Bob Dole's Constant Pen in Hand a Reminder of World War II Wound-- Part 1

From the Feb. 18, 2021, Topeka (Kansas) Capital-Journal by Rafael Garcia.

For those who know former  U.S. Senator Bob Dole closely, know  not to shake his right hand.

For those not so aware, Dole constantly keeps a pen in that hand whenever he's out in public.  That pen serves two purposes.  It is a gesture to dissuade people from shaking that hand and it is a therapeutic remedy to an injury that changed Dole's life forever.  An injury that occurred in battle during World War II.

On Thursday, Bob Dole, 97,  announced that he is battling advanced lung cancer and will begin treatment Monday.

Dole has a history of battling wounds and health issues dating back to his military service during World War II.

A native of Kansas, Bob Dole was briefly a student athlete  on the University of Kansas'  football, basketball and track teams when in December 1941 he learned that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.  A year later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve Corps and left for active duty in June 1943.

And, One of the Greatest of the Greatest.  --GreGen

Arizona Football Team Honors USS Arizona With Uniforms-- Part 2

One shoulder will have the patch of the 47th Pursuit Squadron which was stationed at Pearl Harbor.  On the other there will be a 48-star flag (Arizona was the 48th state admitted to the Union and, of course, it was the 48-star flag that flew in Pearl Harbor that day.

The University of Arizona's football team helmets will feature a red block "A" that is based on a photo of the USS Arizona's football team.  Also, there will be a 12-7-41 date where the helmet and face guard meet.  there is also a helmet logo of the Arizona's ship's bell.

All jerseys will say USS Arizona on the front and BB-39 on the back where the names would be.

A Fitting Honor.  --GreGen

NIU's Albert Riippi-- Part 2: A Game and the Navy

That year NITC (NIU) was undefeated going into the last game versus Southern Illinois.  Before the game, Chick Evans and college president Karl Adams told Riippi that he had been ordered to report to duty the next morning in Chicago.  The game was being played in Carbondale.

The Huskies won 13-12.  Mr. Riipi missed the celebration party the next day in DeKalb.

He was named All-Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team (he played both offense and defense).

After training, he served on the USS Columbia, the "Gem of the Ocean.  He joined the ship while it was in Long Beach, California, where it had gone for repairs after being struck by a kamikaze.  The ship participated in the Borneo invasion and he returned to DeKalb in time for his mother's funeral.

An Interesting Life.  --GreGen

NIU's Albert Riippi, Football and the War--Part 1

From the November 9, 2013, DeKalb (Ill.) Chronicle "Olson: Honoring captain's career in football, firefighting."

Albert Riippi, 87, will be the honorary football team captain in the Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Ball State University game and near the end of the 2nd quarter will present a new pickup truck to a veteran wounded in Afghanistan on behalf of the DeKalb Firefighters Union.

Mr. Riippi is a lifelong DeKalb resident.

He graduated from DeKalb High School at age 17 in the spring of 1944 and enlisted in the Navy.  Two older brothers were already serving in the military.

He stood 6 foot and weighed 220 pounds, a big Finnish kid who had played offensive tackle for the DeKalb Barbs.

At Northern Illinois Teachers College (as NIU was called back then), football coach Chick Evans needed players with so many young men at war.  His squad was mostly made up of men who were 4-F or had already served.  He asked Riippi to play.  Riippi said to him, "I'm in the Navy.  I'm just waiting to be called."  But he agreed to play until then.

Just Waiting for the Call.  --GreGen

Wilmington at War: College Football and Lighting

From the Dec. 2, 2012, Wilmington (MC) Star-News "Back Then."

SEPTEMBER 18, 1942:  North Carolina State and Davidson were having a big football game at Wilmington's Legion Stadium on September 19th.  reserve seats were $2 and general admission $1.25.  The game was set to begin at 4:45.  As such, it must have been lighted.

Most of the lighting restrictions were evidently along the beaches.

This was the first game of the year for the Wolfpack and ended in a 0-0 tie.  State also played Clemson in Charlotte that year.

--GreGen

Duke University During World War II-- Part 2

In 1943, Duke added the Navy's V-12 program, an accelerated training regimen to speed qualified military personnel and high school students into active service as officers. Many were needed to lead the explanded numbers of military members and those killed and wounded.

In the 1941-1942 basketball season, Coach Eddie Cameron's last Blue Devil squad went 22-2, his best record in his 14-year tenure. On March 7, 1942, they repeated as Southern Conference champs.

Football coach Wade resigned in March 1942 and returned to military service (he had been a captain in World War I) and volunteered for the field artillery. (A later Duke legend, Mike Krzyzewski, also was in the field artillery and rose to the rank of captain.)

Cameron, the football backfield coach, took Wade's place as athletic director and "acting head football coach." Cameron's position as head basketball coach was taken over by Gerry Gerald.

In football, the 1942 Duke team lost 21 players from the Rose Bowl unit, but Cameron opened the offense and had four straight winning seasons.

Go Field Artillery. --GreGen

When the Rose Bowl Was Played in Durham, NC-- Part 4

They played in a driving winter rain that began three hours before the game started. Duke fumbled the opening kick-off and never led, although rallying twice to tie it before losing 20-16.

By February 1942, some 200 Trinity College (the name was changed to Duke in 1924) students were on active duty or military-related roles. Curriculum was changed to reflect a wartime emphasis, if only in name. For example, a course on parabolic equations became "Math of Artillery Fire."

Within 14 months, 2/3 of the Duke male students were in some sort of reserve training program. Overall, enrollment dropped and greater numbers of women began attending.

The War Comes Home. --GreGen

When the Rose Bowl Was Played in Durham, NC-- Part 3

The planned-for Rose Bowl game in Pasadena had already sold 65,000 tickets for this Duke-Oregon State match-up.

Duke was not a popular choice. One Los Angeles newspaper reported that when Duke was announced there was "a moment of silent shock" and then "a full-throated chorus of boos."

Duke's previous Rose Bowl appearance, credited with paying for the school's new indoor basketball facility, Cameron Indoor Arena, was also unpopular. At that time, the Iron Dukes, led by Football Hall of Famer George McAfee, Dan Hill and Eric Tipton led Southern Cal until the final 40 seconds when the Trojans scored to win 7-3.

The January 1, 1942, Rose Bowl game, now to be played in North Carolina, nonetheless, sold out in just three days. Demand was so high that exrtra bleachers had to be borrowed from the University of North Carolina to accomodate the 56,000 fans.

And, the Game Was On. --GreGen

When the Rose Bowl Was Played in Durham, NC-- Part 2

Before Pearl Harbor was attacked, a four-day train excusrion was arranged from Durham, NC, (home of Duke) to Pasadena, California, called "The Blue Devil Special" and "The Duke." First-class accomodation aboard a Pullman coach was $125.59 round trip. Duke was playing in the Rose Bowl that year.

The 1942 Duke yearbook, the Chanticleer, said, "Duke students are rabid football enthusiasts and are eager to follow their team all over the country."

In 1941, the winner of the Pacific Coast Conference was Oregon State College, and they got to choose their opponent. Spurning Texas, the Beavers chose Coach Wallace Wade's 9-0 Blue Devils from the much-disparaged Southern Conference (before the ACC). That selection was partly based on Duke defeating the Tennessee Volunteers saddling them with their first regular season loss since 1937.

No Big Ten? --GreGen