Spring Break
History at times of war explored
Kyle Hansen
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: News
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"We have a long tradition of our students volunteering for military service," said Jonathan Roth, chair of the history department and moderator of the event. "This is a tradition that goes back to the very beginning of our school and continues today - combining military service with education."
The history department holds the Charles Burdick Memorial Military History Symposium each spring. This year's event focused on SJSU at war to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the founding of the university.
"I am a history student, so this is really neat," said Lindsay Lutman, a sophomore majoring in history. "I am really into American military history.
"My first reaction was, 'Wow, I am really small,' because history makes you feel really small, but inside you feel really big because of the history here at San Jose State, it is an honorable history."
The three-hour symposium featured three speakers.
Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hellen, the commander of the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps, spoke first about the history of the ROTC program at the university.
"San Jose State has been pumping officers into the Air Force for 60 years," Hellen said. "We have been here as long as the Air Force has been in existence."
The current ROTC detachment stationed at SJSU includes 54 students from 12 area universities and junior colleges, Hellen said.
Hellen also pointed out that recognized alumni Tommie Smith, winner of a gold medal in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and civil rights activist, and Brigadier General Anthony Jackson, the deputy commander of the U.S. Marine Force's central command, participated in the ROTC while they were at the university.
Following Hellen's remarks, James Walsh, an emeritus history professor, spoke on SJSU's involvement in World Wars I and II.
Walsh, the author of multiple history books about SJSU, said that World War II particularly impacted the university. During that war alone, some 4,200 SJSU students served in the military.
It was the quality and creativity of the university's leaders that helped the school to continue in times of low enrollment during war, Walsh said.
"San Jose State, over the course of its history, has been blessed by its leaders, and that is particularly true at times of war," Walsh said.
Stephen Payne, the command historian of the Army's defense language training institute and a former SJSU student and professor, was the concluding speaker.
Payne spoke about the Japanese internment during World War II.
For some of the people interned, SJSU was the first stop as they were ordered to gather at the university's gym, Payne said.
The same gym is now called Yoshihiro Uchida Hall in honor of Yoshihiro Uchida. Uchida served in the military during the World War II and went on to build a successful judo team at SJSU. He also coached the U.S. Olympic judo team only 20 years after the U.S. government interned other Japanese-Americans, Payne said.
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