No Andover man can go through Mr. James's account of the school's contribution to the Second World War without having his pride deeply stirred. The record of the alumni, from Colonel Stimson down to the humblest youngster in the A-12 or V-12 Program, is most impressive. They gallantly sailed the Seven Seas in every type of vessel. They drove back the enemy in Africa, in Italy, on many a strangely-named atoll of the South Pacific, and finally on the barren beaches in Normandy and in the dramatic rush across Europe to Berlin. They piloted their fighter and bomber planes in Alaska and Roumania, in Burma and in Iraq, on perilous missions over five continents. They reminisced with one another in chance meetings on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, at Cherbourg and Cologne. Some of them, like "Jack" Burns, have written picturesquely of their reactions. Athletes and scholars alike were decorated for bravery in action. Lads hardly out of the classroom found themselves suddenly in training camps and rose in two or three years from Private to Colonel or from Seaman to Commander. The full story of what they did, individually and collectively, is here for us all to read,---and admire!

Our admiration, however, is bound to be blended with reverential grief. The list of those who gave their lives is infinitely tragic, especially to a teacher and headmaster who knew almost every one personally and who, as he reads the names, is constantly reminded of little incidents which make them seem alive. These boys were the best blood of our nation. Young men of exceptional promise, they were equipped to make themselves felt in our society. Their sacrifice should inspire us, the living, to do all that we can to build the better world,---the One World,---of which some of them often dreamed.

Mr. James has told his story with understanding and sympathy. An historian by profession, he has written with painstaking attention to details and a proper sense of discrimination. It has been an arduous and exacting task to compile these records and ensure their accuracy: for as everyone is aware who has undertaken such a responsibility, the delays are annoying and the problems of checking separate items very tedious. The school is fortunate in having him as its chronicler, and he is to be warmly congratulated on a distinguished achievement.

Andover is not, of course, unique, but it is, in a sense, symbolic. Every American school, public or private, has a similar tale to tell,---a tale of undergraduates and alumni who responded to an imperious call, of heroism in combat, of suffering and renunciation. Andover men did their part, as they saw it, like all patriotic Americans of their period. The cost of victory was immense. The accomplishments of peace are so far not commensurate with the cost. Hence the lesson of this book is actually one for all our citizens to consider. If we can but transform our confusion into confidence, our discord into unanimity, we shall be doing what the dead would wish. Only if this is done,---and soon, an this latest and most devastating of all wars be made to seem justifiable.

CLAUDE M. FUESS

The editor undertook the writing of this volume with a keen appreciation of the honor conferred upon him: he completed the work with humility and pride. He is humble before the sacrifice of the many men who died in the service of their country: he is proud of his association with a school whose sons so nobly accepted her precepts of human rights and dignity.

The record contained herein is a profound tribute to a great school and to its generations of alumni who responded once again to the call to defend the principles upon which the country was founded. More than three thousand men served in the armed forces, and many hundreds more contributed their services as civilians. But the record is by no means complete, although every effort has been made to gather information. Appeals by questionnaire and circular, by announcements in the Phillips Bulletin, were followed by many personal letters, and every avenue of approach was attempted. Wherever omissions are discovered, Phillips Academy will rarely be found to be at fault. Errors in war records, and the selection of material must be blamed solely upon the editor. The volume is dedicated to the one hundred and forty-two men who gave their lives in service, more than one hundred and twenty of them in their twenties. Other material is essentially a record of service, with brief biographical recognition of those who received distinguished awards from the United States or from the governments of foreign nations. Limitations of space necessitated an arbitrary decision in the selection of individual biographies. For the choice of material and the line of distinction between decorations, the editor must accept full responsibility. Many men originally requested that their individual exploits receive no special mention. In most instances they were prevailed upon to permit the material to be used in order to make the record as complete as possible. The editor appreciates their modesty and realizes with them that many a hero received no recognition beyond that greater reward of the quiet thanks of his comrades. Men who served with the merchant marine have been included with obvious reason. They served the same cause and risked the hazards of war. The deadline of war service is the Senate Joint Resolution 123, the Wiley Resolution, declaring the termination of war as of July 25, 1947. Men serving in the forces before that date are included in the records.

Acknowledgements are gratefully offered to those who have contributed to the compilation of this material: to the Editors of the Phillips Bulletin for records of several alumni; to Karsh for permission to use his photograph of Henry L. Stimson; to the Atlantic Monthly Press for permission to publish excerpts from the letters and diary of Captain Roderick S. G. Hall, AUS, OSS, P.A. '34; to the editors of the Reader's Digest for permission to use excerpts from the account of the exploits of Captain George V. Hook, P.A. '35, in "The War From Inside a Tank," by Ira Wolfert in the June 1945 issue; to the Navy and War Departments for their prompt and generous cooperation in supplying photographs and service records of a number of alumni whose careers would otherwise have been unavailable; to Walter Gierasch for the frontispiece photograph; and last but by no means least to alumni and parents who have patiently borne with the many importunate requests for information.

L.F.J.
Andover, Massachusetts
January 1, 1948