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An analysis of the social histories of one hundred enlisted men in the military services

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An analysis of the social histories of one hundred enlisted men in the military services

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Content AN ANALYSIS OF TEE SOCIAL HISTORIES OF
ONE EONDRED ENLISTEE M E N IN THE
MILITARY SERVICES
A T h esis
P re sen te d to
the F acu lty o f th e School o f S o c ia l Work
The U n iv e r s ity o f Southern C a lifo r n ia
In P a r t ia l F u lfillm e n t
o f the Req^uirements fo r the Degree
M aster o f S o c ia l Work
by
M ildred Anderson B ohlender
June, 1941
UMI Number: EP66162
All rights reserved
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Oissaiali©n BubhsMfig
UMI EP66162
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Thesis of.
Mildred Elizabeth Bohlender
This thesisj written under the direction of the
candidate's Faculty Committee and approved
by all its members, has been presented to and
accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate School
of Social W ork in partial fulfilment of the re
quirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
Dean
Faculty Committee
Chairman
TABLE OF OOHTEHTS ^
CHAPTER P A O k ^
I . IHTROroCTIOH........................................................... 1
The problem • • • • ........................................... 1
Statem ent o f the problem 1
Reason fo r th e stu d y . . . . . . . . 2
Groups stu d ie d 3
I n te r p r e ta tio n o f term s used . . . . . . . . 5
Group l i v i n g 5
M ilita r y S e r v ic e s . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
C o n s titu tio n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r io r . . . 5
In a p titu d e ................ 9
O rg a n iza tio n o f t h e s is . . . . . . . . . . . 10
I I . IiIFE IN TEE SERVICES ................................... 12
L im ita tio n s in h e r e n t in M ilita r y S e r v ic e . . 13
D is c ip lin e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
P eriod o f e n lis tm e n t . . . . . . . . . . . 15
R e s p o n s ib ilit y . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
E n o tio n a l and m oral s t a b i l i t y . . . . . . . . 16
Prom otion o f grow th o f e n lis t e d men • • . . • 18
S o c ia l w e lfa r e . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
P h y s ic a l developm ent . . . . . . . . . . 21
S p ir it u a l w e lfa r e .. . . .. . . . . . . . 23
E d u cation al f a c i l i t i e s . . . . . . . . . . 24
Rewards . . . . .. . . .. . .. .................... . 26
Ill
CHAPTER bags
I I I . COM PARISON OF FIFTY FAILXJRES AND FIFTY
SUOGESSmJI, ENLISTED M E N . . . . ......................... 29
Family baokgrotind . . . . . . . . . . 30
Hcaae c o n d itio n s • • • • . . • • . . • • . 34
S ib lin g s . . . . . . . . . . . 39
F in a n c ia l s t a t u s o f homes . . . . . . . . 41
Man^s h is to r y . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
E d u cation al background . . . . . . . 45
Bnployment . . . . . . . . . . . 47
S e r v ic e record . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Reason fo r e n lis tm e n t . . . . . . . . . 53
Reason fo r d isc h a r g e . . . . . . . . . . 56
P e r s o n a lity t r a i t s . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
A ttitu d e toward fr ie n d s . . . . . . . . . 57
A ttitu d e toward p a ren ts and s i b l i n g s . . 59
P r e sen t s it u a t io n . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
IV. SU M M A R Y AND CONCLUSIONS................... ..... 67
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
C o n clu sio n s . .. .. ... .. ... ... 69
V. RECOM M ENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY . . . . . . 71
P e r s o n a lity d e f ic ie n c y . . . . . . . . . . 71
A ttitu d e toward a u th o r ity . . . . . . . . 72
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I . B ir th p la c e o f G randparents and P a ren ts o f
E n lis te d Men in Groups I and I I . . . . . . 32
I I . P resen ce or Absence o f P a ren ts in Homes o f
E n lis te d Men in Groups I and I I . . . . . . . 35
I I I . Showing number o f S ib lin g s and O rdin al p o s i
t io n s o f E n lis te d Men in Groups I and I I . . 40
IT* F in a n c ia l S ta tu s o f Homes during Childhood
o f E n lis te d Men o f Groups I and I I • • • • • 43
T. A ges o f Men Upon S it e r in g and L eaving S ch o o l. . 46
VI. Age a t F ir s t Enployment o f E n lis te d Men o f
Groups I and I I ..... ... .. ... . . 49
T I I . Types o f Ihiployinent a t the Time o f
E n listm en t . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
T i l l . R easons fo r E n listm en t . . . . . . . . . . . 54
IX. A ttitu d e Toward F rien d s ..................... . . . . . . . 58
X, A ttitu d e Toward P a ren ts and S ib lin g s • » • . . 60
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1 . Reason fo r P a ren ts Not in th e Home • • • • • • 37
2 . Number o f Men o f Both Groups Who Were R aised
by V ariou s Types o f S u b s titu te P a ren ts . . . 38
3$ Ages o f Men o f Both Groups Upon L eaving
School 48
CHAPTER I
INTROWCTION
The s e le c t i o n o f p erso n n el fo r th e Army^ Navy and
M arine Corps i s o f g r e a t im portance to th e e f f i c i e n t
fu n c tio n in g o f th e v a r io u s branches o f the M ilita r y Ser
v i c e s . B efo re h is a c c ep ta n ce , each a p p lic a n t fo r e n l i s t
ment i s g iv e n an i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t and a com p lete p h y s ic a l
ex a m in a tio n . In a d d itio n to t h is th e a p p lic a n t m ust be o f
e x c e ll e n t ch a r a c te r and i n no c a s e i s a man a cc ep ted fo r
e n lis tm e n t i f he has been c o n v ic te d o f f e l o n i e s or im prison
ed under se n te n c e o f a c i v i l c o u r t. L i t t l e or no ing.uiry
i s made in to h is p a st s o c ia l h is t o r y a s an a d d it io n a l means
o f d eterm in in g th e a p p lic a n t's p o t e n t i a l i t i e s fo r a d ju s tin g
to h is new l i f e .
I . THE PEOBLM
Statem ent o f th e problem > The purpose o f t h is study
was ( l) to compare th e s o c ia l h i s t o r i e s o f a group o f en
l i s t e d men who were u n ab le to adapt th em selv es to M ilita r y
S e r v ic e and a group o f men who have made a good ad ju stm ent;
(2) to determ ine w hether th e re were any f a c t o r s in th e ir
background w hich m ight have some in flu e n c e on t h e ir a b i l i t y
to a d ju s t th em se lv es to s e r v ic e l i f e ; and (3) to fin d
w hether th e se f a c t o r s seem s i g n i f i c a n t enough to make i t
a d v is a b le th a t an in q u ir y fu r th e r in to the s o c i a l back
ground o f an a p p lic a n t should be made b efo re he i s a ccep te d
in to the Army, Navy or Marine C orps.
R eason fo r th e s tu d y . Each y ea r i t has been n e c e s
sary to d isch a rg e a number o f men from th e M ilita r y Ser
v ic e s b ecau se they were found to be u n a b le to cope w ith th e
s it u a t io n s a r is in g from t h e ir s e r v ic e in th e Armed F o rces.
Seme o f th e se men w ere d isch a rg ed fo r in a p titu d e and o th e r s
were d isch a rg ed w ith a p s y c h ia t r ic d ia g n o s is o f ’ 'c o n s t it u
t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r io r ." Many o f th e se men would
probably have had d i f f i c u l t y in cop in g w ith problem s in c i v
i l i a n l i f e and m ight have e v e n tu a lly reached a p o in t where
i t would have been n ece ssa r y fo r them to be c o n fin e d in a
p sy ch o p a th ic ward. O thers would have gone through l i f e and
been regarded a s " d i f f i c u l t ” or u n s ta b le . When a man in
th e M ilita r y S e r v ic e s has been found to be u n ad ap tab le to
s e r v ic e l i f e , every e f f o r t i s made by h i s o f f i c e r s and non
com m issioned o f f i c e r s to h e lp him work through h is problem s
and i f t h i s f a i l s he may be s e n t to a h o s p ita l fo r o b serv a
t io n where a com p lete p s y c h ia t r ic exam in ation w i l l be made.
A fte r h is c a s e has been d iagn osed he may be tr e a te d and be
come w e ll enough to com p lete h i s e n listm e n t p erio d or he
may be a b le to r e tu r n to c i v i l i a n l i f e . O thers w i l l be dis-
charged or tr a n sfe r r e d to a s t a t e h o s p ita l or a V e te r a n s’
F a c ilit y H o sp ita l fo r trea tm en t. Of th e f i f t y o a se s o f
d isch arged men stu d ie d in Group I i t was found th a t f i v e o f
them e v e n tu a lly were co n fin ed in h o s p it a ls fo r the m en ta lly
i l l . Much tim e and money has been sp en t on d isch arged men
and i t i s p o s s ib le they sh ould not have been a ccep ted fo r
e n lis tm e n t in th e f i r s t p la c e . In t h is I n v e s t ig a t io n an
e f f o r t has been made to s e l e c t f a c t o r s in th e s o c ia l back
ground o f f i f t y men w hich sem i to make them bad r is k s fo r
M ilita r y S e r v ic e .
I I . GROUPS STUDIED
For t h i s study a t o t a l o f one hundred e a s e s were
a n a ly zed . They w ere d iv id ed in t o two groups; Group I con
s i s t e d o f f i f t y e n lis t e d men in the Army, Navy, Marine
Corps who were d isch a rg ed b ecau se they were u n ab le to ad
j u s t to M ilita r y S e r v ic e ; Group I I was com prised o f f i f t y
e n lis t e d men who have shown an a p titu d e fo r m ilit a r y tr a in
in g .
