When the clarion call of World War II reverberated at St. Mary’s University, the president of the only senior men’s college in San Antonio did what was practicable to keep it operating.

Arguably, the Rev. William F. Golatka, S.M., presided over the most critical era of St. Mary’s proud history, spanning from 1938 to 1947. At least 50 colleges across the country succumbed to financial pressures permanently, but St. Mary’s did more than just survive, it effectively made the transition from a small to a medium size college. Golatka’s nine-year administration saw the end of the Great Depression, victory over tyranny on a global scale and the beginning of a post-war economic boom.

“St. Mary’s emerged from the crisis more flourishing and prosperous than ever before,” Golatka reflected at the end of his tenure in 1947. “The institution is in a sound rather than precarious condition.” He knew the costs had been high indeed. The call to arms yielded 2,200 students or graduates of St. Mary’s, most as commissioned officers, including 70 who made the supreme sacrifice – their names were inscribed on the honor roll of heroic dead in the then-new science building, now known as Garni Hall.

After German forces invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, to begin the war in Europe, America adopted a military readiness footing. That same year civilian pilot training debuted at St. Mary’s, sponsored by the Civil Aeronautics Authority, with the backing of Mayor Maury Maverick. Student enrollment reached a record 1,271 in 1939-1940 and 105 degrees were conferred.

Brother Louis P. Thein, S.M., Ph.D., director of training, provided 72 hours of ground training (theory), then students had 35 to 50 hours of flight instruction from Paul Daily (B.A. ’27) of United Aero Corporation. All 20 students, the quota set by the federal government, earned their private pilot licenses that first year. Cost for the Aeronautics 201 course was $34. Tuition for a regular semester was $85, plus $215 for room and board.

Overall, 180 students completed the pilot training program with flying colors, including 105 who went on to see military service.

Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, led to an inevitable drop in enrollment as many students left St. Mary’s to enlist in the military or work in business or industry. Enrollment fell from a peak of 1,437 to 1,251 in 1941-42.

Many athletes heeded the patriotic call as well, forcing the University to suspend intercollegiate athletics for the duration of the war. Money formerly budgeted for sports went to a physical fitness program for the entire student body, directed by Brother Thomas C. Henderson, S.M.

In response to the U.S. appeal to adapt the curriculum more closely to the nation’s war effort, St. Mary’s added some new courses, modified others and cooperated in reserve enlistment programs of the armed services. By 1942-43, a number of special courses were offered to meet war needs. In collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin, two new national defense courses were offered: radio and electronics, and radios and technical science, taught by Brother Joseph A. Rudolph, S.M., Ph.D., and Brother Francis A. Becker, S.M., respectively.

Enrollment fell to 937 in fall 1942, resulting in faculty and staff reductions. There were only 73 graduates the next spring. Thanks to the income from non-credit war courses taken by 480 students, the loss of tuition income was offset, and St. Mary’s managed to operate within its budget. Other warrelated course offerings included those taught by Brother William J. Hamm, S.M., Ph.D., at Kelly Field.

Amazingly, in 1943-44, the final payment on $100,000 indebtedness was made, operating costs were kept within budget, and St. Mary’s was debt-free for the first time. That was primarily due to the contributed services of religious members of the Society of Mary on faculty, and the sacrifices of devoted lay professors. Enrollment that year bottomed out at 775, with only 43 graduates. The faculty offered 26 non-credit war training courses, attracting 715 enrollees. St. Mary’s had 38 former students decorated for gallantry in military action and for meritorious achievement that year.

By 1944-45, the war was winding down and enrollment climbed to more than 900, with 156 students in war training classes in engineering, science and management. Although only 23 degrees were conferred that spring, the new G.I. Bill of Rights gave a real impetus to University growth by increasing access to higher education the next year.

Of the record 1,642 students in school, 676 were veterans in 1945-46. In addition, Hamm, who ultimately became the University’s first amateur ham radio operator, secured some valuable radio equipment donated by the Hallicrafters Corp.

Hundreds of students – many of them veterans – had to be turned away during the 1946-47 academic year because of space limitations. Hamm, a de facto grants manager, helped acquire five government surplus buildings, one of which was used by Brother George B. Kohnen, S.M., Ph.D., then chairman of the Department of Commerce and Finance, as the initial home of the School of Business and Administration.

Buoyed by 1,330 returning veterans, enrollment surged to more than 2,300 in spring 1947. The veterans were older and more mature than the young men entering St. Mary’s in the pre-war years.

“The GIs after the war were the best students I ever had at St. Mary’s. They were very motivated,” observed Hamm, a physics professor for 59 years at the University. “The upsurge in enrollment with the G.I. Bill was really encouraging after so many had left. Then we had to search for more facilities, which was good.”

Today, it seems unmistakably clear that World War II was the most crucial event in drawing the indispensable St. Mary’s into a great struggle from which its own survival, and the survival of the Marianst values, triumphed.