Men returned from fighting in World War 2?

Answer 1

In the US the government was in a hurry to shrink the military quickly and start saving money. As quickly as they could be processed men were given a discharge and sent on their way. Most got an honorable discharge, and with it an Honorable Discharge Lapel Pin. The pin depicted a somewhat pot-bellied, ungainly eagle in flight, and the vets called it a "ruptured duck". An expression current during the war years was that anything taking off fast took off like a "ruptured duck", so now they had one.

Once back home many vets took their discharge papers to the county courthouse and recorded them, just like a deed for land. This way they could always get a certified copy, if they lost the original.

There were few jobs to go get. All factories had been converted over to producing items for the military during the war, and with the war won these contracts were all canceled and the factories were retooling to resume production of civilian goods. The discharged vets were given unemployment - $20 per week for up to 52 weeks. They referred to themselves as the "52-20 Club". Many drank too much and took a long time to settle down and reacclimate to civilian life, and the prospect of living instead of dying a violent death while young.

If a man still had health problems when he was returned to the states, from wounds, frozen feet, psycho-neurotic disorders, whatever, he was not immediately discharged. He stayed in the military hospitals until he was as well as he was going to get. Then he was evaluated for any remaining disability and authorized a pension if he was totally or partially disabled. Rehabilitation was given to those who needed it, such as amputees and the blinded ones. After he had reached the maximum of medical improvement he was discharged. Some psychotic cases were merely transferred to the VA and never really got home.