The c a s e s o f Group I were s e le c t e d from th e f i l e s o f
the Los A n g eles Chapter o f the American Red C ross from
among c a s e s w hich were in v e s t ig a t e d from 1936 to 1 9 4 0 , The
c a s e s ch o sen w ere th o se in w hich th e s e r v ic e man was u n ab le
to adapt h im s e lf to the new l i f e in w hich he found h im s e lf
a f te r he had e n li s t e d . A ll o f th e se c a s e s were d isch a rg ed
from th e s e r v ic e . T w enty-nine o f them had been d isch arged
4
w ith a d ia g n o s is o f " c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in fe r io r "
and s ix t e e n w ere d isch a rg ed fo r one o f th e th ree fo llo w in g
rea so n s: in a p titu d e , good o f th e s e r v ic e , or b ecau se they
were found to be e m o tio n a lly u n s ta b le .
When i t was p o s s ib le to lo c a t e the e x - s e r v ic e man he
was in te rv ie w ed in p erson to se c u r e th e d e sir e d in fo rm a tio n ;
namely to fin d o u t what h is work h is to r y has been s in c e d is
charge and to determ ine a s fa r a s p o s s ib le the d egree to
w hich he has been a b le to a d ju s t s in c e he l e f t th e s e r v ic e .
In th o se c a s e s where i t was im p o s sib le to lo c a t e the s e r v ic e
man a s h is p r e se n t w hereabouts w ere unknown to h is fa m ily ,
h is r e l a t i v e s were in te rv ie w e d to secu re a s much in fo rm a tio n
a s p o s s ib le . In o th er c a s e s th e men were p a t ie n t s in var
io u s m en tal h o s p i t a ls and the In fo rm a tio n was taken d ir e c t ly
from th e h o s p ita l re co r d .
Group I I c o n s is te d o f f i f t y c a s e s o f e n lis t e d men in
the Army, Navy, and M arine Corps who have made good a d ju s t
m ents to s e r v ic e l i f e . These men were s e le c t e d by o f f i c e r s
or non-com m issioned o f f i c e r s a s men who have "made good ."
Every e f f o r t was made to secu re f ig u r e s from th e War
Department w hich would show th e p ercen ta g e o f men d isch arged
fo r in a p titu d e or w ith a d ia g n o s is o f " c o n s tit u tio n a l
p sy ch o p a th ic in fe r io r " but th o se f ig u r e s were n o t a v a ila b le .
5
I I I . INTERPRETATION OF TER M S USED
Group l i v i n g . When a man e n l i s t s he le a v e s h is
fmmlly group to w hich he has been accustom ed and b e g in s a
d if f e r e n t kind o f l i f e w hich m ight be termed group l i v i n g .
He w i l l be a ssig n e d to a p a r t ic u la r o r g a n iz a tio n and he
s le e p s , e a t s , l i v e s , p la y s , and works in c l o s e a s s o c ia t io n
w ith the o th e r men in h is o r g a n iz a tio n . In order to make a
s u c c e s s o f t h i s he must be prepared to p la y the r u le s o f
the game and m ust le a r n to g iv e and ta k e .
M ilita r y S e r v ic e s . The term M ilita r y S e r v ic e s a s
u sed in t h is T h e s is, in d ic a te d a l l th e branches o f th e
Armed F o r c e s. I t in clu d ed the Army, Navy, Marine Corps
and t h e ir many o r g a n iz a tio n s and su b d iv is io n s *
C o n s titu tio n a l p sy ch o p a th ic i n f e r i o r i t y . C o n stitu
t io n a l p sy c h o p a th ic i n f e r i o r i t y was in te r p r e te d a s ch arac
t e r i s in g a l i f e b eh avior p a tte r n o f in c a p a c ity fo r resp on
s i b i l i t y and i n a b i l i t y to adapt to a d u lt s o c i a l , m oral,
e t h ic a l and econom ic regtuirem ents. I t r e p r e s e n ts a d e f ic
ie n c y o f the p e r s o n a lity r a th er than o f th e i n t e l l i g e n c e .
As in d ic a te d by the term c o n s t it u t io n a l i t i s a c o n d itio n
w hich i s in h e r e n t w ith in th e in d iv id u a l. There have been
two s c h o o ls o f thought a s to th e ca u se o f t h is c o n d itio n ;
one b e lie v e d th a t the p e r s o n a lity d e f ic ie n c y was p r e se n t
from b ir t h , and the o th e r contended th a t the c o n d itio n
d evelop ed a s a r e s u lt o f poor ch ild h o o d tr a in in g and en
vironm ent during th e p l a s t i c p erio d o f ch ild h o o d and
y o u th . In e ith e r e a s e i t would in d ic a t e th a t the c o n d itio n
was p r e s e n t lon g b efo r e the en tra n ce o f th e in d iv id u a l in to
th e M ilita r y S erv ice*
From a stud y made in th e N eu r o p sy ch ia trie S e c tio n
o f th e M edical S e r v ic e , F itz sim o n s G eneral H o s p ita l, Denver,
C olorado, i t was found th a t th e s e p erso n s p r esen te d one or
more o f th e fo llo w in g symptoms:
1 . I n a b i lit y to p r o f i t by e x p e r ie n c e was a symtom
found in every c a s e o f c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r
i o r i t y . These men were in d i f f i c u l t i e s r e p e a te d ly and
w ere i n t e l l e c t u a l l y c o n sc io u s o f th e ir poor Judgment, but
co n tin u ed to perform p a te n tly f o o l i s h a c t s .
2 . Lack o f a se n se o f r e s p o n s i b il it y was a ls o com
monly fou n d . T his i s o f m ajor im portance from a m ilit a r y
p o in t o f v ie w . A man w i l l be g iv e n a s p e c i f i c ta sk and
b e fo r e f in i s h i n g i t w i l l le a v e to do som ething e l s e .
S tr a n g e ly enough th e se in d iv id u a ls were found to "worry" a
g r e a t d e a l about t h e ir r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s but did n o th in g
^ S* H. P a rso n s, C ap tain , M .C ., J* E. E w a lt, Con
t r a c t Surgeon, and I . P .’ Peak, M ajor, M.G*, A F orm ulation
o f C o n s titu tio n a l P sy ch o p a th ic I n f e r io r it y to r M ilita r y
S e d ic in e (The Army M edical B u lle t in . Number 4 2 ) , pp. 40-
Wl '
about them.
3 . Inadeg^uaey fo r the s t r e s s and s t r a in o f normal
l i f e was found m a n ifeste d in many o f th e s e e a s e s . A man
may have been a b le to stand normal s t r e s s or s t r a in but
when g iv e n In c r ea se d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s was a p t to "blow up."
From a p s y c h ia t r ic p o in t o f view they were ca rry in g a f u l l
lo a d b e fo r e the a d d itio n a l s t r e s s was added; under p r e ssu r e
they m erely m a n ifeste d th e p e r s o n a lity d e fic ie n c y w hich was
a lrea d y p r e s e n t.
4 . These p erso n s were o f t e n u n a b le to stan d tedium
and a s soon a s th e new ness o f a s it u a t io n began to wear o f f
they were u n ab le to a d ju s t to t h e ir r o u tin e . I t was found
th a t they showed th e same ten dency in th e ir p rev io u s work
ex p e r ie n ce and were c o n s ta n tly ch an ging Jobs.
5 . These I n d iv id u a ls w ere a ls o e m o tio n a lly d e f i c i e n t .
As a p a r t o f t h is em o tio n a l p o v erty th e r e was o fte n a m oral
and an e t h i c a l d e f ic ie n c y . They fr e q u e n tly ex p ressed r e g r e t
fo r p a st a c t io n s but a t the same tim e would d is c u s s them
f r e e ly w ith no f e e l in g o f shame.
6 . There were no d e f i n i t e p h y s ic a l fin d in g s in th e se
e a s e s but i t was noted th a t n a i l - b i t i n g , h a b it spasm or
t i c s , vasom otor i n s t a b i l i t y , and o th e r m a n ife s ta tio n s o f
d y s p a s tic p h y s ic a l c o n s t it u t io n were o fte n seen in th e
group o f in d iv id u a ls who were s tu d ie d .
When e l i s t e d men a re found to be c o n s t it u t io n a l
p sych op ath s they a re d isch a rg ed a cco rd in g to War Department
O rders, Paragraph 1 3 , AH 6 1 5 -3 6 0 , w hich p r o v id e s th a t th e se
c a s e s as w e ll a s m orons, m en tal d e f e c t iv e s , ch ro n ic a lc o
h o l i c s , and drug a d d ic ts ( i f m en ta lly r e s p o n s ib le fo r th e ir
a c tio n ) s h a ll n ot be d isch a rg ed on c e r t i f i c a t e o f d i s a b i l
i t y but w i l l be d isch a rg ed fo r in a p titu d e or u n d e sir a b le
h a b its or t r a i t s o f c h a r a c te r under the p r o v is io n s o f Sec
tio n V III, AR 6 1 5 -3 6 0 .
The very n a tu re o f the s e r v ic e c r e a te s s it u a t io n s
w hich are ap t to ca u se t h is group o f in d iv id u a ls to "break
down" during th e tim e th ey a re se r v in g in th e Armed F o rces.
