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I am reminded today of my late Uncle Al. Al was a junior enlisted man during WWII, training pilots using the Link Trainer. I have previously written about that system here.
Al had been a National Guardsman before the war and spent the war years stateside training pilots. He told me many times, “There were no promotions this side of the oceans.” Even though he became a pilot himself, he never made NCO.
Soldiers accumulated points based on time in service, time in combat, and other contributions to the war effort. Once a certain number of points was acquired, one was eligible for discharge. As a junior enlisted man with no overseas or combat experience, Al didn’t have many points.
When the war ended, Al’s job training pilots also ended. Many men were discharged, but he was ordered to Japan for occupation duty, with the prospect of continued service for an indefinite period of time. He was quite unhappy.
He was actually standing in line to draw equipment for his new assignment when an announcement came over the public address system. There were new point values being awarded, which, after a quick mental calculation, put him over the top for discharge. With intense gratitude, he stepped out of line and went to apply for his promotion to civilian.
Discussion (10)
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Fascinating story on the Link Trainer. Somehow I missed that post. I'm glad that the military finally recognized the value of your uncle's service.
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Thanks. Perhaps you could give the Link Trainer post a "like" so it can go to the public feed. I know some non-members who might enjoy it.
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I often wondered why my dad didn't get home from the US Army until late March of 1946.
Thanks for clearing that up. He was in the service from early 1944 until his being posted in Europe sometime late in the summer of that year.
When the war in Germany ended he was sent to England by late July of 1945. But I have no idea what he did there for the following 8 months. (And he probably didn't spend much time complaining about warm beer. After being in the war, any day with three meals and beer at the end of the day was a great day.)
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Done. I didn't know this was possible on a post from 2023.
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Thanks, @JoelB!
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