A letter that ran in our spring 2008 issue submitted by Helen Bride Mitchell ’49 of Clearwater, Florida, recounted how the campus radio station promised a dinner date with “an up-and-coming” new singer—Miss Patti Page—after her perfomance on campus. This letter prompted Bill Mellen ’49 of Hadley to search his cellar for related photographs.

“During Patti’s visit, sometime during the 1948–1949 academic year, someone cooked up this photo op,” writes Bill. “Flanking Miss Page on an army tank are four ROTC cadet officers, all members of the class of 1949. As you can see from the service ribbons and overseas service stripes, some veterans of World War II who were discharged as enlisted men decided to enroll in advanced ROTC in order to earn reserve commissions. These guys were in the minority since most veterans had no wish
whatsoever to have anything more to do with the military.”

Submit your own UMass concert memory or photos to lcsmith@admin.umass.edu.