One o f th e se f a c t o r s would be the p erio d o f e n lis tm e n t, a s
th ey would fin d th em se lv es in a c o n tr a c t w ith the govern
ment to se rv e a c e r t a in number o f y e a r s and when th e n o v e l
ty o f t h i s s it u a t io n had p a ssed th ey would n ot be a b le to
le a v e and p a ss on to an oth er p o s it io n a s they co u ld in
c i v i l i a n l i f e . The d i s c i p l i n e th a t i s ev er p r e s e n t in s e r
v ic e l i f e would be an o th er s it u a t io n w hich m ight be d i f f i
c u lt fo r th e s e men to m eet. C om p etition fo r prom otion
m ight a ls o prove to be a c o n tr ib u tin g fa c to r a s th ey would
be fa ced w ith t h e ir own in a d e q u a c ie s.
W hile s it u a t io n s o f t h i s kind may be a c h a lle n g e to
th e normal p erson they can c o n tr ib u te to th e breakdown o f
the p erso n who i s n ot n orm ally d eveloped e m o tio n a lly . For
t h is r ea so n i t would seem a d v is a b le to e lim in a te men o f
t h is type a t the time o f e n lis tm e n t. B efore t h i s can be
done i t i s n e c e ssa r y to fin d some means o f d ia g n o sin g th e
c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic i n f e r i o r . So fa r th ere have
been found no d e f in i t e p h y s ic a l fin d in g s in th e se c a s e s and
th e re are two s c h o o ls o f thou ght reg a rd in g th e cau se o f
t h i s c o n d itio n . An a ttem p t has been made in t h is t h e s is to
lo c a t e en vironm en tal f a c t o r s w hich m ight c o n tr ib u te to t h i s
p e r s o n a lity d e f ic ie n c y . I f th e s e en vironm en tal f a c t o r s
occur in a m a jo rity o f th e c a s e s i t m ight be a d v is a b le to
take them in t o c o n s id e r a tio n in a c c e p tin g a man fo r en
lis t m e n t .
I n a p titu d e . T his term i s o fte n used a s the rea so n fo r
d isc h a r g e in the e a s e o f the c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic
i n f e r i o r . I t in d ic a t e s th a t b ecau se o f c e r t a in h a b its or
t r a i t s o f c h a r a c te r th e man i s u n ad ap tab le fo r M ilita r y Ser
v ic e . These p e r s o n a lity d e f e c t s a re co n sid ered to have been
p r e se n t a t the tim e o f e n lis tm e n t and n ot caused by co n d i
tio n s encountered during the s e r v ic e p e r io d .
C o n s titu tio n a l p sy ch o p a th ic s t a t e i s by d e f in it io n
an in h e r e n t d e fe c t in c h a r a c te r and in th e in te g r a t io n
o f the p e r s o n a lity . I t cannot rea so n a b ly be assum ed,
th e r e fo r e , th a t a c o n s t it u t io n a l d e fe c t was acq u ired
a f t e r m a tu rity o r th a t i t was in c id e n t to th e s e r v ic e .
H e reto fo re the term " c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic s ta te "
h as been employed to d e sc r ib e in a ra th er lo o s e , though
e le g a n t manner a la r g e , i l l - d e f i n e d , and d iv e r s e group
o f v a r io u s an om olies o f c h a ra c te r w hich b ecau se they
a re normal and u su a l to th e in d iv id u a l do n ot c o n s t i
tu te any one o f th e p sy c h o se s , but w hich do, n e v e r th e
1 0
l e s s , tend to p rev e n t harmonious a d a p ta tio n to th e
environm ent and, th e r e fo r e , e v e n tu a lly b rin g the in
d iv id u a l in to c o n f l i c t w ith a u th o r ity . P ro p erly
sp ea k in g , su ch d e f e c t s are n ot to be regard ed a s m edi
c a l c o n d itio n s a t a l l , but a s u n d e s ir a b le t r a i t s o f
C haracter w hich are o f in t e r e s t to th e p s y c h o lo g is t ,
the s o c i o l o g i s t , and th e c r im in o lo g is t r a th e r than
the p h y sic ia n ." *
IV* ORGANISATION OF THESIS
In C hapter I I an e f f o r t w i l l be made to in te r p r e t
some o f th e l im it a t i o n s in h e r e n t in M ilita r y S e r v ic e and
a ls o th e m ethods and a g e n c ie s used in d ev elo p in g i n i t i a t i v e
and growth in i t s members. The lim it a t i o n s w i l l be d is
cu ssed from the sta n d p o in t o f d i s c i p l i n e , e n lis tm e n t p er
io d , r e s p o n s i b il i t y , and m oral and em o tio n a l s t a b i l i t y . To
prom ote m en ta l, p h y s ic a l, s p i r i t u a l , and s o c i a l grow th in
th e e n lis t e d p er so n n el i t i s n e c e ssa r y to c a l l upon c i v i l
ia n a g e n c ie s a s w e ll a s th o se departm ents s e t up in the
m ilit a r y o r g a n iz a tio n s th e m se lv e s. T his ch a p ter w i l l g iv e
an e x p la n a tio n o f some o f the s e r v ic e s rendered by th e se
a g e n c ie s and d ep artm en ts. Chapter I I w i l l a ls o d e a l w ith
th e o p p o r tu n itie s f o r rew ards w hich encourage th e e n lis t e d
man to take advantage o f the chance fo r a d d itio n a l educa
t io n and th e o p p o r tu n ity to le a r n tr a d e s .
R e s u lts o b ta in ed from th e s o c i a l h i s t o r i e s o f the
o
P a rso n s, E w alt, and P eak, ojo. c i t . . p . 49
11
f i f t y f a i l u r e s and f i f t y s u c o e s s f u l e n lis t e d men w i l l be
compared and d is c u s s e d in Chapter I I I . The sc h e d u le s used
to se c u re th e in fo r m a tio n were d iv id ed in t o f i v e m ajor
h ea d in g s and serv ed a s th e main p o in ts on w hich th e compar
is o n w i l l be made. These d iv is io n s in c lu d e the fa m ily
background, th e m an's h is t o r y , s e r v ic e reco rd , p e r s o n a lity
t r a i t s , and th e p r e se n t s it u a t io n .
Chapter IV w i l l d e a l w ith the in t e r p r e t a t io n o f d ata
and th e c o n c lu s io n s a r r iv e d a t from th e stu d y . W hile one
hundred c a s e s were a sm a ll number in c o n tr a s t to th e t o t a l
number o f men se r v in g in the M ilita r y S e r v ic e s , the r e s u l t s
o b ta in ed in d ic a te d th a t i t would be a d v is a b le to se c u r e
more in fo r m a tio n o f the p a s t h i s t o r i e s o f a p p lic a n ts b e fo r e
they a re a ccep ted fo r e n lis tm e n t.
Recommendations fo r fu tu r e s t u d ie s o f problem s noted
in some o f th e e a s e s in th e se two groups w i l l be p resen ted
in Chapter V. S in ce the c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r
io r group p r e s e n ts problem s n o t o n ly fo r th e M ilita r y Ser
v ic e s but a ls o to c i v i l i a n com m unities i t w i l l be su g g ested
th a t fu r th e r s t u d ie s be made to i s o l a t e f a c t o r s w hich con
tr ib u te to à p e r s o n a lity d e f ic ie n c y . Another problem w hich
w i l l be su g g ested fo r a d d itio n a l study i s th e a t t it u d e to
ward a u th o r ity w hich ap pears to p la n an im portant p a r t in
the a b i l i t y o f a man to a d ju s t h im s e lf to s e r v ic e l i f e .
CHAPTER I I
LIFE I I THE SERVICES
For t h is study one hundred e n lis t e d men in th e M ili
ta ry S e r v ic e s w ere s e le c t e d . Each o f them, fo r one rea so n
or a n o th er , had v o lu n te e r e d fo r a s p e c if ie d term o f s e r v ic e .
They came from one hundred d if f e r e n t homes, each w ith a
d if f e r e n t background. A ll had been g iv e n i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s
and p h y s ic a l ex a m in a tio n s and found to be norm al. As th e se
men came in to th e s e r v ic e s they found t h i s new l i f e to be
more or l e s s sta n d a r d iz e d . They wore the same kind o f
c lo t h e s , a t e a t the same t a b le , liv e d in the same kind o f
b u ild in g , f e l t the same lim it a t i o n s and had th e same ad
v a n ta g e s a s the o th er men in th e ir o r g a n iz a tio n s . D e sp ite
t h i s , f i f t y o f the men w ere u n a b le to adapt th em selv es to
the r o u tin e o f s e r v ic e l i f e and they were d isch a rg ed ; th e
o th e r f i f t y men made good a d ju stm e n ts. The d iff e r e n c e was
in th e r e a c tio n o f th e In d iv id u a l man to t h is new s i t u a t i o n .
T h is ch a p ter w i l l p r e s e n t some o f the a d van tages and
d isa d v a n ta g es to be found and they w i l l be d isc u sse d under
th r ee main h ea d in g s: (1) L im ita tio n s in h e r e n t in th e s e r
v ic e s ; (z) M ethods o f prom oting growth; (3) Rewards fo r
in c r e a se d s k i l l s .
