Remembering Villanovans’ World War II Service and Sacrifices, 80 Years On
This Memorial Day, ĂŰĚŇTV honors and remembers the service and sacrifices of the “Greatest Generation.”
“Ship’s company” (non-commissioned Marine personnel) affiliated with Villanova’s V-12 program, 1943. Courtesy of the ĂŰĚŇTV Archives.
During the 1942-43 academic year, Villanova College found itself in a period of great uncertainty.
With World War II unfolding, and with the United States having officially entered the fray, nearly every aspect of American life was disrupted, and the day-to-day on campus was no exception.
Plans for an elaborate celebration, commemorating Villanova’s 100th anniversary, had been reduced to a Solemn Mass and convocation in deference to events transpiring across the globe. The traditional academic calendar had been abandoned for a wartime schedule that, according to the 1944 Belle Air yearbook, better “[enabled] a youth to get a maximum amount of college [experience] before being called to the colors.” And, with mass conscription and enlistment soon to decimate the then-all-male school’s enrollment numbers, the administration worked to bring a steady stream of officer candidates to campus through the .
Amid the sea change, as the war effort ramped up along Lancaster Pike, Villanova students tried their best to make the most of their time in college. Blackouts, air-raid drills and compulsory physical-fitness classes were part of their regular routines, but so too were intramural sports, extracurricular activities and the occasional “hop” (dance). They even had one of the country’s top basketball teams to rally behind—led to a 19-2 record by , a talented point guard from Northeast Philadelphia.
Still, over almost every student program, activity and interaction, the shadow of world events hung. Fraternities dispensed with their annual dinner parties because celebrating seemed “,”&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;The Villanovan’s staff cut their weekly output from eight pages to four to conserve “” for the war effort, and seniors took to a winter prom in part to accommodate gasoline-rationing restrictions. Meanwhile, Drizin and the Wildcats would face their stiffest tests against a New York-based team composed entirely of Coast Guard recruits and a Seton Hall squad that disbanded immediately after their matchup—no longer able to field a roster, with all but two players enlisting.
Bit by bit, with each passing week, the nation was scaling up its involvement in World War II, calling more and more of its young men to fight on distant seas, faraway shores and foreign terrain. As the academic year drew to a close, with the outcome of the conflict still uncertain, scores of Villanova students and alumni would join their number, marching bravely into the unknown.
Gathering at the Villanova train station, students with the Army Enlisted Reserve say goodbye to faculty and classmates and prepare to depart for active duty, April 5, 1943. Courtesy of the ĂŰĚŇTV Archives.
***
In many respects, Villanova’s World War II years seem like a distant memory. The Jake Nevin Field House no longer serves as a “ship’s store” for Navy and Marine trainees. Campus’ victory gardens, which supplemented war rations with fresh produce, have given way to manicured landscaping. And khaki unforms, “winter blues” and “summer whites,” standard attire for the V-12 program, are seldom spotted on Lancaster Avenue.
However, while the scenes, sights and sounds of the early-to-mid 1940s may have faded away, efforts to learn from and honor the legacy of that period in Villanova’s history have not.
For Michael Brown, director of the University’s Office of Veterans and Military Service Members, unearthing, recording and highlighting the stories of that era is an ongoing endeavor. In collaboration with Michael Foight, who supervises the Falvey Library’s Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement Department, he actively works to keep the memories of Villanova’s World War II service members alive through a series of rotating exhibits, online resources and research projects.
“Instead of just having their names somewhere on campus, we really try to tell their stories, so people can understand who they were,” shared Brown, who oversees the “” and “” websites. “Things like where they were born, what they studied here, whether they played any sports and what clubs they were in.”
Clockwise, from top left: Navy V-12 students progress from the Commerce and Finance Building (today’s Vasey Hall), 1940s; Navy V-12 students Jack McGowan, Edward Crotty and William Butler pose for a photograph, 1943; and Ensign Maniaci calls roll, 1943. Courtesy of the ĂŰĚŇTV Archives.
From Brown’s perspective, the work is as much a matter of historical scholarship as it is a means of paying homage to a group of individuals who, in a time of great adversity, darkness and doubt, courageously strove to change the narrative.
As he contends, the men who lent their energies to the Allied cause, and who worked to topple the forces of fascism and authoritarianism, serve as a powerful example of Villanova’s mission and values in action. In their earnest efforts to do their duty, confront the challenges of their day and make the world a better place, he sees an exemplification of the University’s commitment to the common good, the pursuit of justice and the practice of responsible and productive citizenship.
“The research for me shines a light more broadly on what it means to be a Villanovan,” said Brown. “When you hear about [these individuals’ experiences]… you really start to understand how their stories are meaningful for us as a community.”
It’s within that spirit of remembrance that the University continues to reflect on the enduring cost of war—not only in historical terms, but in deeply human ones.
***
Perhaps at no point in Villanova’s history was sacrifice such a common virtue, and so widely felt, as during the World War II era.
Students surrendered their college years to defend their country. Service members abandoned the comforts of home, and the tranquility of domestic life, to complete their tours of duty. And, in the last full measure of devotion, dozens of the College’s enlistees and draftees would die on the field of battle in the pursuit of an Allied victory.
The stories of these men who made the ultimate sacrifice, chronicled across the University’s “Honoring the Fallen” webpages, serve as a poignant reminder of the immeasurable and indiscriminate toll of war. They also bear witness to their subjects’ extraordinary bravery—and their unwavering devotion to their principles, their comrades and their country.
