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1945: THE CONQUERING HEROES RETURN. Oakmont Sunday Symposium November 11, 2012 Bob Kirk, Presenter. Norman Rockwell captured what GI’s and the folks back home waited for and dreamed about. Memories of Wars Past. Vets in 1945 were better provided for than in 1787. Grand Army of the Republic.
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1945: THE CONQUERING HEROES RETURN Oakmont Sunday Symposium November 11, 2012 Bob Kirk, Presenter
Norman Rockwell captured what GI’s and the folks back home waited for and dreamed about.
1941-1945: 13 million served • 405,000 American service men and women had died in the war • 670,000 had suffered wounds • Within two years, only 1.5 million remained in the armed services . . . The others were discharged or had died
V-J Day August 15, 1945 • Americans were jubilant that the long nightmare was over. This sailor shows his exuberance.
What the GI’s returned to: • Some food still rationed. Gas rationing ended September 15 • Minimum wage was 40¢ an hour • Women still drew nylons on their legs • 85 million went to the movies weekly • Men wore ties during dinner at home • Most adults smoked
The GI Bill guaranteed medical care • 670,000 suffered from wounds of various kinds. Many lost the use of limbs, sight, hearing, etc.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • 83,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets are hospitalized. Vets suffer flashbacks and nightmares from trauma or battle fatigue. Some suffer from alcoholism.
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 Called “The GI Bill”
What was in the GI Bill? • A vet was guaranteed his old job back • Medical care was provided • Unemployment insurance -- “The 52-20 Club” • One year of education plus additional months depending on service time • Low-interest loans for business or home
A home fit for a veteran and his family • By the end of the war, the US had 28 million adequate housing units for . . . 37 million families. • We desperately needed millions of homes.
And we all lived happily ever after . . . Well, pretty much . . .
Thank you . . . and thank a veteran for our freedom Bob Kirk