13
I . LIMITATIONS INHERENT IN MILITARY SERVICE
Every e f f o r t i s made by th e m ilit a r y a u t h o r it ie s to
a s s i s t th e e n lis t e d man to a d ju st to h is l i f e in the s e r
v i c e s , but in s p it e o f t h i s , th ere a re some who a re u n ab le
to cope w ith th e p r o b l^ s a r is in g during t h e ir e n lis tm e n t
p e r io d . Some o f th e f a c t o r s w hich m ight c o n tr ib u te to the
d i f f i c u l t i e s m et by the s e r v ic e man would be d i s c i p l i n e ,
e n lis tm e n t p e r io d , r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , and th e need fo r em otion
a l and m oral s t a b i l i t y .
D i s c i p l i n e . The a verage p erson h as been a b le to
r e c o g n iz e the need fo r d i s c i p l i n e in the workaday w orld and
a c c e p t i t b ecau se he has r e a liz e d th a t i t i s n e c e ssa r y in
h is b u s in e s s , in h is r e la t io n s w ith h is fello w -m en and h is
fa m ily , but he has n o t been f a m ilia r w ith c o n d itio n s in the
m ilit a r y j s e r v ic e and does n o t u nd erstan d th e re a so n s fo r the
custom s and r e g u la tio n s found in th e s e o r g a n iz a tio n s . In
c i v i l l i f e a l l b u s in e s s i s conducted in accord an ce w ith c e r
ta in r u le s w hich govern a l l em ployers and em ployees a lik e .
The l i f e o f a fa c to r y i s cen tered about c e r t a in m achinery.
Each p art i s o p era ted by one who i s r e s p o n s ib le fo r a g iv e n
ta s k . A ll must p la y t h e ir p a r t when th e m achinery i s in
o p e r a tio n , e l s e the w hole scheme o f p ro d u ctio n i s u p s e t.
When c o o p e r a tio n e x i s t s th e o p e r a tio n s work o u t to the
s a t i s f a c t i o n o f b oth th e em ployer and the m ployed. When i t
14
%3 a b sen t th e re I s c o n fu sio n and n o n -p ro d u ctio n .
M ilita r y a c t i v i t i e s , l i k e b u s in e s s o p e r a tio n s , must
be conducted in accord ance w ith c e r t a in r u le s and r e g u la
t io n s . In m ost o f th e l i t e r a t u r e where an attem p t h as been
made to d e fin e m ilit a r y d is c i p l i n e i t has been d esc rib e d a s
based upon c o o p e r a tio n and le a d e r s h ip . At a l l tim es team
work or the s p i r i t o f the team was s t r e s s e d r a th e r than d is
c i p l i n e through f e a r .
In d e sc r ib in g m ilit a r y d is c i p li n e or the s p i r i t o f
the team. C o lo n el Waldron in h is book. The Old S erg e a n t' s
C o n fer en ce s. ex p la in ed i t a s fo llo w s :
M ilita r y o p e r a tio n s a re th e same a s any o th er b u s i
n e s s — l i k e any o th e r game. They are c a r r ie d o u t under
c e r t a in r u le s and r e g u la t io n s . Teamwork i s more n e c e s
sa r y , fo r i f a n y th in g g o es wrong the m ista k e i s paid
f o r , n o t in a broken m ach in e, n ot in money l o s s , n ot
in a l o s t game, but in th e m ost v a lu a b le th in g on
e a r th — human l i v e s .
A gain th e very n a tu re o f m ilit a r y employment makes
system and p e r fe c t order an a b s o lu te n e c e s s it y . Large
numbers o f men must be a ssem b led , eared f o r , and moved
abput in lim ite d sp a c e . Each u n it and every man in i t
m ust p la y the game s t r i c t l y a cco rd in g to the r u le s ,
e l s e c o n fu sio n and d iso r d e r are bound to r e s u l t . 2
W hile d is c i p li n e i s n e c e ssa r y fo r the sm ooth fu n c tio n
in g o f the m ilit a r y s e r v ic e s i t may be very d i f f i c u l t fo r a
man to a c c e p t, e s p e c ia lly i f he h as never been a b le to a c c e p t
1 C olon el W illiam H. W aldron, The Old S ergean t * s Con
fe r e n c e s ^Washington— ; The N a tio n a l âerv i ce P u b lis h in g
Company, 193G ), pp. 6 6 -6 7 .
xs
a u th o r ity . In many in s ta n c e s in Group I i t was found th a t
the men had q u a rreled w ith p a re n ts and gu ard ian s w h ile they
were a t home and l a t e r when they went to work had d i f f i
c u lt y w ith su p e rio r s* In c i v i l i a n l i f e th e se p erso n s cou ld
run away from s it u a t io n s when they became u nb earable but
a f t e r e n l i s t i n g they found i t n e c e ssa r y to rem ain u n t i l
th ey com pleted th e p erio d fo r w hich they had v o lu n te e r e d .
The th eory o f le a d e r s h ip a s th e b a s is o f m ilit a r y
d i s c i p l i n e r e q u ir e s an a cc ep ta n ce o f a u th o r ity by th e in d i
v id u a l. The man who i s a b le to a c c e p t t h i s a u th o r ity would
probably b e n e f it from th e d i s c i p l i n e he found in the s e r
v ic e but a n o th er p erson in the same s it u a t io n m ight fin d i t
Im p o ssib le to a c c e p t the r u le s and r e g u la tio n s imposed upon
him and be in d i f f i c u l t i e s r e p e a te d ly . The l a t t e r group
would p rob ably be punished fo r t h e ir in f r a c t io n s and t h is
would put a d d itio n a l p r e ssu r e upon them. In some c a s e s i t
was p o s s ib le fo r the man to change h is a t t it u d e toward
a u th o r ity a f t e r he was in the s e r v ic e , a s in th e th r ee
e a s e s in Group I I who gave an e a r ly h is to r y o f d i f f i c u l t y
w ith p a r e n ts and in th e f i r s t p a r t o f t h e ir m ilit a r y c a r e e r
were in tr o u b le most o f th e tim e, but w ere a b le to work
through t h e ir problem s u n t i l th ey co u ld a c c e p t th e a u th o r ity
o f t h e ir su p e r io r o f f i c e r s .
P erio d o f e n lis tm e n t. A nother f a c to r w hich m ight
16
make i t d i f f i c u l t fo r a man to a d ju st to s e r v ic e l i f e i s
th e p erio d o f e n lis tm e n t. When a man e n l i s t s he c o n tr a c ts
w ith the governm ent to s e r v e fo r a c e r t a in number o f y e a r s .
He cannot d e c id e , a f t e r a sh o r t tim e, th a t he does n o t l i k e
s e r v ic e l i f e and le a v e , as he cou ld when w orking in a c i v i l
ia n p o s it io n . The very f a c t th a t he m ust rem ain u n t i l h is
e n lis tm e n t p erio d i s com pleted may cau se him to "break
down.” Many o f the men o f Group I gave a h is t o r y o f g o in g
from one Job to an oth er and even s in c e d isch a rg e have g iv e n
a s im ila r h is t o r y . T his h a s been found to be a common
t r a i t in the c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic i n f e r i o r , and a s
lo n g a s they can p a ss from one p o s it io n to an o th er a s soon
a s the new ness w ears o f f t h e ir p e r s o n a lity d e f ic ie n c y m ight
n ot be m a n ife ste d .
R e s p o n s ib ilit y . A se n se o f r e s p o n s ib il it y i s an
im portant q u a li f ic a t i o n fo r th e man in the s e r v ic e . The
sm ooth o p e r a tio n o f the e n t ir e m ilit a r y m achine depends
upon each man perform ing h is a lio t e d ta sk w ith d ep en d a b il
ity. The man who i s u n ab le to com p lete h is a ssig n m en ts may
be a c t u a lly endangering the l i v e s o f h is f e llo w s o ld ie r s in
tim e o f em ergency. A p erson who w o r r ie s a g r e a t d ea l about
h i s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s but does n o th in g about them i s a
l i a b i l i t y in the s e r v ic e .
Em otional and m oral s t a b i l i t y . In r e c r u it in g
17
e n lis t e d p erso n n el fo r the m ilit a r y s e r v ic e an e f f o r t i s made
to s e l e c t men o f e x c e lle n t c h a r a c te r . For t h is rea so n no
man i s a ccep ted fo r e n lis tm e n t who has been c o n v ic te d o f a
crim e or who i s on p r o b a tio n . O c c a sio n a lly a man may be
a ccep te d fo r e n lis tm e n t who has been c o n v ic te d o f a crim e
w h ile a ju v e n ile but o n ly a f t e r a thorough study o f th e
c ir cu m sta n ce s. The rea so n fo r the s t r ic t n e s s in t h i s r e s
p e c t was g iv e n in a War Department p r e s s r e le a s e is s u e d on
A ugust 2 9 , 1940, w hich sa id in p a r t:
That t h is was b ecau se i t c o n s is t e n t ly d ir e c t s i t s
e f f o r t s tow ards b u ild in g th e Army in to a c o h e s iv e
o r g a n iz a tio n o f r ig h t -t h in k in g men, who can be depend
ed upon in tim es o f s t r e s s to d is p la y co u ra g e, f o r t i
tu d e, and id e a lis m o f a h ig h o rd er , and th a t one o f
th e s tr o n g e s t inducem ents h eld ou t to th e p r o s p e c tiv e
r e c r u it s was th e o p p o r tu n ity o f a s s o c ia t in g w ith
o th er young men o f e x c e lle n t c h a r a c te r and good
r e p u te .3
S in ce th e p erso n n el h as been r e s t r ic t e d to men who
have had good r e co r d s b e fo r e th ey e n l i s t , the m ilit a r y s e r
v ic e s a re a n x io u s fo r them to m a in ta in or improve t h e ir h ig h
sta n d in g through t h e ir m ilit a r y s e r v ic e . To a id th e man to
d ev elo p h im s e lf th e re have been departm ents and p erso n n el ,
a ssig n e d from th e m ilit a r y s e r v ic e s and a d d itio n a l a s s i s t
ance has been g iv e n by c e r t a in c i v i l i a n o r g a n iz a tio n s . Most
o f th e men se r v e on r e s e r v a tio n s many m ile s away from th e ir
^ S ecreta ry o f War Henry L. S tim son, "Bars C onvicted
F e lo n s," Army and Navy R e g is t e r . November 2 3 , 1941, p . 7 .
