Evening star., 1945-07-08
Far~Reaching School Program for GIs in Europe
Will Train Men to Face Challenge Of Civil Life
By Joseph II. Baird

oy cOoCHil IL. odA10
To the 1000 0,00o-odd American SOL
diers now in Europe, the Army is offer
ing the biggest single educational pro-
gram In history.
Your CT, If he has the necessary
background, can study anything from
the structure of a Shakespearian SON.
net to the innards of Diesel engine.
Or, If he has never learned to read or
write-the Army has some illiterates-
he can begin his education from the
ground up.
War Department officials in charge Of
the program, which starts this month,
emphasize that it is not designed to
turn out college graduate, complete
with cap and gown and sheepskin di-
ploma. But they do believe that it will
offer the 1,000, 900 men who already have
applied for the various courses an op-
portunity either to receive the sort Of
technical training that will help them
get job when they return home or, If
they intend to re-enter q civilian school,
will enable them to renew their work at
a more advanced educational stage.
At Great Universities
On the highest level, the officers and
men of the AEF who hold college de-
grees or have done roughly equivalent
scholastic work will be able to take post
graduate courses at some of the most
famous universities in Europe.
The program, worked out by the In
formation and Education Division of the
Army falls into four segments. They are:
l. Hundreds of unit schools" at
tached to the various battalions, offering
both academic and technical training.
In these the academic courses will range
from the first grade through the sopho-
more year Of college. In the technical
field they will offer ION the job" train
ing in many crafts and specialties.
Instructors in these schools will come
primarily from former teachers now in
the Army or other soldiers with special
lied training, although few civilians
will be employed.
2. Technical schools, in or near Army
technical service installations or at
other locations where specialized equip
ment Is available will offer ION the job
training of a more advanced grade than
is given in the unit schools. They are
expected to feature such subjects as
radio, combustion engine mechanics and
advanced photography.
Specialized Courses
8. Army university study centers
There will be three of these, two devoted
to academic and one to technical courses
The first, at Shriveham, England, viii
open July 16 under the direction of
Brig. Gen. Claud Thiele, formerly of
Washington. Another will be started
soon at Biarritz, France. The technical
university will be somewhere in England
About 1000 students at time are eX-
pected to attend eight-week-long course
at each of the three universities.
4. Finally, the Army has made a,
rangements with st. Andrews, Oxfort
Cambridge, the Sarbonne and the Uni
versities of Rome and Florence to ac-
cept around 800 men each for advanced
studies, usually on the postgraduate Level
The whole program is under the di-
rection Of Brig. Gen. Paul w. Thomp-
son.
At the present time, the War De-
partment explains, there are about a.
100000 soldiers in Europe, in addition to
those in the Army of Occupation in
Germany, who are waiting either for
discharge or redeployment. In some
units, time hangs heavy on their hands
This vast program will enable them
either to prepare for job or to follow
some intellectual pursuit which inter
ests them. Contrary to some reports,
the War Department emphasizes, there
is nothing compulsory about the pro-
gram. A soldier may take it or leave it
Colleges and Business Firms
In working out the program, ii
Army has had the cooperation not onl.
of many American universities but also
of big corporations who are furnishing
both technicians and material to train
men for future jobs in this country.
Although the bulk Of the teachers will
be recruited from officers and men now
in the Army, the War Department has
Those Were the