WWII Participation
Simmons peace strike, 1938.
Nursing students in the bacteriology stockroom, ca. 1944.
As the shadow of war descended over Europe during the mid-1930s, the Simmons Peace Moblization Committee and the Simmons Anti-War Society were established. Simmons, like much of America at the time, wanted Europe to avoid war. More importantly, Simmons students wanted America to avoid participation in a second European war.
Flyers and pamphlets from 1935 and 1936 promoted "student solidarity for peace," and were distributed to encourage "demonstration against impeding war and facism." The students declared that "we must not let the drums of war and glorious meaningless slogans fool us again," eighteen years after the First World War.
S.S. Simmons Victory, 1945.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Simmons students engaged fully with the realities of war. In the October 1, 1942 edition of The Simmons News, Simmons College President Beatley and the editorial staff both wrote pieces on how students could contribute to the war effort. Reiterating President Roosevelt’s statements on how students could prove useful, President Beatley assured the student body that “broad understanding can come only from diligent study” and “special aptitudes can be acquired only by painstaking practice.” The editorial staff was more clear in ways to mobilize impact. They encouraged students to buy war stamps and bonds “regularly and systematically” and emphasized the needs of nurses and aides, as well as typists at the Red Cross and donating to blood banks.
In 1945, to support the war effort abroad, Simmons College sponsored a ship in the newly developed Victory fleet. The S.S. Simmons Victory was among a fleet of cargo ships built to replace losses from attacks by German forces. Launched on April 6, 1945, the vessel anchored at Ammunition Row in San Pedro Bay.
Simmons College adopts soldier for 6th War Loan Drive, 1944.
Simmons students learning to use graphing equipment, ca. 1945.
Simmons News article about how Simmons students can be useful in the war effort, 1942.
Simmons students encouraged to take a stand against European war, 1935.