Question 79: Free Response

I quit my railroad job with the intention of joining the air Corp but at the same time the army decided to stop taking enlistments in that branch so the recruiting office (salesman) taked [talked] me into enlisting in the army and then getting transferred into the air corp. I am still trying to get the transfer. Recently my C.O. said "so would everyone else", when I asked to be transferred into the air corps. I wanted in the ground crew since I am too old to learn to fly. The weather is my main drawback as far as the infantry is concerned.

In regards to question 18 - I am in Aircraft Warning attached to Air Force. I feel that enlisted men as well as officers should have the privilege of buying shoes from the P.X. [Army Exchange] The U.S. should see that Japan or Germany have nothing to do with controlling the world.

My questions are as follows that I wish to get off my chest; How can a 1st Sgt. get away with practically running a company the way he wants it? Its true, is it not, that overseas a soldier is allowed pin up girls? Why aren't we? Why must the Privates and lower non-coms abide by a set of rules made for this company when the higher three grades of non-coms can do just the opposite?

The morale in this company is plenty

low. There is a certain group of Sgts in this company whom I dislike intensely. Not only myself but theres plenty of others. My opinion is, this company could be a happy group of men working together for one cause. However we don't have that feeling. I think a private should have the same rights in a company as any non-com.

Any Sgt. who will lay down the law and allow other men to forget it because they have four stipes [stripes] or because he thinks he is better than the rest is to my opinion a very poor sport.

A Sgt. and his stooges is a very smelly combination!

I'm interested in this work a lot but I would like to get a chance to work it where it could do some good. I always wanted to be a pilot of a pursuit plane but failed the mental test so I volenteered straight draft.

My folks & I ran a 400 acre farm & they are talking of selling out & if they do I wouldn't be in any hurry to get out of the army unless I could get back so they wouldn't have to.

Sometimes I wonder why they keep soldiers in the states ever since the war broke out, and send soldiers who complete their basic training overseas immediately

I should think we would have a better method of conquering the Japs than we are using Why bother with all these Islands and sacrificing so many men, why not get one position near enough to Tokyo and bomb the living daylights out of those skunks.

I also believe that a private should have a little more say than he has in the Army. For example in my battery we are never allowed to say much of anything

I also believe that after this war the government should see that all our soldiers are well-taken care of financially as well as a good job. After all we are sacrificing more than the people back home can even imagine. I guess you know as well as I do that it not much fun to leave your loved ones back home. Our congress should decide before we are discharged from the Army what they are to do to help us. We should receive the money they decide to give us as soon as we leave the Army in one lump sum. I believe most of the boys like me will need some money to get accustomed to civilian life again.

I say that our Commanding officer is a damned G.I. fool for trying to make a style show out of an Overseas outfit - after a man has been in the army long enough to be overseas he gets tired of having to bow and scrape to a man just because he is an officer - We are all in this war to win it; so why can't officers be human beings and realize that most enlisted men have feelings and that

their ideas are often times just as good if not better than an officers - Don't get me wrong about not having respect for officers. I like the custom of saluting and giving an officer proper respect but he is only an officer, not a GOD. I have seen men go into this C.O.'s office and stand at a very uncomfortable position of attention for almost an hour just because this Colonel is so stuck on himself that he thinks that if he should tell a man to kill himself that he should just out of respect.

Why doesn't someone continue to change the articles of War so that an enlisted man has some of the rights, for which we are told we are fighting for.

The enlisted personnel in the Army has absolutely no rights while the Officers can do just about anything they care to do.

Why can't the army conduct an adaptability program and reclassify men so that they will be in the jobs that they are best

suited to perform

I did fifteen days in the stockade on a charge, that, has since been proven I did not, or could not have committed. I, therefore, think that I should have something for those days of confinement.

Why doesn't the army draft strikers and put them back on their jobs at a privates pay?

When are the authorities going to wake up and realize that the Army is one hundred years behind in its psychology?

Why can't enlisted men be treated like men instead of being treated like a bunch of morons.

There is only one thing I want from that Army and that is a discharge. The sooner I get it the better I will like it.

I am not, and never shall be, a soldier.

Why aren't ratings given out according to what the men do instead of being given to those who can work up the most political emotion.

I am thoroughly disgusted with the Army and everything about it.

Our press seems to be informed our next operation better than our commander they guess it right on the head. I always was under the impression we are out fox the enemy not hint our next move to the whole world. When the job is done that is news, but why give out premature news of our operation? How about the boys in C.P.A. getting their leaves so they can see home.

Ive been in the Army for 3 years now spent a 1 year in the States then asked to come overseas, well I've seen 7 mo. on Canton, almost went nuts, then came back to Schofield in Dec 42, staying here for awhile about 10 mo. then going into the Gilberts, and now were back in Schofield, Gee I sure wish they would send us back to the States, or go some were else, to get this war over with

being here is hell what I think is wrong with the boys who been here as long as I have, and seen a little action, they would rather like to see more action or go back for a while to the States, to enjoy them self with the girls. Hell I've been here two years and not a date, I don't know what's wrong, hell I use to be able to make dates back home, I'm just sick of being in one place so long.

How about sending these guy's who been here the longest back for awhile, I'm sure they would be much better soldiers,

Thank you

I should like to know why a person who volunteers for the air corps and has qualifications for ground crew work is sent to the infantry and trained as a radio operator. Why don't they get what they like to do as it is my belief that a person or soldier who is happy in his particular field of work should not be shifted to another field. A Happy soldier is usually a good soldier.

