After a wartime career of almost three years the U.S.S. Bucknell has been scuttled. The "decks" are once again floors, "sacks" are now beds, and the "chow hall" is the cafeteria, and "sick bay" is just plain Zeigler Infirmary.
With the initial strength of 600 marines and sailors, the Navy College Program landed at Lewisburg in July, 1943, and succeeded in establishing a beachhead, much to the delight of lonely coeds. By February 28, l946, 1685 V-12ers had fought the Battle of bucknell in the fields of engineering, pre-med, deck and naval aviation.
At the end of the summer term, 1945, most of the trainees were transferred to Navy ROTC units at Cornell, Rochester and Penn. Twenty V-12 engineers remained to form the nucleus of the student officer organization for the winter term. The Navy sent 333 V-5 trainees to Bucknell for instruction on November 1. They enrolled in basic and intermediate engineering courses. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander O.C. Dunckel, USNR, announced on January 15, l946, that the Navy would terminate its contract with Bucknell on Febreuary 28.