One notable example is the story of , a 1932 graduate, former class president and Ventnor City doctor. Described in his senior year’s Belle Air as “a student of the first rank and an athlete who did much to add to the glory of Villanova,” he would do his alma mater further credit as a captain in the U.S. Army, serving as a medic and surgeon for the 42nd Artillery of the Fourth Infantry Division.
Among the first American soldiers to invade Western Europe, Singley would tragically lose his life while tending to a fatally wounded vehicle driver on Utah Beach, a casualty of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. Survived by a wife and three children, he would posthumously be awarded the third-highest military decoration for gallantry in combat for his actions on the Normandy coast: the Silver Star Medal.
Yet another noteworthy story is that of , a 1941 graduate, Philadelphia Eagles player and . In the immediate wake of the Japanese military’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Basca decided to set aside a promising NFL career to serve his country, enlisting in the U.S. Army only months after earning his degree.
Ultimately, the halfback-turned-corporal would perish during a skirmish with German forces in France on November 11, 1944, falling while commanding a tank in battle. Moved by the loss, more than 800 mourners would file into Phoenixville’s Sacred Heart Church for his funeral Mass, and in the proceeding years, Villanova would pay tribute to his memory by naming its “Nick Basca Day” in his honor.
From left to right: Harry Singley, Jr., as pictured in the 1932 “Belle Air” yearbook; Michael Basca, as pictured in the 1941 “Belle Air” yearbook; and Herman Drizin, as pictured in the summer of 1945’s “Villanova Alumnus” publication. Courtesy of the ĂŰĚŇTV Archives.
Of all the tales of sacrifice in the line of duty, however, possibly the most well-known is that of , the onetime star of the College’s basketball team. Like so many other Villanovans, the former Wildcats point guard took up his nation’s cause toward the end of the 1942-43 academic year, leaving behind his family, friends and the possibility of an NBA career.
Drizin’s discipline and natural leadership, so evident on the court, were soon tested under the most strenuous and perilous conditions imaginable, as his battalion was tasked with invading the Japanese stronghold of Iwo Jima.
“The island was honeycombed with tunnels, expertly placed pillboxes and concrete bunkers,” explained Marc Gallicchio, PhD, Villanova’s Mary M. Birle Chair in American History and an expert on the Pacific Theater. “It’s hard to exaggerate how difficult it was to be caught in this maelstrom.”
Facing these obstacles, Drizin displayed the same poise and command for which he was renowned as a student-athlete. One of the first Marines to land on the island, the Villanova graduate helmed an assault that penetrated deep behind enemy lines, successfully destroying three tanks. He did so while dodging from “hill to hole, hiding behind tree stumps and rock piles” amid Japanese fire, as well as “bombing, strafing and rockets from American planes,” per an account in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Word of Drizin’s heroic stand would reach the Delaware Valley in late March of 1945, shortly followed by the devastating news of his death in a subsequent engagement. He was just 24.
Eighty years later, Lieutenant Drizin’s name, actions and selfless sacrifice—like those of Captain Singley and Corporal Basca—continue to resonate, a stirring example of the “uncommon valor” which characterized and still define the service of so many Villanova veterans, past and present.
“These stories touch on so many different aspects of what it means to be a Villanovan: the humility, the desire to be a part of something bigger than yourself, even the love of basketball,” reflected Brown. “I think there’s so much there that people in our community can relate to. That’s what a lot of these folks have. There’s something that was in them that’s in so many of us.”
***
Card containing a list of 65 Villanovans who lost their lives in World War II. Courtesy of the ĂŰĚŇTV Archives.
When World War II drew to a close, Villanova greeted its end with the ringing of church bells. Amid their toll, resident students and members of the surrounding community congregated at the center of campus, rejoicing at the news their neighbors, friends and family members would soon return home.
“The first thought was one of prayer and thanksgiving,” read an account in The Villanovan, “and practically everyone visited the Chapel for a few moments of earnest prayer in thanksgiving for the ending of hostilities and in memory of their friends and relatives overseas.”
By its conclusion on August 15, 1945, World War II had left virtually no corner of Villanova untouched. From football players and fraternity brothers to choral singers and Catholic priests, seemingly every segment of the College community had taken part in the struggle, rushing to the nation’s aid in its hour of greatest need.
In the process, thousands of Villanovans found themselves serving on the conflict’s frontlines, fighting in the war’s fiercest battles, operations and campaigns. They stormed the Italian peninsula, trudged through the frost-bitten Ardennes and pushed through the dense rainforests of the Marianas. Throughout, in the face of enemy fire, incredible hardship and at times insurmountable odds, they would demonstrate a capacity for bravery simply beyond words.
Of their number, at least 65 would lose their lives.
This Memorial Day, as the end of World War II approaches its 80th anniversary, the actions, efforts and sacrifices of these individuals bear remembering—not only for their historical significance, but for the timeless lessons contained within.
“Every day can be a day of memories. Memorial Day is a day of especial memories,” wrote College President the Rev. Francis X.N. McGuire, OSA, in commentary for The Villanovan a year after the conflict’s conclusion. “Memorial Day bids all Americans stop and remember the immeasurable price paid for the coveted democracy in which such freedom and security are found.
“On this Memorial Day of 1946, Villanovans will remember the deeds of their heroic dead. However, we shall remember more than any other the final act of their lives… Sacrifice has always been the measure of love. The supreme sacrifice is the final test of supreme love. Our memories of these noble men on this day will enable us to grasp what it means to love Truth and Justice and Freedom; what it means to love America.”