Douglas L. McCabe Papers

Mr. Douglas L. McCabe was born in the Bronx, New York, on September 21, 1922, but resided in West Orange, New Jersey, as a child. His father, a lawyer and certified public accountant, worked for R.T. Lingley & Company in Manhattan. His mother served as a Red Cross volunteer for thirty-five years. McCabe went to school in West Orange and participated in the Boy Scouts, eventually attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

McCabe entered Rutgers in 1940, following in the footsteps of his older brother, John F. McCabe, Jr., RC '32. He was involved in many activities at Rutgers, including lacrosse, Cap & Skull and Student Council. He also joined the Delta Epsilon fraternity and served as an usher at Kirkpatrick Chapel. He first met his wife, Isabelle Armstrong, New Jersey College for Women Class of 1946, on a blind date to a fraternity party.

In the summer of 1943, McCabe and his fellow Advanced ROTC cadets, the group that would become known as the Black Fifty, were ordered to active duty in the Army. McCabe underwent medical testing at Camp Kilmer, which separated him from his ROTC classmates; due to a heart murmur, he had to sign a waiver to serve in the Army. He was sent to Camp Croft, South Carolina, for basic training. From Camp Croft, he was ordered back to Rutgers, where he rejoined the Black Fifty, before entering Officer Candidate School, Class 340, at Fort Benning, Georgia; due to a subsequent bout of scarlet fever, McCabe was commissioned with Class 346. He then joined the 113th Infantry Regiment, a National Guard outfit, at Camp Pickett, Virginia, and trained with them at various installations in the South, including Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Camp Rucker, Alabama.

On August 2, 1945, McCabe received orders to proceed to California for overseas deployment. While he believed that he was going to Alaska, he was sent to the Port of Manila. In Manila, McCabe served as a pier officer with the Transportation Corps, supervising the loading and unloading of cargo ships. He then became the Chief of the Checker Section, which produced inventories of the materials moving through the port. In both capacities, he dealt with Filipino civilians, who worked under him, labor disputes and theft from the docks. While off-duty, he would often tour Manila, visit with Filipino civilians and participate in social activities arranged for GIs. He also attended an Easter passion play on Balut Island and the war crimes trail of General Tomoyuki Yamashita.

In the summer of 1946, McCabe returned to the United States and, following his separation from the service, he completed his senior year at Rutgers. He took a position at the Prudential Insurance Company, but, since he had remained in the Reserves, he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. During his stateside tour, he served as a ROTC instructor at a military prep school in Manlius, New York. He then returned to his career at Prudential, retiring in 1985. The McCabes had two sons and a daughter.