DOCUMENT RESUME ED 343 528 HE 025 396 AUTHOR Eberly, Donald J. TITLE National Service: A Promise to Keep. REPORT NO ISBN-0-9605818-3-9 PUB DATE 88 NOTE 254p. AVAILABLE FROMJohn Alden Books, P.O. Box 26668, Rochester, NY 14626 (17.95 plus $2.00 postage and handling). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Community Services; Educational Trends; Federal Legislation; Federal Programs; Higher Education; *Policy Formation; United States History; *Volunteers IDENTIFIERS *National Service; Peace Corps ABSTRACT This book presents an autobiographical look atone man's first-hand experience with the evolution of nationalser from 1945 through 198u. Throughout the account significantdocuments and articles by the author and others are included suchas newspaper and magazine articles, significant correspondence fromnational and government leaders, and congressional hearing testimony.The chapters are as follows: (1) "1946-1950: High School and College, ThteImpact of War, An Idea Takes Root"; (2) "1951-1960: Servicein the Army, Service in Nigeria, National Service";(3) "1961-1967: The Peace Corps, Return to Nigeria, The First National Serv,ceConference"; (4) "1967-1971: Service Learning, A Bill for National Service,A National Service Project"; (5) 1971-1980: The Pilot Project Succeeds,Working with the Roosevelts, Youth Service in Britain, Chinaand Cuba"; (6) "1981-1988: Alternative Service: Fostering LocalService Initiatives, A Coalition is Formed." A final chapter presentsreflections on past achievements and failures along with suggestions forwhat may be in the future. Included is a table of exhibits of thedocuments included in the text, a 70-item bibliography, andan index. (JB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the bestthat can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** NIATIO1NIAL stRVICE F4,A Promiseto Keep 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS ATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Donald J. Eberly TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INPORMATION CEN rER (ERIC)" P U.S. 01PARTMIINT OF SOL/CATION Office al Educational Research and Irnprovamtutt EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 0 The docueffinl has bean hopilduced 'wowed tram the person or organlzatton originating a 0 Minor champs have been made 10 Intrif0VO mOroduchon quality Points ot Vow or opinions stated in this doCto mon! po not necessarily ragman! ottrctal OERI position or policy uonaldj. Eberly 2 PEST C Y AVAILABLE NATIONAL SERVICE: A Promise to Keep Donald J. Eberly 'There has been noone in America more dedicated to the concept of national service than Don Eberly. He writes with apas:ion that grows out of hisown life of service. I hope many will read this book and be inspired by Don as I have been. Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. President Emeritus University of Notre Dame 'There is plenty ofroom for uebate on the particulars, but the idea of a National Youth Service has a lot going for it. ...there is plenty of work that desperately needs doing. Don't be surprised if, at long last, Eberly pulls it off.' [pp. 183, 1841 William Raspberry The Washington Post 'Don Eberly :las worked tirelessly to keep the subject of nz....ional service on the public policy agenda of America for over three decades.This book is an important reference on the public debate over national service since World War II.Everyone concerned with the development of a national service program owes Don Eberly a debt of gratitude for his lifetime of dedicated service to this objective: Senator Sam Nunn, Chairman Committee on Armed Services 'Like Don Eberly,I have long felt that youth and volunteer service are very important for our country.Mr. Eberly has played a vital role in the national service movement over many years, and his experience, leadership, and ideas are all valuable assets in the ongoing effort to promote the concept of national service. His latest book reminds us how far national service has come and how far it has yet to go.' Representative Leon Panetta, Chairman Committee on the Budget John Alden Books P.O. Box 26668 Rochester, N.Y. 14626 ISBN 0-9605818-3-9 3 ISBN 0-9605818-3-9 Donald Eberlyand his wife, Louise, live inWashington, D.C. Theirdaughter, Julie, lives in NewZealand withher Son of a Methodistminister husband and three from a smalltown in Northern children. New York, Donald Eberly is Mr. Eberly hasdegrees from living proofthat oneperson MIT and Harvard can make a difference and serve6 even in the U.S.Army. in today'scomplex society. Here is an insider's view of Introduced toSargent Shriver the goings-on ofWashington in 1961as "the firstPeace bureaucracy bya man who, Corps Volunteer," quite single-handedly the author without describes hisearly "influence," hasbeen able and failures successes to as a teacherin reach appropriatepeople in Nigeria where Donaldand government and toeffect Louisewere married. legislation for acause which could becrucial for Mr. Eberly is America. executive director of theNational ServiceSecretariat the Coalition (1966) and