18
homes and away from th e c o n s tr a in in g in flu e n c e s o f r e la
t i v e s and f r ie n d s . They o fte n fin d th em selv es in a stra n g e
c i t y on le a v e where no one knows them and where i t i s easy
fo r them to commit immoral a c t s w hich they would h e s it a t e
to do in t h e ir own community b ecau se o f the c r it ic is m o f
f r ie n d s or fa m ily .
I I . PROM OTION OF G R O W T H OF ENLISTED M E N
The m ethods o f prom oting grow th w i l l be d isc u sse d
from the v iew p o in t o f th e v a r io u s a g e n c ie s and departm ents
w hich c o n tr ib u te to th e s o c i a l , p h y s ic a l, s p i r i t u a l and
m en tal grow th o f the e n lis t e d man.
M ilita r y a u t h o r it ie s in t e r e s t e d in the e n lis t e d man
a t a l l tim e s, w hether he was a c t iv e ly on duty or on p a ss or
fu r lo u g h , have been a n x io u s to have lo c a l, o r g a n iz a tio n s in
com m unities a d ja c e n t to m ilit a r y r e s e r v a tio n s to h elp them
in c le a n in g up u n d e s ir a b le c o n d itio n s and in su p p ly in g in
ste a d f a c i l i t i e s w h erein th e men m ight fin d w h o le sa le
r e c r e a tio n . The m orals o f the M ilita r y S e r v ic e s have alw ays
been a m atter o f p r id e to i t s p e r s o n n e l. Commissioned o f f i
c e r s have been charged w ith th e r e s p o n s i b il i t y fo r the men
in t h e ir commands, and a c a se o f f a i l u r e on the p a rt o f the
s o ld ie r s to o b serv e m ilit a r y law s w ere prom ptly and j u s t ly
p u n ish ed . The e n lis t e d men have been encouraged to take
p r id e in th e ir u n iform s and in the Army or Navy o f w hich
19
they a re a p a r t. C hap lain s were on âu ty to g iv e them s p ir
i t u a l a d v ie e . L eaders o ffe r e d them g u id a n ce and c o u n se l,
and m ed ica l o f f i c e r s guarded th e ir ph;7s i c a l w e ll-b e in g .
Under o rd in a ry c o n d itio n s th ere w ere no r e s t r i c t i o n s on the
men le a v in g t h e ir m ilit a r y r e s e r v a tio n when they a re n o t on
d u ty, y e t ev ery e f f o r t h as been made to fu r n is h them w ith
h e a lt h f u l and wholesom e en terta in m en t on t h e ir p o s ts so
th a t they would be encouraged to rem ain th ere and avoid the
tem p ta tio n s found o f f th e r e s e r v a tio n s .
S o c ia l w e lf a r e . The American Red C ross has been one
o f th e m ost a c t iv e a g e n c ie s in a d m in iste r in g to th e s o c ia l
n eed s o f th e s e r v ic e man. T his o r g a n iz a tio n w ith i t s many
c h a p te rs and r e p r e s e n t a t iv e s in p r a c t ic a lly every community
o f th e n a tio n , has fu r n ish e d th e s o c ia l c a s e work s e r v ic e s
fo r the Armed F o rc es. S in ce th e fo llo w in g study i s based on
men who were on a c t iv e d u ty, the work done w ith th e e x - s e r
v ic e men w i l l be d isreg a rd ed and on ly th e work w ith the
a c t iv e men w i l l be c o n sid e r e d . Aid rendered th e M ilita r y
S e r v ic e s by Red C ross w orkers in c lu d e m ed ica l s o c i a l work in
th e v a rio u s Army and Bavy H o s p ita ls , p ro v id in g r e l i e f when
n e c e ssa r y , a s s is t a n c e in s o lv in g fa m ily problem s, and se cu r
in g v a r io u s s o c ia l h i s t o r i e s and r e p o r ts req u ired by m i l i
tary a u t h o r it ie s .
so
Army and Hav.y r e l i e f s o c i e t i e s . In a d d itio n to the
Red C ross th ere a re two o th e r o r g a n iz a tio n s , th e Army R e li e f
S o c ie ty and the Havy R e li e f S o c ie ty which a s s i s t m ilit a r y
p erso n n el by g iv in g r e l i e f . These s o c i e t i e s w ere e s ta b lis h e d
to a id needy members o f th e r e g u la r Army and Bavy and th e ir
d ependents or f a m il ie s o f d eceased p e r so n n e l. There was no
p r o v is io n fo r em ploying tr a in ed s o c ia l w orkers and th e se
o r g a n iz a tio n s have been a d m in istered by a board o f v o lu n te e r
members o f r e t ir e d o f f i c e r s . In th e p a s t, a p erso n in need
o f a s s is t a n c e has a p p lie d through h is commanding o f f i c e r or
C haplain and h is c a s was review ed by the a d m in iste r in g board
w hich then d ecid ed on the m e r its o f the c a se and the amount
o f a s s is t a n c e to be g iv e n .
C hap lain s * C orps. W hile the prim ary o b j e c t iv e o f the
C haplains* Corps i s to a d m in ister to the s p i r i t u a l n e ed s,
many o f th e c h a p la in s have a s s is t e d in s o lv in g s o c i a l prob
lem s in the ab sen ce o f o th e r a g e n c ie s . The d egree o f su c c e s s
w ith w hich th e s e problem s have been handled by th e in d iv id u a l
c h a p la in s have o f co u rse depended upon th e a b i l i t y o f the
c h a p la in h im s e lf.
F n tertain m en t and r e c r e a t io n . An o f f i c e r on each p o s t
i s ap p oin ted a s an In te r tainm ent and R e c r e a tio n a l O ffic e r who
sp o n so rs v a r io u s a c t i v i t i e s d esig n ed to make l i f e on th e
r e s e r v a tio n a t t r a c t iv e to th e e n lis t e d man so th a t i t w i l l
21
n o t be n e se ssa r y f o r him to go o u ts id e fo r en terta in m en t.
F u n d s,fo r th e se a c t i v i t i e s a re a l l o t t e d by the War D epart
ment and a r e supplem ented by ea r n in g s o f the lo c a l P o st
J^change.
The E and E O ffic e r a ls o manages the War Department
T heater w hich i s op era ted fo r s e r v ic e p erso n n el and a sm a ll
f e e i s charged to s e e th e show s. A t h le t ic c o n t e s t s , d a n ces,
and o th er a c t i v i t i e s may a ls o be sponsored by him depending
upon th e n eed s o f th e r e s e r v a tio n .
P h y s ic a l d evelopm ent. I t h as been n ece ssa r y f o r p er
so n n el o f the Army and Bavy to keep th em selv es in th e b e s t
o f p h y s ic a l c o n d itio n a t a l l tim es a s they m ust be prepared
fo r any emergency they may be c a lle d upon to m eet. To main
ta in a h ig h standard o f p h y s ic a l f i t n e s s they a re g iv e n
p e r io d ic p h y s ic a l ex a m in a tio n s and in a d d itio n a re g iv e n
e x e r c is e s and d r i l l s d esign ed to keep them in good p h y s ic a l
c o n d itio n . They a re a lso , encouraged to p a r t ic ip a t e in
gam es.
The m ed ica l care i s p rovid ed by th e M edical Corps
w hich tr e a t a l l s ic k n e s s and in j u r i e s and p ro v id e h o s p i t a l i
z a tio n when n eed ed . T his s e r v ic e i s f r e e to the e n lis t e d
man and i s co n sid er ed a p a rt o f h is com p en sation. He i s
a ls o g iv e n f r e e d e n ta l care by the D en tal Corps w hich i s a
p a rt o f the M edical Corps,
22
A th X e tic s. P r a c t ie a lly a l l form s o f a t h l e t i c s have
been a v a ila b le to th e e n lis t e d man. The kind o f a t h l e t i c s
sponsored by any p a r t ic u la r r e s e r v a tio n depends upon such
f a c t o r s a s the needs o f th e p a r tic u la r group, s i z e o f the
o r g a n iz a tio n , lo c a t io n , e t c . Some o f th e ty p e s o f a t h l e t i c s
w hich have been p rovid ed axe f o o t b a l l , b a s k e tb a ll, v o lle y
b a l l , swimming m atch es, b oxin g team s, and t e n n is , to nsrnie
o n ly a few . Through th e s e a c t i v i t i e s th e s e r v ic e man has
n o t o n ly been e n te r ta in e d and in th a t way d iv e r te d from
amusements w hich m ight have proven d e tr im e n ta l to him but
he a ls o was tr a in e d in team work.
