Question 71: Free Response

Why is it that men from the North are sent South and so forth. Why not leave the men in there part of the country they would feel better about every thing and work much harder, I'm sure. And why wast that money shipping them around like that. That is a wast of good Government mony which the taxes payers have to pay for.

How in the heck does the air-corps get that hotel deal and we don't. It seems to me that AC takes a lot better care of their men

I find that for the most part the returning veteran is interested in just what he accuses the striking unions of. Selfishness, money, personal advancement without working for it. In other words he wants a hand out.

Racial & religious prejudice is rampant. I noticed this after Chaplain Breslau gave his talk. If what I see is a cross-section of the men in all the armed forces -- then we've fought a war to bring education & liberation for everybody but ourselves. And maybe they didn't want it either. I have no faith in these men to assume the duties of liberating & educating the U.S. I look forward to excessive racial & religious persecutions. Politically these men have been taught in a fine school. Brute force, lying, threatening, and highhanded methods are the only effective means of producing any results. The Army has created a new set of social orders. I don't like the whole affair. It smells to high heaven.

I feel that where ever possible the oldest overseas men in a command should always come home first. I saw men return to the States with less time than some men in the command which is not fair. The oldest men should always return for resignment [reassignment] first. No man as a rule minds wating [waiting] his turn but just put some one with less time ahead of him and it really burns him up.

I think that after being processed and all that a soldier should be immediately sent to his new station, instead of having to lay around for a week or more. Not to be so strict on uniforms cause after all we don't have the clothing issued to us so we had to buy some.

The first nite here I was nailed by an MP for having on a tropical uniform, said I was impersonating an Officer with it on, that was false as I had no shoulder straps, nor Officers insignia on, I bought these clothes at an authorized Army Store too.

Yes I have. The way our government is so easy with German & Jap prisoners. They run ground to freely to suit me, and just like the Italians, bringing them into our army & then they could go just where they please at times. I believe that we should not give them any freedom at all and by not letting them come into our Army as the Italians Let them suffer as they made others, and let them know that the United States is not a country to be taken as a sucker, always willing to help one another then get the dirty deal at the end. Look what we done for Japan - now Finland is turning against us, after all the help we gave to them. Do you think this is right and at times we the people of U.S. wonder, what we are fighting for at times. This nation shall always be the strongest, but we must be a little harder than we have been in the pass wars and this war today.

Where are all the good cigarettes, candy and gum going? While we were there, we were able to buy 1 carton of Camels or Luckies provided we bought a carton of Chelseas. Yet the Natives on Fijis Island smoked the poplar brands all the time.

Candy was sold to us at the front, a 1 lb. tin of Whitmans chocolats for $1.25. We'd get 3 tins for a platoon of 36 men. When men come off the front lines and are sent to a rest area why aren't they allowed to rest instead of being sent out on patrols? Hell my outfit would rather stay at the front than face the tenseness of the jungle patrol.

Civilians don't seem to realize how much a soldier yearns for good times, and all the things that civilization provides, after being isolated from all of these things for a period of from two to three years.

I believe there should be a P.R.C. closer to the middlewestern territory.

Old men should be assigned to unites in their own core area, if possible. They don't like to be sent too far away from home, after they have come back from overseas duties, they like to see the folks as often as they can; after they have been away for 2 years, or more. I think there should be something done on this problem so the men that haven't came back, as yet, will have the benefit of it. I know they feel the same way about it as I do.

In Port Edwards, British Columbia where we stayed for a while before being shipped to the states they treated us very bad. Our mess shack was over a mile away and the food was terrible. It rained all the time we were there (about 7 days) and they got us loading gravel on trucks all day until 5 o'clock. We did that everyday while the station compliment men wouldn't do a thing! All of us from 3 to 4 years in the army and most of the time spent in the wilderness while the men in Port Edwards who were giving us orders were just drafted and didn't do a thing. Civilian girls who worked on the post at Port Edwards weren't allowed to talk to or go out with enlisted men!

I think that young fellows now working in industry should be drafted into the Army and their place taken up as much as possible by discharged veterans.

The draft law should continue for such a time as to have the newly inducted take the place of veterans of long service. Those with longest Army Service should be given preference when demobilization begins.

C-164

Why are so many men not physical fit being sent out on assignments. Most of whom are mentaly tired and physicaly unfit. They say limited service when really there is no such thing. With the men still left at home to take the places of such as these who are tired and feel that they have done their share why don't they let them out & send them home. The dull routine out look that they are being sent back to is a very monotonous one & also very unsatisfactory. I know that in my case while home I started new interests, was gaining weight & my general appearance & outlook improved quite a bit. I heard comments on this by people who new me. But always I had the thought of returning to camp in my mind. I think the thought of what will happen to veterans returning to various posts and what will happen to them their has quite an effect on most of the fellows. We have heard alot about the way they have been treated so far, and it has a very disquieting effect on all of us.

I have been treated very nicely by officers except those in hospitals because they don't seem to realize the physical condition a man must be in to stand the strain of combat soldiering.

I think the army as a whole is just ok, but in some places I have run into officers and enlisted men running a company of men, and they certainly pulled some raw deals, that if higher officers knew about it they would be reduced in [underscore]grade[/underscore]. They showed to much partially [partiality] too and to some men and treated others pretty rotten. Out of the 10 commanding officers I have had, 4 werent any good[.] when they took over the spirit and morale of men went right down. I know being a asst first Sgt.

Only thing I have to say is that the boys overseas could be shipped home faster & be less crowded on ships if the transportation facilities by water to the U.S. were scheduled before hand. In my particular case as with other men I was to shipped home under rotation plan, in month April Left base in May because there was no water transportation available Were not in combat area but near it, moving up supplies etc. Every ship was needed as we understood, but I think that provision should be made for one ship a month for veterans, to return to U.S. if circumstances permit.

Air Mail service could be bettered to men in S. Pacific. Letters are most important to those fellows. I was there & I know what it means not to get letters as soon as possible.

Never Tell man he is on rotation until he can leave combat. Speedier handling at overseas shipment centers. Men misunderstandingly believe They will recieve 30 instead of 21 days furlough while they are overseas, 21days not enough unless we recieve another furlough after we are assigned.

I think that every man should be issued one of these new barracks (overseas) bags instead of those denim things.

I think it would help if there was definite assurance of some kind of pay before we leave here. Either partial or full.

My 2 main gripes are - 1) Soldiers should be given a substantial discount in the purchase of all foods & commodities which are priced to meet the financial level of only the civilian employee. There is no question but that the OPA prices are not being held down to the level intended.

2) There is no provision made to favor the overseas soldier against the "states" soldier in the mere 5 gal allotment of gasoline for furlough period. There is also no difference whether you have a 5 or 30 day furlough - you still get 5 gals. Something should be done about this.

The fellows should be placed at a reasonable distance from home say 350 to 500 miles as the greatest love and moral [morale] building is done for most by fellowship with and amoung his people. Spiritual welfare is more looked after amoung home folks than out in the worldly gatherings but many have found themselves to be men rather than tied to their apron strings yet after so many month and years of relax reconstruction needs to be taken advantage of at this time.