Evening star., 1944-03-04
200 Soldier Students
Receive Diplomas
Al Georgetown

First among more than 1900 SOL
oilers at Georgetown University to
complete ASTP courses, 220 grad-
yates we're standing by today await
ing Army orders that will send some
of them to garrison duties In this
country and others to join combat
units overseas.
OF the participants last night in
Georgetown's first all-soldier COM
mencement, 165 men of Company E
had completed nine months of area
and foreign language courses, while
SIS men of Company D-were credited
with six months work in basic engi-
neering.
Georgetown officials said the men
had received two years Of ordinary
instruction.
Maj. Gen. John T. Lewis, COM
manding general Of the Washington
military district, who made the COM
mencement address, told the soldier
students they must now prepare to
sacrifice everything for the benefit
of the common good and the preser-
vation of the American way of life" /"
CASTOR Hall was packed with more
than 1000 soldiers and scores of
parents and friends, many of whom
came from distant States to bid the
ASTP cadets farewell.
War Role Praised.
Gen. Lewis paid tribute to George
towns role in the war effort.
Immediately the present national
emergency arose, every facility Of
this university was offered to the
national service" he said. Here
was established the first STAR unit
whose record was an unqualified
first among the STAR institutions of
the country"
He had reference to the Army'S
reclassifcation unit at Georgetown
which served as model for others to
come in selecting soldiers qualifying
for specialized training in colleges.
From the Very Rev. Lawrence C.
German, S. j., president of the uni
versity, each soldier graduate re-
ceived an academic certificate,
equivalent to diploma, bound in a
leather case. Col. Joseph s..
Dougherty, commandant of the
ASTP unit at Georgetown, also
presented each student with an
Army certificate which becomes part
OF his record.
Tradition Followed.
Except for the display of uni
forms, the exercises followed the
traditional academic commencement
In every particular. Cadet Leland
B. Yeager, Scarsdale, N. Y, honor
man of the Basic Engineers, de-
livered the salutatory address. The
role of valedictorian fell to Cadet
Gordon w. OBrien, Russell, Kans.,
honor man of the class from the
foreign service school.
Among the graduates were only
three from the Washington area.
They are Donald T. Moorhead, Basic
Engineer, 1905 B street Sc, John
E. Miller, 1000 Lawrance street NE,
and Earl w. Pettibone, jr., 1923 Ma
SOlllD otlCCO INV. Lie ldSG TWO
are area and language graduates.
Cadet Moorhead, son of Mr.. and
Mrs. Adrian Moorhead, was gradu-
ated from Eastern High School in
1912 and attended Drexel Institute
in Philadelphia before his induction.
He completed his basic military
training at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Cadet Pettibone, whose parents
now live here, is a graduate of the
University of Washington and took
his basic Army training at Camp
Wheeler, Ga. Cadet Miller was
graduated from Mckinley High
School in 1887 and was employed at
the War Department. He trained
in the Air Forces at Denver, Colo.
In Washington he lived with an
uncle, H. B. Mcclure.
The War Departments decision
to reduce the ASTP in colleges may
affect some 1886 soldiers at George
town before April l. Some taking
Oriental languages and others TAX
ing medical and dental courses are
scheduled to remain until their
studies are completed.