Young Men* s C h r is tia n A s s o c ia tio n . One o f th e most
a c t iv e a g e n c ie s in c o n tr ib u tin g to th e w e lfa r e o f th e en
l i s t e d man has been the Y.M#C.A. Part o f t h e ir progrsan
c o n tr ib u te d to h is s o c i a l grow th, but s in c e th ey a ls o have
an a t h l e t i c program i t w i l l be co n sid er ed under th e p a r t o f
t h i s ch a p ter d e a lin g w ith p h y s ic a l developm ent.
L ike th e Red C ross, t h i s o r g a n iz a tio n g a in ed p r e s
t ig e during th e F ir s t World War and t h e ir s e r v ic e s have n o t
o n ly been welcomed by th e Army and Havy a u t h o r it ie s but have
been en cou raged. Some o f the r e c r e a t io n a l o p p o r tu n itie s
o ffe r e d the s e r v ic e man by the Y.M.C*A. in c lu d e gymnasium
a c t i v i t i e s , a t h l e t i c c o n t e s t s , swimming, games and d a n ces.
They have a ls o p rovid ed rooms w hich a re a v a ila b le to th e
23
e n lis t e d man when hé i s on fu r lo u g h .
When p la n s were made to ca re fo r the d r a ft army th e re
was an im p r essio n p r e v a le n t th a t the War and Bavy D epart
m ents d id n o t w ish th e s e r v ic e s o f th e Y.M.O.A. in lo o k in g
a f t e r the w e lfa r e o f the s e r v ic e man. There was an e f f o r t
on th e p a r t o f the a u t h o r it ie s to r e a ssu r e th e p u b lic on
t h is p o in t . As was s ta te d in an e d i t o r i a l in the Los A ngel
e s Times I
An erro n eo u s im p r essio n has been spread in some
q u a r te r s a s to th e p a rt th e Y.M .C.A. w i l l take in
m in is te r in g to th e n eed s o f the Army and Bavy under
th e p r e se n t d e fe n se program . Some c o to e n t h a s im
p lie d th a t th e ”Y” w i l l n o t be needed to work w ith
the e n lis t e d p erso n n el but a l l s o c ia l s e r v ic e would
be taken ca r e o f by the m ilit a r y and n aval a u th o r i
t i e s and by such governm ent a g e n c ie s a s th e n a tio n a l
Youth A d m in istr a tio n and th e W.B.A. To d isa b u se th e
p u b lic o f t h i s m ista k en id e a th e Army and Bavy De
p artm ents have is s u e d sta te m e n ts s e t t in g f o r t h n ot
o n ly th e ir d e s ir e fo r the co n tin u ed a c t i v i t y o f
c i v i l i a n w e lfa r e a g e n c ie s in p ro v id in g r e c r e a t io n a l
f a c i l i t i e s fo r th e e n lis t e d men, but a ls o s t r e s s in g
how much th ey a re in d eb ted to th e * * Y " fo r i t s p a s t
s e r v ic e in p r o v id in g w holesom e d iv e r s io n fo r th e men
on le a v e , w ith o u t w hich many would have sought i t in
l e s s d e s ir a b le c ir c u m sta n c e s.4
S p ir i tu a l w e lf a r e . The C hap lain s * Corps o f the Army
and Bavy r e p r e se n t b oth th e C a th o lic and. P r o te sta n t ch u rch es
and a d m in iste r to th e s p i r i t u a l n eed s o f the men. In th e
p a s t r e l i g i o u s s e r v ic e s have been conducted much a s in c i v
i l i a n ch u rch es w ith th e e x c e p tio n th a t th ere were no stro n g
^ E d it o r ia l, Los A n g eles Tim es. December 8 , 1 9 4 0 .
24
d en om in ation al l i n e s . I t was n o t uncommon fo r th e same
b u ild in g to be u sed fo r b oth C a th o lic and P r o te s ta n t s e r
v i c e s . Jew ish men have been g iv e n tim e o f f from th e ir
d u t ie s to a tte n d s e r v ic e s o f t h e ir own f a i t h in nearby
com m unities.
E d u ca tio n a l f a c i l i t i e s . The M ilita r y S e r v ic e s have
n o t o f te n been thought o f a s tr a in in g c e n te r s fo r in d u s t r ia l
jo b s but in r e a l i t y they have o ffe r e d sp le n d id o p p o r tu n itie s
fo r a young man to fu r th e r h is ed u ca tio n or to le a r n a tra d e.
The s e r v ic e man has been encouraged to tak e advantage o f
t h is tr a in in g a s h is v a lu e to th e s e r v ic e in c r e a s e s in pro
p o r tio n to th e s k i l l s he a c q u ir e d . The tr a d e s and tr a in in g
a v a ila b le depended upon th e branch o f th e s e r v ic e he
e n te r e d .
In th e Army, s c h o o ls have been m ain tain ed fo r tr a in
in g p u rp o ses, but b ecau se o f th e ra p id exp an sion o f the
Army in r e c e n t m onths and the g r e a t demand fo r Army s p e c ia l
i s t s S ecreta ry o f War Stim son has req u ested c i v i l i a n educa
t io n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s to be used in m eetin g th e demands o f
a d d itio n a l e d u c a tio n a l f a c i l i t i e s . The r e q u e s t was made in
a l e t t e r to th e Speaker o f the House Bovember 1 4 , 1940 and
s t a te d in p a r t:
The c a p a c ity o f m ilit a r y s c h o o ls i s I n s u f f ic i e n t
to produce the numbers req u ired w ith o u t d e la y . These
s c h o o ls should n ot be expanded u n t i l a reason ab ly
a c c u r a te b a s is fo r such exp an sion can be e s ta b lis h e d .
25
U n t il t h i s can be done, th e problem ean be so lv ed
m ost e f f i c i e n t l y by em ploying c i v i l i a n e d u c a tio n a l
i n s t i t u t i o n s to tr a in c e r t a in e n lis t e d m ilit a r y
s p e c i a l i s t s . 5
As a r e s u lt o f many y e a r s o f e x p e r ie n c e every e f f o r t
has been made to a s s ig n men to p o s it io n s where they w i l l be
a b le to perform th e b e s t s e r v ic e to the Army. To accomp
l i s h t h i s a c a r e fu l su rvey o f each man i s made by a board
o f e s p e c ia ll y tr a in e d o f f i c e r s and men. The r e c r u i t ' s p r e f
e ren ce i s taken in to c o n s id e r a tio n a s w e ll a s h is in d iv id u a l
q u a li f ic a t i o n s w hich have been e s ta b lis h e d by p erso n a l in
te r v ie w s . A fte r he has been a ssig n e d to an o r g a n iz a tio n the
kind o f tr a in in g a v a ila b le would depend upon the r e q u ir e
m ents o f th a t p a r tic u la r d iv is io n . Some o f th e s p e c i a l i s t s
used in the Army a re la b o r a to r y te c h n ic ia n s , d e n ta l a s s i s
t a n t s , sten o g r a p h e r s, c o o k s, m echanics and m u sic ia n s.
The Bavy h as been dependent alm ost e n t ir e ly on te c h
n ic a l o p e r a tio n s and b ecau se o f t h is i t has been n e c e ssa r y
fo r p r a c t ic a lly ev ery man to le a r n a trad e o f some k in d .
A man has an o p p o rtu n ity to p rep are h im s e lf fo r a lm o st any
kind o f an o cc u p a tio n ra n g in g from a te c h n ic a l job in a v ia
t io n to co o k in g . Many o f the la r g e r b a t t le s h ip s have t h e ir
own m achine shops where p a r ts o f the en g in es co u ld be r e
p a ired on board by the men. In a d d itio n to t h is they have
5 E d it o r ia l, Army and Bavy R e g is te r , Bovember 1 6 ,
1940, p . 1 0 .
26
h o s p it a ls on board where men are tr a in e d as m ale n u r ses and
in v a rio u s la b o ra to ry t e c h n ic s .
Each year th e Bavy h as turned in to c i v i l i a n l i f e some
3 0 ,0 0 0 young men tra in ed to hold jo b s and to be r e s p o n s ib le
c i t i z e n s . Former S ecreta ry o f th e Bavy C u r tis D. W ilbur
on ce r e fe r r e d to th e Bavy a s th e g r e a t e s t e d u c a tio n a l i n s t i
tu tio n in th e w o rld , and the l a t e P r e sid e n t C a lv in C o o lid g e,
s a id th a t the Bavy had retu rn ed to the community s e v e r a l
tim es over a l l th e money ever sp en t on i t .
M arine C orps. The s m a lle s t branch o f the M ilita r y
S e r v ic e s i s the M arine Corps. There are se v en te en d i f f e r
en t trad e s c h o o ls m ain tain ed by th e M arine Corps where the
men who e n lis t e d in th a t o r g a n iz a tio n can r e c e iv e tr a in in g
in some o c c u p a tio n .
III. EM Anm
The rewards w i l l be c o n sid er ed from the v iew p o in t o f
the o p p o r tu n itie s fo r prom otion and in c r e a se d pay in th e
Army, Bavy, and Marine C orps.
l o t on ly has th e e n lis t e d man in the v a rio u s M ilita r y
S e r v ic e s had an o p p o rtu n ity to le a r n tra d e s and fu r th e r h is
ed u ca tio n but he a c t u a lly r e c e iv e d more pay because o f h is
e f f o r t s . Those men who were ca p a b le and eager to le a r n w ere
rewarded w ith h ig h er rank and s p e c i a l i s t s r a t in g . W hile th e
27
pay o f a p r iv a te i s o n ly $ 2 1 .0 0 a month p lu s m aintenance i t
has been estim a ted ^ th a t e x c lu s iv e o f com m issioned o f f i c e r s ,
f i f t y per cen t o f th e p erso n n el earned from # 6 0 .0 0 to
# 1 5 7 .0 0 per month.
I f a man d ecid ed to make M ilita r y S e r v ic e a c a r e e r ,
he would be a b le to r e t i r e a f t e r t h ir t y y e a r s s e r v ic e .
