When did the troops come home from world war 2?

Answer 1

Some who got into action early in the war were home by middle to late 1944. Marines who survived three campaigns in the Pacific were sent home, at least for a while. Some had done so by late summer 1944. Combat crews of bombers in the USAAF (the Army Air Force- the Air Force was still a part of the Army until 1947) had to complete a Tour of Duty, initially this was twenty-five missions. Depending on the theater this was sometimes increased. Fighter pilots had to fly a certain number of hours in action. Many aircrew flew two or more tours, after a visit home in between. The Army instituted a point system for its ground troops, with one point for each month in the service, another point for each month overseas, five points for each campaign, five points for each medal awarded, twelve points for being married with dependent children. A man needed 85 points to get to go home. Some were getting back home on points by late 1944. But most had too few points. Over half of all Americans in uniform in WWII were in the Army Ground Forces, and most of these were in Europe. The Army had about 90 divisions, with only 15 in the Pacific (all six divisions of Marines were in the Pacific). Most Army troops saw no action whatsoever until after D-Day, in June, 1944, after which they began to be fed into action in Europe. But a few divisions had been fighting since 1942, in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and now in France and Germany (these included the 1st, 3rd, 9th, 36th, 45 Infantry Divisions, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 1st Armored Division). These divisions were full of high point men, extremely experienced veteran troops. The Army intended they should finally get a break. Many divisions never got to the front before the latter half of 1944. When the war ended in Europe, the formations newest to combat were put aboard the scarce shipping available and sent back to the states, where they got a brief leave at home, and then boarded trains to move to the West Coast to get aboard a ship and head out for the climactic assault against the Home Islands of Japan. So these guys who had not seen much action were in the states when the bombs dropped, and got discharged almost right away. There were not many ships available - the German submarines had been sinking as many as possible, there had been a war still going on in the Pacific requiring a great many ships to carry supplies and men over the vast distances. So in devastated Europe, the high-point men were waiting for their turn in Operation Magic Carpet, and a ride home. Many did not get back until some time in 1946, and only after a Congressional Investigation had begun. Lots of these late returnees had been among the first men drafted in 1940, so they put in six years. Guys who got drafted in 1943 and 1944 and saw hardly any action were already discharged and had grabbed what jobs were available as the economy transitioned from complete war mobilization back to producing peacetime goods. The men finally discharged joined the "52-20 Club" - they got $20 per week unemployment for 52 weeks, and hoped things would be picking up after that.