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By September 1945, veterans were returning home in large numbers. Not all servicemen were discharged at the same time. Eligibility was determined by a system initially put into effect in May 1945 after the end of the fighting in Europe.
The system, which was modified several times, was designed to ensure soldiers who had served the greatest amount of time in war zones were discharged first.
Servicemen were awarded one point for each month in service from September 1940. One additional point was awarded for each month served overseas; five points for each combat award – bronze stars, silver stars, purple hearts, etc. Twelve points were awarded for each dependent child under the age of 18 up to a maximum of three.
The initial system required 85 points for discharge. After the defeat of Japan in August, the number of points was revised downward. There were different requirements for officers and for women.
Laurel soldiers discharged in September included T4 George Sandrock who had earned 89 points. He had been in service three years, 28 months of which were in combat where he was wounded in action. Lt. Gerald Kathol, a bomber pilot, was shot down over Germany, wounded, and spent 10 months in a prison camp.
Others discharged in September included Cpl. Alvin Johnson, Sgt. Alfred Hansen, Sgt. Elton Grimm, Cpl. Floyd Shell of Dixon, and Sgt. Bryce Leapley of Belden.
LaRoyce Johnsen received a medical discharge after serving in the WAVES (Women’s Naval Reserves) and later in the SPARS (Womens Coast Guard Reserves). Wilma Tolles was discharged from the WAVES. Except for nurses, most service women were not deployed overseas.
The trickle of discharged veterans would soon become a flood. And many would go from the ranks of the armed forces to the ranks of the unemployed. In addition to the millions of veterans seeking work, the War Manpower Commission estimated four million civilians would lose wartime jobs over the next six months as defense plants closed down. Aircraft plants alone were expected to layoff one million workers; ammunition factories, 800,000; shipyards, 600,000, and the government more than 100,000. While many factories would return to manufacturing civilian goods, there would not be enough jobs to absorb all the laid off workers and returning servicemen not to mention the millions of refugees who would soon be coming to America from the war torn cities of Europe.
Fortunately, the unemployment bubble was short-lived. Many of the returning veterans opted to go back to school under the new G.I. Bill instead of looking for work, and many women who had been working decided to go back to raising children.
Pages of History By Roger Tryon
The postwar baby boom already was on the way.
By 1946 factories were cranking out consumer products such as refrigerators, televisions, and automobiles instead of tanks and machine guns.
The modern consumer economy was on the way as well.
In other news of local interest: The first wave of baby boomers still were enwomb when school opened for the 1945-46 school year. On opening day there were 40 freshmen, 23 sophomores, 39 juniors, and 39 seniors for a total high school enrollment of 141.
There were 136 children in the grades and more were expected.
Prospects for a winning football season were not looking good. The not-so-mighty Bears hadn’t won a football game in nearly three years.
In 1945 twenty boys came out for practice but several would-be stars tipped the scales at 110 pounds or less. Possibly not wishing to be saddled with another losing season, Coach H.A. Linn turned the job of whipping the boys into shape to Harold Fitch, a Wayne college student.
The Laurel Building and Loan Association paid a final dividend to stockholders and closed its books for the last time. Organized in 1902, the Association flourished until the Depression. The last sale was in September 1945 when the building now at 107 E. Second was sold to Hubert Fleer for his U & I grocery store. The building was built by J.C. Thomas in 1907 and is currently occupied by Regg Pehrson’s Insuance Agency.
Bill Chambers sold his cafe to Earl “Chunk” Iler who recently sold his pool hall to Henry Hokamp.
If you think postal service is slow today, here’s one for the books. Mrs.
Julius Knudsen received a letter from her father Nels Pedersen in Denmark.
The letter was mailed in November 1941 but was not delivered until September 1945 — about three years after Pedersen’s death. It was thought to have been delayed because of the war. Seaman 1st Class Eugene Sullivan was stationed aboard the carrier Essex – one of the ships present at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.
Tech Sgt. Reinhard B. Michels, a former employee of the Laurel Light Plant, was awarded a bronze star for meritorious service. Michels not only helped maintain electrical systems, but also served as an interpreter and translator for the intelligence section.
He was born in Germany and was fluent in German. He later operated an electrical business in Laurel.
The war may have ended but the draft continued. Twenty-one Cedar County men were called for duty in September and 13 more would follow.
Henry Kaiser of Crofton died following a freak accident. At approximately 2:30 one morning, Patrolman Yost came upon a car stopped in the road on Highway 15 south of Coleridge. Yost ordered Kaiser, who was still sitting behind the wheel, to get out and help push the car off the road.
When the car stopped moving, Yost looked back and saw Kaiser had fallen face down on the road behind the car. Upon checking Yost found Kaiser had landed on the jagged edge of a broken bottle and severed a large artery in his throat. He was rushed to the doctor’s office in Coleridge where he died. Kaiser was buried in Saint Helena cemetery where his gravestone mistakenly gives his death as 1946.
