S235: Westbrook Follow Up

The main purpose of the survey was to determine whether or not there was evidence of any net change in certain areas of attitudes and opinions of enlisted men since the cross-section survey ES-52 was administered in the latter part of April (15 April to 5 May).

Briefly stated, it was desired to determine whether there was any evidence of “undesirable” change in attitudes - that is, disillusionment, lowered “morale”, increased personal anxieties about the future, increased “aggressiveness” toward our Allies, the Army, or the home front, etc. - which would be of concern to Command, and also to those staff sections charged with supplying information and orientation to troops.

a. Two questions on attitudes toward the Army “Point System” (Adjusted Service Rating Plan) were duplicates of those asked in ES-63 (administered in late July) and ES-58 (administered in late May).

b. Some additional questions, asked for the first time, were in the areas of:

  1. Expectations with respect to redeployment, and attitudes toward further Army service.
  2. Several questions on the extent of knowledge about the San Fran- cisco Conference, and related questions on frequency of orientation sessions.
  3. A number of new questions on attitudes toward the Germans, resulting from conferences of Research Branch personnel with Information Control personnel in Berlin, and designed to answer certain points on which the latter had requested information.

c. The questionnaire was originally designed as a post-VE-Day and pre-VJ-Day survey. The sudden victory over Japan, coming as it did with unexpected suddenness, necessitated some last-minute changes in the questionnaire just as Branch field teams were ready to go into the field to administer the questionnaire. The changes for the most part were deletions, since it was felt the administration of the schedule should not be delayed for the time necessary to add many additional questions. A few now-irrelevant questions were not re-stenciled, due to practical considerations, but Research Branch field teams were instructed to give an explanation to the interviewees as to why these few were still in the questionnaire.

Questionnaire

Date

Oct '45

Original Size

2,981

Location

ETO

Theater ID

ES69

Alternate Title

Attitudes toward Post-hostilities Problems

Sample Description

This survey was administered to 2981 soldiers constituting a cross-section of white enlisted men in the European Theater between the dates 14 August and 24 August 1945 inclusive, just after publication of the news of victory over Japan.

Sample Method

a. In order to determine whether any change or lack of change in attitudes and opinions was due to the different composition of the Theater at the time periods under consideration - late April (ES-52) and late August (ES-69) a “matched” sample of 2648 cases out of the total ES-69 sample of 2981 was drawn after the survey-questionnaires were processed.

b. Comparisons could then be made, not only between the two Theater cross-sections, but also between an ES-69 sample matched so as to be comparable with the ES-52 sample, with respect to education, marital status, age, combat experience, ratings, proportion of air and ground troops, length of time overseas, and length of time in the Army. On the last two factors, the “matching” allowed for the four months of elapsed time between surveys. Other factors were taken into consideration in the analysis of certain subject-matters.

Location Details

Reims, France

Hetzlos, Germany

Wiengarten, Germany

Karlsruhe, Germany

Worsche, Germany

SW Munich, Germany

Landsburg, Germany

Wiesbaden, Germany

Gustanberg, Germany

Ohen Raden, Germany

Bakenhausen, Germany

Uberach, Germany

Bad Soden, Germany

Aumensu, Germany

Sprendlingen, Germany

Mannheim, Germany

Hiedelberg, Germany

SW Regmsburg, Germany

SE Munich, Germany

St. Quentin, France

St. Trand, Belgium

Villacouhlay, France

Origin

Hqs, USFET

Reports

ETO-97 Changes in Attitudes of Soldiers in ETO Towards the Germans, from April 1945 to August 1945

ETO-99 Changes in Attitudes of Soldiers in the European Theater Towards the Home Front

E-139 Changes in Attitudes of Soldiers in the European Theater Toward our Allies

ETO-100 Summary of Enlisted Mer’s Answers to Several Questions on the San Francisco Conference

E-142 Expectations of Enlisted Men in the European Theater With Respect to Redeployment

ETO-106 Attitudes Toward the Army: Some Indices of Changes in the Attitudes of Enlisted Men in the European Theater Between Late April and Late August 1945

E [no. ?] Attitudes Toward the War and the Futures A Comparison of Opinions Expressed by Enlisted Men in Late August 1945 With Those of Enlisted Men Surveyed Four Months Earlier