D u r in g .th is tim e, i f . h e r o s e to a non-com m issioned o f f i c e r ,
he cou ld earn in e x c e s s o f $150 a month, w hich would be in
a d d itio n to fo o d , c lo t h in g , h o u sin g , m e d ic a l, and d e n ta l
c a r e . At th e end o f t h ir t y y e a r s he cou ld r e t i r e w ith a
l i f e incom e o f th r e e -fo u r th s o f h is p ay, w hich would amount
to more than s i x per c e n t on a # 2 6 ,0 0 0 e s t a t e . Thus i f he
en tere d the s e r v ic e a t e ig h te e n y ea r s he co u ld r e t i r e a t
f o r t y - e i g h t .
The ch a n ces o f advancem ent in th e M ilita r y S e r v ic e s
a r e s im ila r to th o se in c i v i l l i f e in th a t i t depends upon
in d iv id u a l a b i l i t y and i n t e l l i g e n c e . To g iv e a b e tte r id e a
o f th e p rom otion al p o s s i b i l i t i e s in th e M ilita r y S e r v ic e s ,
th e fo llo w in g q u o ta tio n from th e reco rd s o f Company o f
the 67 th Q uarterm aster R egim ent, F ort B anning, G eorgia i s
o ffe r e d ;
6
E d ito r ia l in th e Army and Bavy R e g is te r . December
1 4 . 1940, p. 3 . ~
28
The **top k ic k ,” 1 s t S ergean t G eirge D. Adams, i s
but 23 y ea rs o ld and h is t o t a l Army s e r v ic e i s two
y e a r s . S g t. Joseph M. D a n ie ls , in charge o f company
su p p ly , 26 y e a r s o ld , o b ta in ed h is se r g e a n ts w arrant
11 m onths a f t e r jo in in g the Army.
S g t, John B. (T iny) Edmonson, 23, who con d u cts th e
company m ess, r e c e iv e d h is serg ea n cy th ree y e a r s a f t e r
e n te r in g the s e r v ic e .
V orpi8. John S. Becker, 2 1 , and John B. Com fort,
1 9 , became non-com m issioned o f f i c e r s b efo r e they
com pleted fo u r months o f s e r v ic e .
Company commander 2nd L ie u t. M elvin D. K u tzer,
Q uarterm aster R eserve i s 25 y e a r s o ld .
The company, w hich o p e r a te s a m otor r e p a ir shop fo r
th e p o st q u a rterm a ster, h as in i t numerous s k i l l e d
au to m ech an ics who r e c e iv e e x tr a pay o f s p e c i a l i s t s .
In th e p a st the e n lis t e d man who was s e r io u s ly i n t e r
e s te d in h is fu tu r e has n o t o n ly taken advantage o f the many
o p p o r tu n itie s but has saved a p o r tio n o f h is e a r n in g s . In a
t e x t r e c e n tly iss u e d by th e F inance Departm ent, U n ited S ta te s
Army, i t was p o in ted out th a t th e d e p o s it s made by in d iv id u a l
s o ld ie r s fo r the f i s c a l year 1939-1940 amounted to # 1 ,6 7 2 ,3 3 9 ,
These sa v in g s w ere d ep o sited w ith th e Finance O ffic e r , and
cou ld be drawn o u t w ith i n t e r e s t a t th e end o f each e n l i s t
ment p e r io d . The in t e r e s t on th e above amount p aid to th e
accoun t o f the in d iv id u a l s o ld ie r s amounted to # 8 4 ,7 5 6 .4 2 .®
^ E d it o r ia l, Army and Navy R e g is te r . November 23,
1940, p . 5 . — ^---- --------------------------- »
8
" S o ld iers* S a v in g s .” Army and Navy R e g is te r , July
20, 1941, p . 1 9 . . ----- ----------------------------------
CHAPTER I I I
COM PARISON OF FIFTY FAILURES AND
FIFTY SUCCESSFUL ENLISTED M E N
A com parison was made o f th e r e s u l t s o b ta in ed from
th e s o c ia l h i s t o r i e s o f one hundred e n lis t e d men in th e
M ilita r y S e r v ic e s . F if ty o f th e se men, or Group I , had
f a i l e d and were d isch a rg ed ; w h ile th e o th e r f i f t y men. Group
I I , had made a s u c c e s s o f t h e ir m ilit a r y c a r e e r s . In Group
I , t h ir t y - t h r e e o f the men had been d isch arged from the Army,
tw elv e from the Navy, and seven from th e M arine C orps. Of
the men in Group I I , t h ir t y - e ig h t were s e r v in g in th e Army,
e ig h t were in th e Navy, and fo u r were in the M arine Corps
a t the tim e th e su rv ey was made.
S ch ed u les were used to in su r e u n ifo r m ity in th e in
fo rm a tio n on the v a r io u s p o in ts in th e s o c i a l h i s t o r i e s .
These sc h e d u le s were d iv id ed in to f i v e m ajor h ead in gs:
f l ) Fam ily background in clu d ed the p a te r n a l and mat
e r n a l g ra n d p a ren ts, th e p a ren ts and s i b l i n g s , home co n d i
t io n s , and the f in a n c ia l s t a t u s o f th e home during c h ild h o o d .
(2) The man* s h is t o r y covered th e e d u c a tio n a l back
ground and employment reco rd o f the e a s e s s tu d ie d .
(3) S e r v ic e record gave the rea so n s fo r e n listm e n t o f
both groups a s w e ll a s th e re a so n s fo r d isch a r g e o f the men
in Group I .
30
(4) P e r s o n a lity t r a i t s d e a lt w ith the a t t it u d e s o f the
men o f b oth grou p s, in c lu d in g th e a t t it u d e toward p a r e n ts,
s i b l i n g s , and f r ie n d s .
(5) P resen t s i t u a t i o n , th e f i f t h d e lin e a t io n o f the
sc h e d u le , showed the mployment record o f the men o f Group I
s in c e they have been d isch a rg ed from the s e r v ic e .
I , FAMILY BACK G EO TO D
A p a r t o f the sc h e d u le was devoted to th e fa m ily back
ground o f b oth groups to s e e i f a com parison brought ou t any
f a c t o r s w hich m ight have a b ea rin g on a man’ s a b i l i t y to ad
j u s t h im s e lf to th e s e r v ic e . An in q u ir y was made in to the
b ir th p la c e o f th e p a te r n a l g ra n d p a ren ts, m atern al grand
p a r e n ts , and the p a re n ts o f the men in te r v ie w e d . C o u n tries
r e p r e se n te d were th e U n ited S t a t e s , England, Germany, Canada,
P oland, Denmark, A u s tr ia , A u s tr a lia , I r e la n d , I t a l y , and
Norway. In many c a s e s , p a r t ic u la r ly in Group I , when th e
men were asked th e b ir th p la c e s o f th e ir gran d p aren ts th ey
r e p lie d th a t th ey did n o t know. This answer was a ccep ted
b ecau se i t was found th a t in c a s e s where the man was p ressed
fo r an answer he would g u e ss a t som ething to p le a s e the
in te r v ie w e r and in c o n s is t e n c ie s appeared.
The r e s u l t s o b ta in ed from th e in fo rm a tio n on th e
b ir th p la c e o f gran d p aren ts were d iv id ed in to p a te r n a l grand
p a r en ts and m atern al g ra n d p a ren ts. Those who were n a tiv e
31
born were c l a s s i f i e d a s "born in U .S ." and th o se born in
an o th er country were l i s t e d a s " o th er." In a d d itio n to
th e se two c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s the answ ers o f th o s e men who did
n o t know where t h e ir gran d p aren ts or p a r e n ts were born were
l i s t e d a s "don’ t know."
In Table I , on p age 3 2 , i t i s se e n th a t from the
f i f t y c a s e s o f Grdup I i t was found th a t e ig h te e n o f the
p a te r n a l g r a n d fa th e r s and fo u r te e n o f th e p a te r n a l grand
m others were born in th e U n ited S t a t e s . W hile in Group IX
tw en ty-on e o f th e p a te r n a l g ra n d fa th e rs and tw en ty -n in e o f
the p a te r n a l grandm others were born in th e U n ited S t a t e s .
There were e le v e n men in each group who s ta te d th a t t h e ir
p a te r n a l g ra n d fa th e rs w ere born in a f o r e ig n co u n try , and
t h ir te e n men in Group I and tw elv e men in Group XI gave some
o th e r cou n try a s the b ir th p la c e o f t h e ir p a te r n a l grand
m o th ers. Twenty-one o f th e men o f Group I d id not know
where t h e ir p a te r n a l g r a n d fa th e r s were born and tw e n ty -th r ee
co u ld n o t g iv e the b ir th p la c e o f t h e ir p a te r n a l grandm others.
In Group I I , e ig h te e n o f th e men gave "don’ t know" a s the
answer when asked the b ir th p la c e o f th e ir p a te r n a l grand
fa th e r s and n in e did n o t know th e b ir th p la c e o f t h e ir
p a te r n a l grandm others.
