During World War II, my uncle returned home because family wrote congress

Aunt -- sister of man who was able to return home in war time | September 20, 2004 | vanity

[topher]

It is the towards the end of World War II. My Grandfather needed his son at harvest time in Kansas. These were average people who did not even own the land they farmed.

So my grandfather wrote a congressman after the Navy refused to allow my grandfather's son to return home, after the son requested to go home to help with harvest.

My grandfather needed the extra help to bring in the crops. But is that a valid excuse to get a sailor or soldier off duty?

So my grandfather wrote his congressman, and the son was allowed to return home.

This was in the middle of World War II, and it shows that even for active military, the branches of the service would bend over backwards for Congress.

Since young George Bush was the son of a Congressman, he may have received special treatment not because his father asked for it, but the "brass" would probably want "only positive things said of the service" of the son to the father.

Additionally, my aunt said that her husband had friends in the reserve, and many of them used that as a weekend to "goof off" in the 1950's. They had gone through all the training, and they would be called up in time of emergency, but it wasn't real strick discipline then.

But if one looks at Iraq, and how the guard was called up in that case, certainly LBJ or Nixon could have called on Guard units into active service.

The idea of preferential or special treatment of George W Bush may have happened but not by his fault or his father's fault, but because the military was sensitive to Congress "cutting funds".

[camle]

I believe this is called a farm deferment. My dad had one in Korea. He wanted to go, but his older brother joined up and that left only dad to carry on.

[DefCon]

Yes, we all need some 'strick discipline'.
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"...certainly LBJ or Nixon could have called on Guard units into active service..."
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"Could have"?
How about "did" call guard units ito active service.
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I was in a national guard unit from 1971 - 1977.
Never, ever, once, were we called up for a single thing.
Not a flood, or a tornado, or a riot.
Nothing, ever, nada.
We had some really, really, clean vehicles and weapons, though.

[Ptaz]

There used to be a deferrment that could be enacted for sole surviving sons. Don't know if it's still in effect.

[GailA]

Compassionate reassignment is the term you are looking for. Deferment is for the front end of a draft.

My ex was given a compassionate reassignment to the US from a Germany assignment when we lost our newborn son to a viral infection he was born with.

[camle]

thank you for the correction. a deferrment is before you're drafted, a compassionate reassignment is after.

[Miles from Tulia]

Agriculture is important in war time and many adjustments are made. A crop that goes unharvested is bad news for everybody, but a financial disaster to the farmer.

I lacked five months being 10 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. At that time, cotton picking machines were rare and I lived in a cotton producing area. With all the able bodied men off, overseas, how was the cotton to be harvested?

Answer -- they closed down the school for three weeks, but not for a vacation. Instead, the students bought cotton sacks and gloves and took them to the school property.

There, a school bus would be waiting to take us to somebody's farm and we would "pull bolls" each day, during the three week period.

That relieved any need for soldiers to come home and help with the harvest. Also, the students helped with the war effort and earned money for the work they did.

By the way, Franklin D Roosevelt was elected in the year of my birth, I was a teen ager before Harry S Truman became President, and what was the Roosevelt-Truman slogan in 1944? It was "DON'T CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM."

And in those days, Republicans were the LOYAL opposition. In these days, Democrats do not know what LOYAL means.

[crz]

Thats funny. My gramps tried the same thing and it did not work with his. So instead the war dept had 5 German POWs sent out and all ended up fine.

[Iowa Granny]

My widowed Paternal Grandmother sent 3 sons off to WWII. The youngest son (age 18 when the others left) they left at home to tend her farms.

There were other young men in the community who were also given the Ag Deferment.

[GailA]

ex hubby was a volunteer to the US Army during Nam, he did 12 months there then after a 30 day leave in the US was sent to Germany for a year. 3 months into the assigment in Germany because of our loss the Army gave him a compassionate reassignment. He finished out his hitch stateside.

[Chickamauga]

"Thats funny. My gramps tried the same thing and it did not work with his."

Not really. The draft was handled by local boards in each community. There was a lot of variation.

Run-of-the mill congressmen have little influence in Washington but in their districts and states they are VIPs. Of course they use their influence to benefit their children. They don't have to ask; people are eager to do them favors.

[Jonah Hex]

After her two eldest sons dies during WWII, my grandmother asked for a compassionate deferment to the States for her third son.

His B-29 crashed on takeoff from Kwajalein during the return flight, with no survivors.

Damn.

[vetvetdoug]

In May 1976 Southwest Tennessee suffered a very late hard freeze. Soy beans were killed at an early stage. My two uncles and father had over 1000 acres that had to be replanted. I was able to get a thirty day leave rushed through to go home and help replant. The military then looked favourably upon those of us that had to go home to help the farm and were quite understanding whenever I had a valid farming reason for a short notice leave. I had heard from some old timers that this was not uncommon practice from the military from the 50's till my time of enlistment.

[topher]

I believe this is called a farm deferment. My dad had one in Korea. He wanted to go, but his older brother joined up and that left only dad to carry on.

My uncle had been the service maybe a year or less (US Navy), and was in San Francisco. They granted some leave, but his father (my grandfather) asked that he help with the harvest. My uncle received the "okay" to go home, help with harvest, and then go back to the US Navy.

However, the most important part of this story is that my uncle was assigned to go into Hiroshima after the war (or maybe it was Nagasaki). He was the only member of a family of 9 children of my grandparents to develop cancer in the 1970's. My family assumes it is because of his service in Japan in the Atom bomb areas.

It is possible that some officer in the Navy was upset that my uncle received the time off to go home to help with harvest, and then come back, so he may have been assigned to Hiroshima detail "to make up for missing time during wartime".