Over sixty years ago, from a day in October to a day in December, United States Army soldiers were stationed on the campus and slept in the corridors of the main building of a local high school. They were issued and trained with rejected thirteen-pound rifles which had no ammunition. The termination of the military program was celebrated by a blizzard of talcum powder.
THE ABOVE EVENTS occurred in the fall of 1918 during "the war to end all wars." The army camp was on the campus of San Diego High School. This unique army unit was the Student Army Training Corps, known as the SATC, and consisted of ninety male students, most of whom were enrolled in San Diego Junior College. The talcum powder celebration was triggered by the World War I armistice on November 11 and took place in downtown San Diego only blocks away.
during 1917 and 1918, the War Department suspended the ROTC in the fall of 1918 in favor of the Student Army Training Corps which trained enlisted men for special assignments but not for commission.1 While the SATC was not an officers training school, plans were afoot to transfer men in the SATC who appeared to be officer material, to such a camp. For instance, those majoring in mathematics were tentatively ticketed to go to Camp Zachary Taylor for training in the artillery. The war ended however, before any transfer was made.
On Friday, October 10, the world wide influenza epidemic reached San Diego, resulting in the imposition by the Board of Health, of a citywide quarantine. Wearing of face masks in public was mandatory.
While this quarantine became effective on October 11, it was not until December 9, 1918, that the City Council got around to adopting an Emergency Ordinance making it a misdemeanor for anyone outside of his home not to: "wear, securely fastened over his nose, and mouth, a gauze mask made from at least four-ply surgical gauze, or preferably from at least three-ply butter cloth." There was partial relief in that the ordinance did not prohibit "any person from removing said mask while being served and while actually consuming articles of food or drink." Not less than five dollars, nor more than one hundred dollars was the fine, and/or thirty days in jail. By its terms the ordinance expired after nine days on December 18.
Everyone in camp wore face masks. Under the direction of Sgt. Charles Kenneth Flood, all masks were collected at the end of each day and laundered. In company formation each morning freshly laundered masks were given out.
Because he was an ROTC veteran, Flood was named sergeant. In addition to the flu mask duty, Flood supervised the "hospital," a classroom adjacent to the cafeteria. Flood recalls that the number of patients in the hospital did not at any one time exceed twelve. This hospital was in addition to the "apartment hospital," so enjoyed by Private Joe Jessop and his friends. Evenings, men were marched into Study 86, a large room in the north building, and told to study, and study they did. The non-coms on duty saw that they did.
Because recruit G. Burch Mehlin had evidenced an interest in medicine, he became the group "doctor." During the quarantine, he had the duty of daily spraying with gasoline the throat of every recruit. It did not make any sense to Burch and he was the only who was not sprayed. It was somewhat of a miracle that the gasoline and a lighted match never came close enough to cause an incident. After leaving the service, Mehlin was admitted to practice, and for thirty-five years enjoyed an outstanding reputation in medicine in San Diego, retiring in 1965.
Since Washington failed to supply San Diego's SATC, an emergency call for equipment went forth to local establishments. It was answered promptly; by Saturday evening, October 11, 1918, the Navy delivered 100 cots and Coronado Tent City delivered 200 blankets, 400 sheets, 200 pillow cases and 100 pillows, and the San Diego SATC was "in business." With the quarantine closing the high school buildings, the men set up their cots in the corridors of the main building. The non-coms took over classrooms. Those who had been living off campus, suddenly found themselves in camp twenty-four hours a day.
Student Army Training Corp Class of 1918
( You may click the small pictures to enlarge them.)
The Grey Castle