Nara Catalog

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Put words or phrases inside quotes to search for an exact match.
1
How long have you been in the Army? E. If you have been in the Army before, then were out for a while, just check the length of time since you entered this last time. If you were in the National Guard, check the length of time since your outfit was activated for the present emergency.
No answer
1% (17)
6 months or less
0% (2)
Over 6 months up to 1 year
3% (63)
Over 1 year up to 1 1/2 years
8% (148)
Over 1 1/2 years up to 2 years
8% (146)
Over 2 years up to 2 1/2 years
17% (305)
Over 2 1/2 years up to 3 years
30% (542)
Over 3 years up to 3 1/2 years
14% (264)
Over 3 1/2 years
18% (337)
2
How long have you been overseas?
No answer
1% (18)
6 months or less
6% (113)
Over 6 months up to a year
24% (432)
Over 1 year up to 1 1/2 years
20% (365)
Over 1 1/2 years up to 2 years
29% (529)
Over 2 years up to 2 1/2 years
11% (204)
Over 2 1/2 years up to 3 years
6% (103)
Over 3 years
3% (60)
3
Have you ever been in actual combat or under enemy fire in this war?
No answer I. if you are in the Air Forces, skip question 4 and go on to question
2% (33)
I have not been in actual combat, but I have been under some kind of enemy fire (Ground or Air)
43% (781)
I have been in actual combat with the enemy
25% (458)
No, I have not been in combat nor under any kind of enemy fire from the Ground or Air
30% (552)
4
About how many days have you been in combat since coming overseas? (Do not count any time you were in rest camp or in the hospital or on furlough.)
No answer, although not in Air Forces
9% (170)
1-27 days
4% (78)
28-55
2% (38)
56-111
7% (131)
112-167
1% (19)
168-223
0% 0
224-279
0% 0
280-335
0% (2)
336-391
0% 0
392 days or more
0% 0
I have not been in combat, none
54% (984)
Inapplicable (in Air Forces)
22% (402)
5A
What kind of a squadron are you in?
Service Squadron in a fighter or bomber group
7% (134)
Fighter Squadron
2% (36)
Bomber Squadron
10% (174)
Some other type of outfit
2% (39)
Inapplicable (not in Air Forces), no answer
79% (1,441)
5B
What type of job do you have at present?
Combat flying job
3% (63)
Ground Crew - "line" job-working on planes
7% (121)
Other Ground job
11% (196)
Inapplicable (not in Air Forces), no answer
79% (1,444)
6
What is your Army rank or grade?
No answer
1% (20)
Private or Private First Class
42% (761)
Corporal or Technician 5th Grade
23% (424)
Sergeant (any grade) or Technician 3rd or 4th Grade
34% (619)
7
How far did you go in school?
No answer
0% (8)
Less than 6th grade
2% (43)
Finished 6th grade
3% (50)
Finished 7th grade
5% (95)
Finished 8th grade
13% (243)
Some high school, but didn't finish
28% (508)
Graduated from high school
33% (602)
Some college but did not finish
12% (224)
Graduated from college
3% (51)
8
How old were you on your last birthday?
No answer
1% (19)
19 years or less
5% (91)
20 years
7% (134)
21
8% (149)
22
7% (126)
23
8% (147)
24
9% (158)
25
7% (136)
26-29
22% (395)
30-34
16% (289)
35-37 years
6% (116)
38 years or more
4% (64)
9
Are you single, married, divorced or separated, or widowed? F. If married: Q.10. How many children do you have?
No answer
0% (8)
Single
58% (1,062)
Divorced or separated
2% (32)
Widowed
0% (5)
Married, have no children
21% (382)
Married, have one child
13% (246)
Married, have two children
3% (62)
Married, have three or more children
1% (27)
11
As far as you know, how many points do you have under the Army point score plan?
No answer
2% (32)
Under 40 points
17% (314)
40-49
15% (269)
50-59
17% (319)
60-74
26% (474)
75-84
10% (188)
85 points or more
13% (228)
12
How long have you been in your present outfit?
No answer
1% (25)
Less than 1 month
8% (149)
1-2 months
17% (310)
3-5 months
13% (236)
6-11 months
14% (255)
12 months and over
47% (849)
13
In general, what sort of physical condition would you say you are in at the present time?
No answer
1% (14)
Very good physical condition
16% (290)
Good physical condition
36% (661)
Fair physical condition
40% (733)
Poor physical condition
6% (102)
Very poor physical condition
1% (24)
14A
How do you feel about the importance of the work you are doing right now as compared with other jobs you might be doing in the Army?
No answer
3% (48)
It is about as important as any other job I could do
43% (787)
It is fairly important, but I could do more important work
23% (426)
It hardly seems important at all
31% (563)
15
In general, do you think the Army has tried its best to see that men get as square a deal as possible?
No answer
1% (26)
Yes, it has tried its best
25% (464)
It has tried some but not hard enough
63% (1,150)
It has hardly tried at all
10% (184)
16
In general, do you feel you yourself have gotten a square deal from the Army?
No answer
0% (9)
Yes, in most ways I have
36% (659)
In some ways, yes, in other ways, no
52% (946)
No, on the whole I haven't gotten a square deal
12% (210)
17
Do you think the outfit you are in now pays too much attention, too little or about the right amount of attention to inspections and "spit and polish"?
No answer
1% (19)
Too little attention
3% (55)
Too much attention
33% (594)
About the right amount
63% (1,156)
18
Do you feel that the Army is trying its best to look out for the welfare of enlisted men?
No answer
1% (16)
Yes, it is trying its best
28% (518)
It is trying some, but not hard enough
60% (1,097)
It is hardly trying at all
11% (193)
19
In the Army, some jobs are naturally harder and more dangerous than others and the Army has to put men where it thinks they are needed. Do you think the Army is trying its best to see that the men who have the hard and dangerous jobs get the special consideration and breaks they deserve?
No answer
1% (26)
Yes, it is trying its best
30% (556)
It is trying some, but not hard enough
49% (898)
It is hardly trying at all
19% (344)
20
How resentful do you yourself feel about troops who have jobs in the United States?
No answer
2% (45)
Very resentful
14% (259)
Fairly resentful
26% (481)
Not so resentful
27% (486)
Not resentful at all
30% (553)