I was injured in jungle training, about six months ago and so far nothing has been done about it. I ruptured a muscle in my leg and at that time was told that it was only a "Charlie Horse". After Kwajalein I finally went to the hospital to see what could be done; and was told that nothing whatsoever could be done for me. I was told that if I were operated on complications might set in and I'd be worse off than before. Now what burns me up is this. Why couldn't

the doctors in my battalion tell me what was wrong. They called it "Charlie Horse" and let it go at that. I bet if they made the same mistakes in civilian life their practice would suffer for it. If they would have told me from the start what was wrong, an operation might have helped me; as it stands now it's too dangerous to have an operation. I think the doctors should take a little more interest in this work even if they are in the Army. After all we soldiers depend on them to keep us in good health and that's important. In combat I must say they were swell. They did a wonderful job, which proves they are good when they want to be.

I know that we can't have a democratic army but officers should be a little more civil toward enlisted men.

If we are going to have a dictatorship we should import Herr Hitler to run it for us.

Pau.

Why so many of the same Inspections? Why don't the Army give credit for what you do and not who you know, Whats wrong with outfits laying around in the States, Why don't they change around and try to give everybody a break.

Our noncoms run in clicks, Officers don't know their men. They run moral [morale] down instead of helping it.

I can't see why they don't give a fellow

a chance to make good in something he knows, to many bosses in our outfit.

Why does the Army send men to school, I went to Mechanics school, I've been in the company 22 months and all I've done is drive

Officers don't get together on what we are supposed to do. They come around and give different orders.

A couple fellows screw up and the whole company gets hell.

Officers and Noncoms try to show too much authority.

Our Noncoms run the company.

They make us do to many foolish thing that are of no help.

Noncoms try to beat each other out of stripes, they can't think for themselfs.

A private screws up he get the book throwed at him. A Noncom screws up, its OK.

You go on sick call they give you pills for everything, they think your gold bricking. They have that go to hell attitude.

I have found that soldiers mostly all think that the army does not get enough publicity about what they do (although all condemn the Marines who they think get more than their share).

I think combat troops should have a good soft field shoe or boot about 8 in high with a slightly higher heel than the GI issue now.

Slight phisical defects especialy in older

men should be given more consideration & some action taken. I have a small hernia, too small to do anything about they say, but it gives me hell when the going gets toughest + you should be at your best.

EFM messages are a joke as they as long or longer to arrive as air mail.

Combat troops should be equipt with the new Carbine with adjustable rear sight as the ones we have now are not lined up very well + many men have not the confidence in them that should have.

Y

I think men of 38 yrs or over should be discharged as they are too old to compete with with men of 18 or 20 years old

They should work a system so that most of the boys could have more time for atheletic games instead of parades. Even letting the boys attend the baseball games is a great moral booster, in my opinion you root for your teams and forget about the daily routine for a while. In my opinion, atheletic men makes the best soldiers, so give us plenty of sports and exercises.

I am a soldier with more than 3 1/2 years in the army, I volunteered for foreign service to do all I could but so far I did more in the states so now that it seems impossible to get any where. I would like to get into the paratroops but they won't let me transfer and I think the boys should get furloughs. Save for some have been here for three and four years without getting to the states which to every man on the islands seems to think the army is worse than it really is.

After finishing six weeks Basic training, I went to clerk school and was a clerk in personnel office of 152d Inf. as long as we were in the states. Due to the fact the job I had was run by a Sgt. and I had no chance of promotion, I asked for a transfer to another outfit when other cadre's were going out but because they like me as an individual they wouldn't transfer me.

After we came over seas, my job as assistant in Report Section, wasn't called for under T.O.

Now I'm back in a line Company waiting for an opening. Not knowing when I will get back and combat duty will probably be in the near future, I don't feel like I have had the proper training for a good field combat soldier. Why are officers allowed to satisfy their own wants and others have to suffer?

I like clerking very much and as long as I was one I was completely happy. I feel like my ability is good and my typing was fifty-five (55) words a minute which is above the average Clerk in this outfit.

This probably doesn't matter to you at all, but why does they teach one a job and do as they do. A job mean more to me than that, and one can't lear [learn] and do a job efficiently over night.

When in the states why not have a PX set up on trope [troop] trains?

When a man don't like a outfit and he thinks he has been given a raw deal, why not let him get in a place where he has been befor, that is in my case I have been in the army befor and have found out I liked my old outfit a hell of a lot better men and all.

We had men in outfit for

first Sgt. And, other N.C.O who if you wanted to tell them any thing they would lisson [listen] to you you shut you up and ordere you out of there way.

I shore [sure] would like to get back to motor Transport.

I would like to get in a place where I could be of some good not just a dam poor soldgier.

I could with my post army life be of some good around a air base, or around and field artillery as I was with one for a year and drove a crash truck for year and a half for the air core.

I could be of more hellp to some one else than on K.P. all the time or in a Laundery.

If we all just sit and did K.P. and worked in a Laundry we never would get the war over and never would get home again.

I believe when an outfit is overseas, it is very foolish to have retreat.

I believe that the Enlisted men are not being treated to par with the officers. As long as the United States is at war, there is a job to be done, so why not give the officers the same as an Enlisted man gets, after all, we are all fighting for the same reason.