Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum.
>>>>>>>Before we get to the musical selections, some wordy word stuff.
Preface: My Dad was active overseas in World War II. His task was to repair those huge radios that men wore on their backs. His training was at a place called Camp Crowder, located in far SW MO.
In late December 1942, the men got word they would be shipped overseas on the 28th. Mom went there and they got married nearby, on December 24th.
>>>>>>>Recently, my wife was doing some family research and found a newspaper’s notice of their marriage license, and there were more than a dozen other licenses listed. Mom had told us their (Catholic Mass) wedding ceremony was for a group of couples. I wondered if there was some financial incentive for the marriages. So I did some research, and found the following about pay scales for WWII soldiers.
>>>>>>Here's a fine link for the pay scales.
WWII soldier's pay
Dad was a 'Tec 5', so he got $66 base per month for that, see next snippet.
Snippet: If a soldier had dependents, such as children, a wife, brothers or sisters, or parents he needed to support, he would receive additional pay; see my third link for the complicated chart. For service overseas, including in Alaska, base pay at each rank was increased 20percent.
Note: the 'third link' cited in the snippet is a suspicious site and my virus protector won't let me go there.
But I found the information elsewhere:
The amount of the Government's contribution to the Class A dependent or dependents of such enlisted man shall be at a monthly rate of $28, if such enlisted man has a wife but no child.
link: dependents pay
>>>>I found other info on other sites. The troops could opt to have an 'allocation' (some % of pay) sent home to someone, not sure the criteria for whom. Most did this, because money was not useful to them in combat areas. Payments were by check, no 'automatic deposits' existed then, of course. But one site indicated the checks could be written to a bank for an account.
Also, for those who actually got paid while 'over there', the pay was often only in military scrip (not $$) because the enemy could use $$. The scrip was good at PX and other in-country approved 'local' places. Almost all needs were provided at no cost to the GI's, so actual money was not useful.
I also found sites that claimed the military pay of the 'average' soldier was better than the homeland pay of 80% of workers. Not sure if I can trust their methodology.
>>>>So, monthly, Dad got base pay $66, and 20% for being overseas ($13.20), and 28% for being married ($18.48), total $97.68. $18.48 in today’s dollars = $355.78.
OK, now for the music: