"This group of alumni had a very non-traditional time here at Emory," Carpenter said. "We wanted to do something different for them and tie it in with a bigger kind of event than the traditional gathering of reunion classes from that era. We wanted to make it a real commemoration of that generation of Emory community members, from those who fought overseas to those who kept the campus running here at home. We wanted to reach out and include everyone in the Emory family whose life was influenced by World War II."
The result of much brainstorming by Carpenter et al is an Alumni Weekend celebration titled "Where Were You in World War II?," to be held on campus Sept. 15-16. Carpenter said that all alumni from the Class of 1955 and earlier (about 8,000 people) have been invited to Alumni Weekend this year to share their World War II experiences. He hopes alumni who come to the event will discuss how the war affected them and how they feel looking back on those experiences now.
"We also want to honor them for their service and courage at a very difficult time in our history," Carpenter said.
Events planned for Alumni Weekend will encompass the archival, educational and social.
Archival
An exhibition in Woodruff Library's Schatten Gallery will feature Emory
family
memorabilia including correspondence, photos and personal articles from
the
World War II era. In addition, current students will be assisting the AEA
with
an oral history project by tape recording alumni discussing their
remembrances
of the war.
A memorial service for Emory community members who served in the war will be held in Winship Ballroom at 11 a.m. Sept. 16. World War II vintage cars also will be displayed in front of the P.E. Center Sept. 16.
Educational
On Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m. in Harland Cinema, Judy Barrett Litoff
'67C-'68G, a
professor at Bryant College in Rhode Island, will lead a session titled
"Since
You Went Away: World War II Letters from American Women on the Home
Front."
Litoff has collected more than 38,000 letters from women to their men
serving
overseas. She is currently writing her fourth book on the subject.
"Emory and the War: How Did It Change During and After World War II?" will feature a panel of Emory faculty from the war era and the late '40s discussing the effects of the war on Emory. The session will emphasize the shift of Emory from a small regional college before the war to the beginning of its rise to a nationally respected university after the war era. The discussion is planned for Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Cox Hall Ballroom.
On Sept. 15 at 10:30 a.m. at various locations, several Emory faculty members will lead "Discussions of the History and Experience of Three Theaters of War," including Europe, North Africa and the Atlantic; the Pacific and Asia; and the home front.
Retired U.S. Navy Commander Leslie L. Youngblood Jr. '42C-'42G will discuss "What Was It Like? What Did We Learn?" as part of the Alumni Weekend opening session at 9 a.m. Sept. 15 in Winship Ballroom.
Social activities
The grand finale of Alumni Weekend will be a USO-style dinner dance on
the Tull
Energy Plaza behind the Psychology and Social Sciences buildings
beginning at
6:30 p.m. Sept. 16. Carpenter encouraged all members of the Emory
community to
attend the event, which will feature the music of the Emory Jazz Ensemble
and
the Emory Aces.
The annual Alumni Luncheon will be held at noon on Sept. 16 in the P.E. Center and will include presentations of Emory Medals as well as student performances.
For information on Alumni Weekend activities, call the AEA at 727-6400.
--Dan Treadaway