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L: Well, it was about that time that Dr. Leake agreed to transfer
me to his department. I was transferred from General College
to Dr. Leake's department about the time the war broke out.
P: Well, the war broke out, of course, in Europe in 1939 and then
Pearl Harbor in December, '41.
L: But I started teaching courses in political science as soon
as I went back in '37. I still taught in political science
and I taught a course in state and local government, and
federal government. One semester of federal government,
and the other state and local government. Well, it wasn't
very long before everybody was leaving for the army. The
draft was in effect. Myra's brother, who's ancestor was standing
by Captain Lawrence when he made that celebrated statement, "Don't
give up the ship," went downtown to register for the navy. They
gave a medical examination, and they told him he had to get a
permanent denture put in. He had one that would come out. The
doctor said, "What would happen if, in the midst of a battle,
a bomb dropped on your ship and you lost a denture? Do you
think the captain would say, 'Stop the battle. Let Lieutenant
Doyle find his dentures?"' He says, "You'll have to get those
in there in place in order to qualify physically for a commission
in the navy." He went across the street and volunteered with
the Marines. And he was with the Marines on Guadalcanal. .
P: They took him with his dentures.
L: They took him with his weakened dentures. He fought all through
the war.
P: Well, what did you teach on campus with the students gone?
L: In the spring of '41, the students were going fast at that
time, but we still had a lot of students. I was asked if I
would become the administrator of the merit system program
for the health agencies in Florida. So I gave up some of my
university load, agreed to be on half-time during the war
years and half-time with the state Board of Health and the
Crippled Children's Commission. It turned out that I was on
full-time with both of them.
P: Where were the offices for these other agencies?