In October 1941 the destroyer Reuben James is sunk, and Howard Wade '38 is the first Taft casualty of the war. A new Senior House is built in his memory. Before the war is over, 58 more alumni lose their lives in the conflict. Their service is honored in the World War II memorial in Lincoln Lobby.
More than 1,400 Tafties served in uniform, roughly half of the school's living graduates. Major Ralph Cheli '37 was awarded the Congressional Medal of honor, posthumously, for heroic service in the South Pacific.
