“In Military Service” from the “1943 Franciscan” yearbook, pages 78-79

Photographic spread of the San Francisco State College faculty (history professor Dr. Thodore Treutlein, baseball coach Hal Harden, and history professor Dr. Gerald White) and students Jack Gilkey, Jim Smith, Ted Merrill, Ellerth Larson, Ray Lang, Bob Buckley, John Grantham, Art Blum, Don Sutherland, Milt Vail, Charlie Ebeling, James Synan, and Al Goria that served during World War II. As the war continued, some “Gaters” were recognized for heroism: Captain Herman Bottcher was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Hardie E. Robbins (wounded in action in French Morocco, was awarded a Purple Heart. Private Charles W. Hill was killed in action at Dutch Harbor and posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. Baseball coach Hal Harden left behind his team at San Francisco State in 1943 to serve in the U.S. Navy. Harden was selected to develop physical education training at the Pre-Flight School at St. Mary’s College that was eventually used in pre-flight schools throughout the United State. Harden employed three components: hand-to-hand combat, swimming, and soccer so that flyers would be able to survive if planes came down over water or land. Soccer training included 45-minutes of running and created dexterity and developed the ability for men to control objects with feet. Most likely, Hardin served as a recruiter for a much broader team for San Francisco State during the war benefitting all disciplines.