Naval Experiment
PROF. DEMAREE HAS A MAJOR HAND IN COURSE ON SEA POWER HISTORY
DARTMOUTH IS PROVING THE TESTING GROUND for a course in the history of sea power which may later become standard for the many thousands of students in the 52 American colleges with NROTC units.
Back of it are Captain Roger E. Nelson, USN, Professor of Naval Science and Tactics at Dartmouth, and Albert L. Demaree, Ph.D., Professor of History; and the course, Naval Science 101 (a), is now being given on an experimental basis at Dartmouth with Captain Nelson and Professor Demaree doing the bulk of the lecturing, assisted by Professors Stilwell and Hill (Department of History), Bartlett (Department of Biography), and Hurd (Department of English), and by Commander Charles O. Cook Jr., USN, Major Donald S. Callaham, USMC, and Lieutenant Commander Gale S. Felton, USN.
The intellectual groundwork of the course was planned in Washington recently when nine naval captains met to listen to Captain Nelson expound his educational theories and to outline a course which he believes to be not only desirable but also necessary for all young men who are to receive commissions in the Navy.
In working out the details and the administration of the course here, Captain Nelson has availed himself freely of the academic experience of Professor Demaree, who is author of a book called Naval Orientation (1945) now used throughout the United States at NROTC centers. Professor Demaree busies himself in his spare time revising and rewriting this book, which was compiled under pressure during the war when he was stationed in Washington with the rank of Commander. He began revamping it last summer and is utilizing experts in the Navy for special chapters. Part of his Christmas vacation he spent working on it in Washington, and he plans to do more on it there during his free week in April and devote next summer to it. By early September it should be in press, a volume of 500-odd pages.
Professor Demaree's naval experience dates back to 1917 when he began serving as Ensign in the regular navy with four years of duty on destroyers, fleet supply ships, and submarine chasers. He also taught at the Naval Academy. In 1920 he was on the Olympia, Dewey's old flagship, which brought back the Unknown Soldier.
In World War II Professor Demaree left Dartmouth to enter the Navy as a lieutenant and rose to the rank of Commander with duty in Washington and on the USSBoxer on which he served as training officer for six weeks to get both practical and theoretical experience on which he could draw for his book. When Japan surrendered, he was en route to Guam. After the war the Chief of the Bureau awarded him a commendation for his lectures and writings.
Now back at Dartmouth on a full schedule, Professor Demaree lectures twice a year at Columbia University to leaders of industry at civilian orientation groups sponsored by the Navy.
So useful has he proved that the Navy asked him last year to return for two years' further duty in connection with his research and writing, but owing to pressure of work in the Department of History, he declined.
A Dickinson College graduate, class of 1923, Professor Demaree received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1940 after writing a dissertation on the American Agricultural Press, 1819-1860.
PROFESSOR DEMAREE, authority on naval history and collector of early American stamps, is shown examining a prized "Black Jack" of 1863.
