“Pullups? Had infantry combat training in 1944. Had to walk/run 20 miles with full field pack, rifle, steel helmet in combat boots but no pullups. It was legs and endurance.”
From US Army WWII Fitness Manual ....
TEST 1: PULLUPS
This event requires a horizontal bar. This may be made of a pipe or gymnasium horizontal bar, or other rigid horizontal support which is not over 1½ inches in diameter. The bar should be high enough to permit the performer to hang at full length without touching the ground. A height of 7 feet, 9 inches to 8 feet is recommended.
Starting Position. Hanging at full length from the bar with arms straight. The forward grasp is used with the palms turned away from the face.
Pullup
Movement. Pull up until the chin is above the level of the bar. Then lower the body until elbows are completely straight. Continue for as many repetitions as possible.
Instructions. The men should be told that it is permissible to raise the legs and flex the hips when pulling up but not to kick or execute a jerking motion with trunk or legs. The body must be kept from swinging. The chin must be raised above the bar. The arms must be completely straight at the bottom of the movement.
Administration and Scoring. Each time the performer pulls his chin above the bar in correct form, he is given credit for one pullup. He is not credited with a pullup if he fails to raise his chin above the level of the bar or if he stops to rest. If the performer does not straighten his arms at the bottom of a movement, if he kicks or jerks, only half a pullup will be counted. If there are four half-pullups, the performer should be stopped and retested later. If the performer starts to swing, the judge should stop the swinging with his hands. Some such aid as a resin-bag or a cake of magnesium carbonate should be available to prevent the hands from slipping.
Interesting. Do you think the manual means that if you couldn’t pass the PT, you would not be sent to combat duty?
I was a very good athlete in college. I don’t remember how many pull ups I could do but it was probably over 20.
A few years after I got married and put on a few pounds, my wife and I were in a park and I noticed a chin up bar. I grabbed it, relaxed and then tried to do a pull up.
To my everlasting irritation, I could not do one.
The pullup isn't even a measured or tested event in the Army except for different schools, ie Ranger, Scuba.
Basic training in WWII must have been pretty severe. I remember my Father saying they lost two. One had just passed him in a run when he keeled over dead.
He was just an ordinary soldier, not any kind of elite tho he did get to see a lot of interesting things in Europe.