in red.

The archivist reserves the right to determine on a case-by-case basis if certain folders within the collection that have been requested for viewing cannot be made available due to various restriction compliance, including but not limited to student information, private personal information, and organizational information of a restricted nature.

Preferred Citation:

[Item], Navy V-12 Program Records, Collection C0140, The Holloway Archives at Milligan University, Milligan, TN.

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lisa Brown, Katherine Banks, Katherine Santa Ana, Brianna Snyder

Completed in 2021.

Folder List

Box 1

I. Series: Armed Forces (General), 1939-1944

• Application for Appointment as Aviation Cadet, 1942


• Armed Forces Enlisted Reserve (Inductees), 1942-1943


• Army Air Force, 1942


• Army Fourth Service Command Documents, 1943


• Court Martial Orders, 1944 RESTRICTED


• Enlisted Reserve Corps, 1942


• Enlisted Reserves Corps Material (Army) Quotas and Enrollees, 1942


• Enlistment Information, 1942


• Factual Pamphlets, Joint Programs, 1942


• Joint Army-Navy-Marine Corps-Coast Guard Procurement Committee, 1942


• National Defense – American Council on Education, 1940-1943


• National Defense – American Council on Education, 1943-1944


• National Defense – Federal Security Agency US Office of Education, 1940-1943


• National Defense – Selective Service State and National Headquarters, 1940-1943


• National Defense – US Office of Education Federal Security Agency Bulletins, 1939-1941


• Testing Information (Qualifying), 1943


• War Service Opportunities, 1942

II. Series: Bulletins, 1942-1945

• Navy V-1 Bulletins, 1942


• Navy V-12 Bulletins, 1943


• Navy V-12 Bulletins, 1943


• Navy V-12 Bulletins, 1944-1945

III. Series: Correspondence, 1941-1945

• Athletics, Basketball Correspondence by Mr. Wellborn, 1944-1945


• Business Correspondence, 1943-1945


• Correspondence, 1942-1943


• Correspondence, 1942-1945


• Correspondence, 1945


• Correspondence 1A, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 2B, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 3C, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 4D, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 5E, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 6F, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 7G, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 8H, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 10J, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 11K, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 12L, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 13M (including Mc), 1943-1944


• Correspondence 14N, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 15O, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 16P, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 18R, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 19S, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 20T, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 21U, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 22V, 1943-1944


• Correspondence 23W, 1943-1944


• Correspondence X and Y, 1943-1944


• Correspondence Concerning Nonacademic Affairs, 1943-1944


• Correspondence Navy V-12, 1943


• Correspondence to and from Dean Steve Lacey, 1941-1943


• Folder 4a Correspondence, 1943-1944


• Folder 5 President Elliott Correspondence, 1945


• Personal Correspondence with Reference to V-12, 1944-1945


• Press Releases, 1943-1944


• Private Correspondence, 1944-1945

Box 2

IV. Series: Navy V-12 Program, 1940-1947, undated

1. Subseries: Academic, 1942-1945, undated

• Academic Papers, 1944, undated


• Academic Papers (Test Scores and Unsatisfactory Work Notice), 1943 RESTRICTED


• Examination Information, 1942-1943, undated


• Navy 14 Academic Problems Regarding Individual Trainees, 1943-1944 RESTRICTED


• Navy 14 Films, etc., 1943-1944


• Navy – Letters of Separation, 1944-1945 RESTRICTED


• Navy V-12 Curricula Schedules, 1943


• Syllabi Copy, undated

2. Subseries: Administration, 1940-1947, undated

• Addresses Necessary for War Program, undated


• Administration Question and Answers for Colleges, undated


• Administrative Information, 1943-1944, undated


• Administrative Papers, 1943-1944, undated


• Applicant’s Physical Questionnaire, undated


• Closing of Milligan Civilian Program, 1943


• Conversion from Navy to Civilian, 1942-1947


• Faculty, 1944-1945


• Information and Instructions Regarding Navy College Training Program, 1943


• Milligan College Job Order, 1945


• National Roster, 1942


• Naval Reserves V-5, 1942, undated


• Naval Resources –V(S) & –V(P), 1942, undated


• 50 Navy (Contract With), 1943-1946, undated


• Navy 50 Regarding Individual Trainees, 1940-1945


• Navy V-1 General Information, 1942, undated


• Room Dimensions, undated


• Training Program Regulations, 1943


• Where Students Were Stationed, undated

3. Subseries: Athletics and Social Activities, 1943-1945, undated

• Navy Athletics 14, 1943-1944, undated


• Navy Athletics, 1944-1945


• Social Activities (Dances), 1944-1945

V. Series: Reports and Lists, 1943-1946, undated

1. Subseries: Academic and Military, 1943-1945, undated RESTRICTED

• Class Lists, 1943-1944, undated RESTRICTED


• Demerits Terms I & II, 1943-1944 RESTRICTED


• Item Reports, undated RESTRICTED


• Navy 14 Assigned Demerits for Absences, etc., 1944 RESTRICTED


• Navy 14 Original Absence and Tardy Report, 1944 RESTRICTED


• Navy 50 (Original Absence and Tardy Reports), 1944-1945 RESTRICTED


• Navy (Assigned Demerits), 1944-1945 RESTRICTED

2. Subseries: Financial, 1943-1946, undated

• Commissioning, 1943-1944, undated


• Cost Report V-12, First Term, Fiscal Year Ending 30 June 1944, 1943-1944


• Cost Report V-12, Second Term, Fiscal Year Ending 30 June 1944, 1943-1944


• Cost Report V-12, Third Term, 1943-1944


• Cost Report V-12, First Term, 1944-1945


• Cost Report V-12, Second Term, 1944-1945


• Cost Reports for V-12, 1944-1945, undated


• Faculty Payroll, 1943-1945 RESTRICTED


• Financial Records, 1943-1944


• Financial Reports, 1944, undated


• Financial Reports, 1943-1945


• Lt. (jg) Welburn, 1944-1946, undated


• Messing, 1944, undated


• Milligan College Modified Ship’s Service Journal, 1944-1945


• Purchase Orders, Receipts, Insurance, Tax Slips, 1943-1945, undated


• Renegotiation, 1944, undated


• Revised Contract NOp 206, Supplement NO. 5, 1945


• Supplemental Commissioning, 1943-1944, undated


• Trial Balance, 1943-1945


• Yearly Housing Budget, undated

3. Subseries: Health, 1944-1945

• Food Rationing Report, 1945


• Medical, 1944-1945 RESTRICTED


• Monthly Sanitary Reports, 1944-1945

4. Subseries: Property, 1944-1945

• Report of Surplus Property Navy, 1944-1945