Immediately following the United States' entry into World War II after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (SFA) President Alton Birdwell called together an assembly of students and staff to address the national emergency. Many students and faculty members responded to the call to arms by entering every branch of the armed services, and a county civil defense council, with many SFA leaders, worked on the homefront. Among the homefront efforts was a concerted program to maintain active correspondence with those serving in the military overseas.

In addition to the male SFA military and homefront volunteers, many SFA women entered military service. Student enrollment fell by 60% during the war and the resulting scarcity of men, coupled with travel restrictions, forced the school's athletic council to suspend intercollegiate football. In February 1943 the U. S. Army selected SFA as the first college in the nation to host the women's Army Corps Training School.

At the height of the war, a flag made by students was displayed on campus. It bore more than a thousand blue stars for SFA students and staff serving in the war, and 24 gold stars for those who lost their lives in service to their country. Ultimately, more than three dozen SFA students died in military service.

Many students attended school on the G. I. Bill after the war, resulting in a surge in enrollment and construction of new campus buildings. The college's recreation facilities were renamed "Memorial Park" and "Memorial Stadium" in honor of those who served and died in the war. Students and faculty have continued to serve the U. S. military in times of peace and war.

(1999)