Lawrence University's V-12 Program

Three hundred seamen arrived at Lawrence College in Appleton in July 1943. The Navy contracted with Lawrence to teach these young men engineering through a program called V-12. Graduates of V-12 continued on to midshipman schools before accepting commissions as officers in the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. More than 100 American schools offered V-12 programs during the war.

Lawrence started a trimester system to speed up cadet training. Seaman attended class and mingled socially with civilian students. V-12 trainees distinguished themselves on campus by wearing uniforms and following military protocol. Seven hundred and five cadets attended Lawrence before the Navy decommissioned the College's V-12 program on June 16, 1945.

Three hundred seamen jog along the canal from south Oneida to south Lawe streets, July 1943
Courtesy of Lawrence University