Donald Eberly for National has been Service (1986).He is also absolutely steadfastin retired from SelectiveService. pursuing the nationalservice ideal overmost of his career. Donald Eberlyis theauthor of Don's isan absorbingstory 5everal books for its andnumerous own sake. Butmore articles,some of which important is his are mission which compiled inthis volume. he has dutifullyserved for decades and is yet unfulfilled. NATIONALSERVICE: He continuesto serve it in A PROMISE TO KEEPcovers: this bookas he describesthe ...the 1950s ratinnale, the design when national and the servicewas a modelfor the evolution of nationalservice. Peace Corps, ...the 1960swhen national servicewas seenas an NATIONAL SERVICE: alternativeto the military A PROMISETO KEEP isboth draft, a personal account of the ...the 1970swhen national thrills and throesof the servicewas touted pursuit of national as a major service and part of theanswer to the an authoritative;eference. problem of youthunemployment, ...and the1980s with service national as a modelfor state and localyouth service initiatives. ,1 Also by Donald J. Eberly A Profile of National Service '',National Service Secretariat, 1966) National Service: A Reporton a Conference (Russell Sage Foundation, 1968) National Service: Social, Economic and MilitaryImpacts (With Michael W. Sherraden, PergamonPress, 1982) ,6 NATIONAL SERVICE: A PROMISE TOKEEP by Donald J. Eberly John Alden Books Rochester, New York Copyright © 1988 by Donald J. Eberly All rights reserved. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:88-92043 ISBN 0-9605818-3-9 Printed in the United States of.',merica. John Alden Books, SAN 216-5678 187 Barmont Drive - P.O. Box 26668 Rochester, New York 14626 PREFACE What follows is unique. Son ofa Methodist minis- ter from a small town in Northern New York,Donald Eberly is living proof thatone person can make a dif- ference even in today's complex society. Here isan insider's view of the goings-onof Washington bureaucracy by a man who, quitesingle-handedly with- out "influence," has been ableto reach appropriate people in government andto effect legislation for a cause which could be crucial for America. Donald Eberly has been absolutelysteadfast in pursuing the national service idealover most of his career. Don's is an absorbing story for itsown sake. But more important is his mission whichhe has duti- fully served for decades and isyet unfulfilled. He continues to serve it in this bookas he describes the rationale, the design and theevolution of national service. It is indeeda promise worth keeping. John Stevens Editor and Publisher Dear Nicholas, 1,nna and Sarah, You may some day read these words ina history textbook: Following a 1906 speech by William James inwhich he advocated a moral equivalent ofwar, the debate on national service waxed and waned for nearlya century before it was finally adopted by the United States. This was the kind of approachto history I encount. in high school and it failed to ignite much interestin the subject. By contrast, history assignments in col- lege steered me to copies of original documentsand to contemporary accounts of historical events. Reading these papers made historycome alive for me and led me to feel that I had a decent understanding of what had happened in the period under study. With this background in mind, it occurredto me that you might like to read what I have hadto say about national serviceover the years, together with a commentary to weave the pieces together and to describe relevant events. As a matter of fact, thecommentary sections of this book beganas a letter to Nicholas and Anna, before Sarah was born. A 1976 suggestion by Willard Wirtz has also figured in my decision to write this book.He said that I owed it to history to write aboutmy first-hand experience with the evolution of national service.If Ralph Waldo Emerson was right when he saidthat all history is subjective, that "there is properlyno his- tory; only biography," then a personalized approachto the evolution of national serviceover the last forty years would seem to be fitting. 1 In addition to you and the historians, some people may be interested innational service as a current policy issue. For them, this book may be useful since it deals with the many dimensions of national service, puts them into a temporal perspective,and contains enough references to people and to publications to permit a comprehensive look at national service. With the possibility of this broader readership, I decided to drop some of the family references and address the book to a wider audience. Still, the three of you have been foremost in my mind as I havewritten these pages. I had thought about writing a year-by-year account of national service ever since Bill Wirtz suggestedit, but there always seemed to be other things to do that would be of greater help in moving toward the right kind of national service. Times have changed. Interest in national service is on the rise and hundreds of people including many young people are promoting national service in a wide variety of ways.