My great uncle was in the 306th Infantry division during this battle. He had a lingering injury from being close to a mustard gas attack.
When Pearl Harbor happened, he told my father (who was 15 at the time) - if this war is still going on when you are 18, do not get drafted into the Army. Join the Navy
And that’s what Dad did.
That's kinda funny. Not bad advice. Though in WWII the Navy and Merchant Marines were almost as dangerous as being in the Army.
In WWII, as it had been the Japanese who'd attacked, enlistees overwhelmingly tried to enter service in the US Navy. If everyone who'd wanted USN had been put there, there weren't enough ships to accommodate them all. Also, FDR had concurred with Churchill's strategy of Europe first. A relative had been tipped by a friend or two that, enlistees who asked for Navy were put in the Army. So, he asked for Army and was put in the Navy. Thanks all!