The Post-War Years

Many of the returning troops who expected the country to go back to "normal," whatever that was, were sadly disappointed. The War Years had changed the country forever.
Those who fought for mom's apple pie often found that mom was now going off to work in a factory or an office every morning. The Saturday afternoon movie had turned into Saturday night at the drive-in. At least jobs were a lot more plentiful than when they had left.
Overseas, our enemies had become our friends, and at least one of our friends, the Soviet Union, had become our bitter enemy. The Soviets were rapidly carving up Eastern Europe in the immediate Post-War years, and there seemed to be little America could do to stop them. An Iron Curtain fell across Europe. The Cold War had begun.
Churchill, the war hero, was cast aside by British voters, and Harry Truman, the former haberdasher from Kansas City, was now leading America. The country's defense plans were based on exclusive control of The Bomb. These plans were altered in 1949 when the Soviet Union tested a nuclear bomb.
At Helmerich & Payne, the Post-War years would usher in the beginning of a new era in company history.
Since the 30s, William Broadhurst had controlled 47 percent of the company. After the war, Walt Helmerich and White, Weld purchased his shares and he resigned.
At about the same time, Walt Helmerich, III was preparing to enter the company. The elder Helmerich had seldom discussed business matters with his son, so the young Walt had very little knowledge of the company as he was growing up.
During the war, he served as an officer in the Air Force for three and a half years, finishing at B-29 school, Keesler Field, Biloxi, Mississippi. He then entered the University of Oklahoma and received a B.A. degree in 1948. His plan was to attend graduate school in English literature in preparation for a career as a college professor..