I’m working on a story and have a question that I would have thought would be easy to answer. But I’ve run into dead ends (maybe I’m just being stupid this morning) so maybe you can help answer my question.
If you were drafted into the military during World War II, how long were you required to serve. Previously, I had always just assumed the stints were the usual four years that we associate with military duty. But some indications are that it might have been two years. This Wikipedia entry (and we all know how you have to be somewhat careful with that) states, “An amendment [to the Selective Training and Service Act (STSA) of 1940] increased this to 18 months in 1941.” So maybe that’s the answer? Slightly less than two years?
If any military historians out there have the definitive answer, I would much appreciate the assistance.
There were several drafts conducted before and during World War II. The first was the 1940 draft (which was before Pearl Harbor, of course). I also see mention a 4th draft registration in 1942 that was called the “Old Man’s Draft” because it called up those between 45 to 65 years old.
Now, I’m not sure what the term was for those called up in 1940, but at a certain point, the time limit changed to “for the duration” or “for the duration and six,” meaning that you were in until the war was over (or for six months after it was over). When that occurred I cannot say, but the “ftd” phrase was common at that time and should help point the way.
My great uncle died in the battle of the buldge. Im not sure if he was drafted But his terms of service were “Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law”. So he had to serve till the end of the war plus six months UNLESS he was hurt so badly he couldnt come back from the hospital or the president cleared him to go home. IF anyone has any rosters of the men drafted please let me know. i think he was in the 319th infantry regiment 80th infantry battalion. Thats where i hit the brick wall wish i could at least figure out the company.
My Pups was in the 80th…M Company. I believe he served just under a year, until he was wounded. He may be of some help, yep, he’s still around. Contact me by email if you are interested.
my dad and my greatgranddad were in the military my granddad was drafted and served 3 years in the military idk if this will help
At some point during the war the term of service was set at “The duration of hostilities plus six months”, unless the draftee was unable to physically serve for one reason or another or if the draftee was separated from the service by an official action by military authorities. Because of this term of service, Harry Truman declared the “end of hostilities” to be 12-31-1946 (some 15 plus months after the surrender of the Japanese. I surmise that he did this in order to keep a standing Army large enough to effectively occupy the defeated nations of the Axis for a reasonable period of time. The last of the WW2 draftees were released by June 30, 1947. Because of Truman’s action in this regard, any one who served in the Armed Forces before 12-31-1946 was granted the WW2 Victory Medal and was a WW@ veteran.
First of all allow to pay tribute to all those who served during this period, whether or not they were in uniform. Thank you also for the informaton you have already provided. I would like to ask however, how long was the average tour of combat? I have surmised that the terms of service where for the duration, but does anywone know how long as the average tour of actual combat? I imagine that for those fighting far away from large cities or big bases, there was no such thing as “leave”.
Thank you all!
In the old Frank Sinatra movie, It Happened in Broklyn, Frank’s character says that after 4 years in WWII, he still had to re-register for the draft within 10 days. Was that for all returning vets, or only of a specific age?