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A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Nolan Eller

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
United States. Naval Training School (Indiana University)

Title
United States Naval Training School records, 1940-1970, bulk 1942-1944

Collection No.
C101

Extent
8.8 cubic feet (10 boxes)

Language
Materials are in English

Abstract
On July 15, 1942 Indiana University welcomed 200 Navy yeomen to campus to participate in the Naval Training School. In October of 1942 WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) arrived on campus for navy storekeepers training. By May 1944 the Naval Training School had trained 5008 Navy yeomen and storekeepers. The school would be closed one month later. This collection consists of manuals, syllabi, student information, naval school publications, administrative materials, and the correspondences of the education director of the Navy training school Elvin S. Eyster and Robert T. Ittner, assistant to President Herman B Wells.

Access Restrictions

Student Transcripts and Letters of Recommendations, and Personal Information are restricted.

Administrative History

The Naval Reserve Officers Training Program at Indiana University can be said to have had its beginnings fourteen students enrolled as midshipmen in the N.R.O.T.C. at Northwestern University, stimulating interest at Indiana University in developing a naval training program of its own. IU’s first step was to start a Naval V-1 training program which admitted freshmen and sophomores and gave them two years’ deferment while they studied with the possibility of passing a comprehensive examination at the end and transferring to the more advanced V-7 program. In July 1942, IU welcomed 200 yeomen to the campus for four months of training. North Hall was transformed into a "ship" to accommodate them; students who had been living in the hall were moved to houses along "Sorority Alley" (now the location for Ballantine and Jordan Halls). The two-student rooms became "cabins" housing six yeomen apiece, and a sick bay was established. The university campus became a "ship," and Bloomington was the "Shore." While the Navy retained military control over the trainees, courses in Naval business and clerical methods were taught by IU faculty and held in the Business School where 35 classrooms were pre-empted for the program with enrollment expected to reach as many as 1,200 yeomen. Classes were practical and covered a wide range of subjects, such as disbursement, provisions, general storekeeping, clothing and small stores, aviation, typewriting, and English.

In June 1942 Indiana University was converted into a training facility for Coast Guard SPARS, with WAVES in the Navy Women’s Reserves arriving soon after. In addition to the male recruits there would be 1,200 female SPARS and WAVES. They took over the rest of the Men’s Residence Center (now the Collins Living-Learning Center), displacing even more students to the houses along Sorority Alley. The women were given more room than the men with only four assigned per room and, in addition to their coursework, were required to devote one hour a day to physical exercise. During "Liberty," the SPARS and WAVES could take advantage of university events such as concerts, plays, and lectures. They also had access to the Union and many other university facilities. Section and battalion parties, picnics, sings and meetings were also held during liberty time.

By May 1944 the university had trained nearly 5,000 yeomen and storekeepers of both sexes for the Navy and Marine Corps. A month later the naval program was officially closed.

[History taken largely from Thomas D. Clark, Indiana University: Midwestern Pioneer, vols. I-III, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1973.]

Arrangement

Collection is organized into six series: Course materials, Evaluations, Faculty materials, Publications, Correspondence, and Student transcripts and personal information

Scope and Content Note

The United States Naval Training School records span the period from 1942-1948 and are arranged into six series: Course materials, Evaluations, Faculty materials, Publications, Correspondence, and Student transcripts and personal information.

Course materials is the largest series of the collection consisting of 92 folders and spanning six boxes. The series is arranged alphabetically by the name of the courses taught at the naval training school. These includes: Aviation, Clothing and Small Stores, English and Correspondence, General Store Keeping, Navy Disbursing, Naval Organization, Payment and Navy Personnel, Provisions, Store keepers Labs, Ship Store, Short hand, Supply training, Spelling and English, Typing. Materials in this series span the period from 1940-1944.

The Evaluations series consists of 12 folders of examinations for the courses taught at the naval training school and the naval training schools own internal review of the school. Materials in this series span the period from 1942-1944.

The Naval Training School Instructors’ materials series consists of 20 folders of records used by the staff of the naval training school. This includes staff publications, class schedules, payroll information, and other administrative information including graduation diplomas and materials that would be utilized by the staff. Materials in this series span the period from 1942-1944.

The Publications series consists of 12 folders of publications utilized at the United States Naval Training School and spans the period from 1940-1946. These publications include manuals issued by the United States Navy, promotional materials produced by the school itself including brochures and graduation programs, newspaper articles and clippings and student publications including "The Yeomen", "The Quill", "Two Years at Sea Indiana University Naval Training School", and "News and Views Through the Porthole of the U.S.N.T.S. Indiana University." This series also includes "The TRADIV Letter" from December 1942-January 1944. Also included in this series is the manuscript for United States Naval Training School (Storekeeper) published in 1944.

The Correspondence series is comprised of 3 folders of the correspondences of both Elvin S. Eyster, the Education Director of the Naval Training School, and Robert T. Ittner, assistant to the President of Indiana University. Materials in this series span the period from 1942-1948. Also included in this series is a correspondence sent out from the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation to the commandants of all naval districts.

Student transcripts and personal information consists of 3 folders of student personal information files including name, age, sex, religion, birthdate, address, marital status, and naval service information. It also includes 6 folders of student transcripts requests and letters of recommendation. The materials in this series span the period from 1942-1970. The records in this series containing confidential, personal information are restricted and closed.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • United States. Naval Training School (Indiana University) --History --Sources.
  • United States. Naval Training School (Indiana University) --Archives.
  • United States. Naval Training School (Indiana University) --Records and correspondence.
• • Topics
  • Naval education --Indiana --Bloomington --History --20th century --Sources.

Separated Material

Elvin S. Eyster Biography File, A Study of the Membership of Phi Delta Kappa by Jules Harcourt, Course Slides

Related Material

Related photographs may be available in the University Archives Photographs Database

Administrative Information

Container List

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