This part of the history of the 442nd RCT tells the story of the return home from Europe following the end of the war on 8 May 1945. The general term for this process is “demobilization.”
All the soldiers in Europe could not simply leave and go home. There were continuing requirements for soldiers to guard and feed the hundreds of thousands of German soldiers now our prisoners, and soldiers to provide for administering the now conquered lands and populations of Germany and Austria, to include safeguarding the people and assisting in the recovery from the devastation of the war. This was call the “Occupation.”
And the war in the Pacific was not over so significant additional Army combat manpower was needed for the anticipated invasion of the Japanese homeland and terrible battles to defeat the Japanese army on their home turf.
Also, the logistical resources (primarily ships) needed to get men home and discharged limited the rate at which men could be sent home. So a strategy and plan was needed on how to manage these requirements and the obvious desire of most soldiers to go back home and get on with their lives.
In May 1945, the US Army in Europe was comprised of soldiers who had been in battle since 1943 and those who had been sent as replacements for the men who had died or were so wounded they had to be sent back to hospitals in the USA. To determine who got to go home first, and then next, and so on, a “point” system was set up to identify the lucky soldiers. This was termed the “Adjusted Service Rating Score,” generally called the point system by the soldiers. Each soldier received a point score based on the following factors:
- One point for each month in service in the Army since 16 Sep 1940
- One additional point for each month in service overseas
- Five points for each medal for merit or valor (Silver Star, Bronze Star, etc.)
- Five points for each Purple Heart
- Five points for each campaign star
- Twelve points for each dependent child under 18, up to three dependent children
No matter how fair and impartial the system might seem to some, for others who had to wait and wait to home there was no happiness. But there were significant limitations in just how many men could be brought home over the Atlantic Ocean since many naval ships had headed to the Pacific to support the planned invasion of the Japanese homelands. Nonetheless, the numbers going home were remarkable. Between 8 May and 31 Dec 1945 more than 4 million soldiers had been returned home. This was aided by the end of the war in the Pacific when the US Navy was authorized to bring soldiers home on combat ships, including battleships and aircraft carriers.
In future updates to this section we will be adding the stories of the return home of 442nd Regimental Combat Team soldiers from Occupation duty in Italy and 522nd Field Artillery Battalion soldiers from Occupation duty in Germany.