ANN ARBOR—During World War II, the University of Michigan proved to be a strong force of war effort and spirit, sending 32,000 students and alumni overseas.

To pay tribute to the University’s contribution to the war, and to the campus activities that went on during 1941-45, the U-M Bentley Historical Library published “Michigan on the March: The University of Michigan in World War II,” edited by Brian A. Williams, associate archivist for the Bentley Library. The book includes statistics, excerpts from letters, and newspaper headlines.

From 1941 to 1945, 17,000 letters and 57,000 copies of the Michigan Daily were sent from U-M to men and women fighting overseas.

At U-M, the women’s war council supervised the sale of war stamps and bonds, and organized exercise programs for women living in dormitories and rooming houses.

A cannon boomed in the Law Quad to signal the start and finish of each day.

In 1943, the Navy moved the Postgraduate Naval Architecture Group from Annapolis to Ann Arbor, and began training apprentice seamen from the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. The Navy men were quartered in West Quadrangle, which became known as “the Ship.”

By the end of
Every male student at the University was required to take four and a half hours of physical education each week, including running an obstacle course on Ferry Field.

In 1940, the U-M Regents adopted a resolution recognizing the importance of documenting and preserving records of the University’s war efforts. Included in these memorials are sculptures built as a tributes to the students, faculty and alumni who served the country.

“The American Eagle” was sculpted in bronze by Marshall Fredericks in 1950. It sits at the Champions Plaza, at the southwest entrance to Michigan Stadium. The sculpted eagle was a gift of the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics as a memorial to men and women of the U-M who gave their lives for their country.

Ferry Field flagpole and memorial plaques: The flagpole and the original plaque that now sit behind the intramural building was given to the University in November 1919 by the M Club to commemorate U-M varsity men who had given their lives for their country in World War I. A second plaque, on the left, was added to honor varsity men who perished in World War II. The lower right plaque was placed as a memorial to a varsity man who gave his life in Vietnam.

These memorials, and other sculptures and memorials at U-M’s campuses, can be viewed on the Web at: http://www.plantext.bf.umich.edu/planner/sculpture/

Bentley Historical LibraryMichigan DailyRegentsThe American EagleFerry Field flagpole and memorial plaqueshttp://www.plantext.bf.umich.edu/planner/sculpture/