Tradition of Service
Tradition of Service
Harvard celebrates the long, proud legacy of students and alumni who answer the call to military service.
Long history
Since the colonial period, the U.S. military and Harvard University have shared a deeply interwoven history.
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1776
During the American Revolution, students were dismissed early and the Harvard campus was turned over to the Continental Army. More than 1,600 soldiers were housed in Harvard buildings.
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1861
Harvard undergraduates joined the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, nicknamed “the Harvard regiment.” On campus, Harvard students rushed to protect the cannons and ammunition held at the Cambridge Arsenal.
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1941
During World War II, the U.S. Naval Reserve operated a Supply Corps School at Harvard for the training of officers, including members of the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).
Greg Galeazzi
Greg, Harvard Medical School alum and former U.S. Army captain, discussed the connection between his injuries and his approach to medicine.
Vanessa Valverde
Vanessa, who worked in signals intelligence during her time as a Marine, says the experience helped her prepare for her future in academia.
I look forward to applying the lessons that I learned at HBS to be a more effective leader and make a lasting impact on the Navy.”
On campus and beyond
A home for ROTC
Harvard was home to the first Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) battalion in the nation, formed in 1916. In recent years, we have seen an increase in students interested in military service.
A home for ROTCProtecting rights
Students in the Law School’s Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic work to protect the rights of veterans and their families.
Managing physical and mental health
Harvard Medical School traumatic brain injury expert Ron Hirschberg is senior director of health and wellness at the nonprofit Home Base, where he hosts a podcast about military service and mental health.
Providing care
Each year, military veterans and their spouses receive dental care at Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s annual Give Veterans a Smile event.
Researching and analyzing
Innovative PTSD research from Harvard SEAS, NYU School of Medicine, and the U.S. Army could provide faster and more accurate diagnoses.
Civic engagement
Research by Harvard Kennedy School Professor Desmond Ang found that Black men who served in WWI were three times more likely to join the NAACP after their service ended, and were similarly more likely to become prominent civic activists after the war.
Rachel Anderson
A near-fatal helicopter crash while training to be an Army attack helicopter pilot forced Rachel to change paths. Today she is pursuing a joint degree at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.
Alexandria Durrant
Harvard undergraduate Alexandria, who is considering a concentration in government with a secondary in global health and health policy, fell in love with healthcare while serving as a Navy hospital corpsman.
Ben Bellet
During his deployments in Afghanistan and Kuwait, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alum Ben found himself interested in the question of human suffering, particularly among the soldiers he led.
Service in action
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