Student Army Training Corps

The Student Army Training Corps (S.A.T.C.) was a military program that was started by the War Department in August 1918 to prepare officers on college campuses around the country should another war like World War I break out. It was created in response to the dramatic decline in enrollment in colleges among males due to the need for servicemen in Europe. The program was a rigorous blend of military and academic training that sought to train officers for future military or civilian careers.

Bucknell Ambulance Company

The University supplied two volunteer ambulance companies during the war: Company 524 that shipped to Europe in June 1917 and Company 525 that arrived in Europe in January 1918. Company 525 was awarded the French Croix de Guerre, a foreign military service honor, for bravery and heroism in combat.

Casualties

This newspaper reported casualties of University students throughout the war as a reminder of the sacrifice and to keep friends and faculty updated on the war’s toll back home. A memorial over at the edge of the grove by the President’s house stands as a memorial to the significant toll that the war had on the University and the progress made rebuilding the structure of student life after the war concluded.

All of this information was taken from the University Archives and Special Collections on the first level of the library. The exhibit on Bucknell during World War I will be open for the remainder of the year.

Captions:

East College: This is a view of the East College building where S.A.T.C. companies A and B were housed during the War. The building was transformed into a makeshift military barrack as students were drilled and trained outside of their normal class schedule.

Bucknellian Article: This article from the Bucknellian dated from October 1918 shows how much of the campus life was oriented around the War. Both East and West College needed to be radically transformed in order to provide the necessities for housing troops.

Schedule: This schedule from December of 1918 shows the daily routine for students in the S.A.T.C. program. Students were required to drill multiple times a day and the strict military routine dominated their life outside of academic classes.