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Overview History Of The Nrotc Unit, Brendan J. O’Donnell, Usn (Ret)

75th Anniversary of NROTC at Holy Cross

This historical overview of the Naval ROTC Unit at the College of the Holy Cross was prepared for the 75th anniversary of the Unit's establishment in 1941. It summarizes three distinct eras and calls attention to transition points in the Unit’s history: the Vietnam War crisis in 1970 and 1971, the introduction of women to the Unit, the transition from a Holy Cross-only Unit to one based on the Worcester Consortium for Higher Education, the Peace Dividend years of the 1990s, the role of the Marine Officer Instructor, and the value of a liberal arts education.