An in q u iry was a ls o made in to the b ir th p la c e o f the
m aternal gran d paren ts and the r e s u lt s o b ta in ed showed th a t
in Group I , tw e n ty -fiv e men s ta te d th a t b oth t h e ir m aternal
TABLE I
32
BIRTHPLACE OF GRANDPARENTS AND PARENTS
OF ENLISTED M E N IN G R O U P S I AND II
Group Gréup
I II T o ta l
P a te r n a l g ra n d fa th er
Born in th e U n ited S ta t e s 18 21 39
Born in o th er c o u n tr ie s 11 11 22
Don’ t know cou n try o f b ir t h 21 18 39
P a te rn a l Grandmother
Born in th e U n ited S ta t e s 14 29 43
Born in o th e r c o u n tr ie s 13 12 25
Don’ t know country o f b ir t h 23 9 32
M aternal g ra n d fa th er
Born in th e U n ited S ta te s 25 36 61
Born in o th er c o u n tr ie s 5 a 13
Don’ t know country o f b ir t h 20 6 26
M aternal grandmother
Born in th e U n ited S ta te s 2h 30 55
Born in o th er c o u n tr ie s 6 10 16
Don’ t know country o f b ir t h 19 10 29
F ath er
Born in th e U n ited S ta te s 34 43 77
Born in o th er c o u n tr ie s 7 5 12
Don’ t know country o f b ir t h 9 2 11
Mother
Born in th e U n ited S ta te s 42 48 90
Born in o th e r c o u n tr ie s 2 2 . 4 -
. Don ’ t know coun try o f b ir t h 6 0 6
g r a n d fa th e r s and m aternal grandm others were born in th e
U n ited S ta te s ; f i v e m atern al g ra n d fa th e rs and s i x m aternal
grandm others were born in some o th e r cou n try; and tw enty
men did n ot know where t h e ir m atern al g ra n d fa th e rs were
born w h ile n in e te e n did n o t know the b ir th p la c e o f t h e ir
m atern al grandm other. In Group I I t h i r t y - s i x men s ta te d
th a t th e ir m atern al g r a n d fa th e r s were born in th e U n ited
S ta te s and t h ir t y m aternal grandm others were n a tiv e born;
e ig h t m atern al g ra n d fa th e rs and ten m aternal grandm others
were born in another cou n try; s i x men co u ld n o t g iv e the
b ir th p la c e o f t h ie r m atern al g ra n d fa th e r s and ten men did n o t
know where t h e ir m atern al grandm others were born.
A s im ila r su rvey was made to determ ine th e b ir th p la c e
o f the p a ren ts o f the men in the two g ro u p s. I t was found
th a t t h ir ty - f o u r f a th e r s and fo r ty -tw o m others o f th e men
. in Group I were n a tiv e born, w h ile f o r t y - t h r e e f a th e r s and
f o r t y - e ig h t m others o f the men in Group I I were born in the
U n ited S t a t e s . Seven o f th e fa th e r s and tw o.m others o f th e
men in Group I were born in an oth er country and f i v e fa th e r s
and two m others o f Group I I were fo r e ig n born. When asked
th e b ir th p la c e o f t h e ir p a re n ts n in e o f the men o f Group I
did n o t know where t h e ir fa th e r s were born and s i x men o f
t h is group gave the same answer when asked about th e b ir th
p la c e s o f th e ir m oth ers. In Group I I th ere were two men who
cou ld not g iv e th e b ir th p la c e o f th e ir f a t h e r s , but a l l o f
34
them knew where t h e ir m others were born. One o f th e men in
Group I I who gave "don’ t know" fo r an answer had been r a is e d
in th e home o f h is m atern al gran d p aren ts as h is fa th e r had
d ese rted when he was born. In th e o th e r ea se the s e r v ic e
man s ta te d th a t h i s mother had d ied when he was born and he
had been adopted by h is m aternal gra n d p a ren ts.
In Table I i t w i l l be n oted th a t w hether a man was a
f i r s t or second g e n e r a tio n American seemed to have no b ear
in g on h is ad ju stm ent to s e r v ic e l i f e . A t o t a l o f se v e n ty -
s i x o f the m others and fa th e r s o f Group I were born in the
U n ited S t a t e s , and n in e ty -o n e p a ren ts o f Group I I were
n a tiv e born.
An in t e r e s t in g fa c to r i s th a t a la r g e r number o f men
in Group I did n o t know the b ir th p la c e s o f t h e ir grand
p a r e n ts . A t o t a l o f e ig h ty -th r e e "don’ t know" r e p l i e s were
g iv e n by Group I men a s compared w ith f o r t y - t h r e e such r e
p l i e s by men in Group II# T his m ight in d ic a te th a t a c l o s
er fa m ily r e la t io n s h ip e x is te d in Group I I and th a t t h is
had some b ea rin g on th e normal p s y c h o lo g ic a l and s o c i a l
developm ent o f the in d iv id u a l. .
Home c o n d it io n s . A com parison o f the home c o n d itio n s
o f the two groups showed a w ide d iff e r e n c e . A ccording to
Table I I , on the fo llo w in g p a g e, f o r ty -fo u r o f th e f i f t y
c a s e s o f Group I I were r a is e d in homes where b oth p a ren ts
TABLE I I
PHESMCE O R ABSENCE OF PARENTS IN H O M E S
OF ENLISTED M E N IN G R O U P I AND G R O U P I I
35
- - ■ ■ ■ .
Group Group
I I
T otal
Both, p a r e n ts in home 19 44 63
F ath er dead 22 4 26
Mother dead 17 4 21
P a ren ts sep a ra ted or d ivorced 9 2 11
S u b s titu te p a r e n ts
Step p a r en ts 6 1 7
F o ste r p a r e n ts 7 2 9
F o ste r homes 7 0 7
Orphanages 2 0 2
36
liv e d u n t i l the man was se v e n te e n y ea r s o f a g e . In Gréup I
on ly n in e te e n o f the f i f t y boys were r a is e d w ith b oth par
e n ts in the home.
The re a so n s g iv e n fo r th e p a r e n ts b ein g out o f the
home were f a i r l y p r o p o r tio n a l in the two g ro u p s. Group I
l i s t e d d eath o f the fa th e r in tw enty-tw o e a s e s and d ea th
o f the m other in fo u r c a s e s . T h is group a ls o gave sep a ra
t io n or d iv o rc e a s the r ea so n fo r one o f the p a r en ts b ein g
out o f the home in n in e e a s e s . In Group I I fou r f a th e r s
and fo u r m others were dead w h ile two men s ta te d th a t t h e ir
p a r e n ts were d iv o r c e d . For a com parison o f the r e a so n s fo r
p a r e n ts n ot in th e home se e F ig u re 1 , on page 3 7 .
In Group I , s i x o f the men gave a h is t o t y o f having
been r a is e d in a home w ith s te p p a ren ts and seven s a id they
had been r a is e d by f o s t e r p a r e n ts . In Group I I o n ly one o f
the men had been cared fo r by s te p p a re n ts and two were
r a is e d by f o s t e r p a r e n ts.
Seven c a s e s in Group I had a t some tim e been cared
fo r in f o s t e r homes and two men were r a is e d in orphanages.
Group I I had no c a s e s l i s t e d a s a t any tim e h aving been
cared fo r in f o s t e r homes or p rp han ages. F igu re 2 , on page
3 8 , g i v e s a com parison o f the p e rc en ta g e r a is e d by s u b s t i
tu te p a r e n ts.
. There would seem to be no q u e s tio n , from the ev id e n c e
p resen ted by t h is sam ple, th a t who have been r a is e d in
37
Number
o f
c a s e s
20 —
1 0
0
%
Father Mother Separ-
dead dead a ted
Divorced
Group I
< / / / / ! Group I I
FIGURE 1
RSASOR FO R PAREHTS R O T IÏÏ THE H O M E
38
Number o f
o a se s
F o s te r Step F o s te r Orphan-
p a ren t p a ren t h om ^ _^ ^ age
Group I
Group I I
FIGURE 2
NUM B2R OF M E N OF BO TH GROUPS W H O
W ERE RAISED BY VARIOUS TYPES
OF■ SUBSTITUTE PARENTS
39
th e home w ith both p a re n ts are more ap t to be a b le to ad
j u s t to s e r v ic e l i f e . Or in o th er w ords, th a t a s t a b le
home environm ent would seem to e f f e c t ad ju stm ent l a t e r in
l i f e .
S ib lin g s . In Table I I I , on page 4 0 , th e r e i s a com
p a r iso n o f the number o f s i b l i n g s and th e o r d in a l p o s it io n
o f the men in b oth g ro u p s.
In Group I ten o f the men l i s t e d a s on ly c h ild r e n
and in Group I I e ig h t were l i s t e d a s o n ly c h ild r e n . T his
f a c t o r a p p a ren tly was o f no s ig n if ic a n c e in t h is sam ple.
The f o r t y men o f Group I who had s i b l i n g s had a
t o t a l o f f i f t y - t w o b r o th e r s and f i f t y - s i x s i s t e r s and the
fo r ty -tw o men o f Group I I had a t o t a l o f se v e n ty -o n e b roth
e r s and f i f t y s i s t e r s .
S in ce th ere w ere f o r ty men in Group I w ith one hund
red and e ig h t b r o th e r s and s i s t e r s and ten had no b ro th ers
or s i s t e r s , the t o t a l number o f c h ild r e n in th e f a m ilie s
r e p r e se n ted by th e f a m ilie s o f Group I was one hundred
f i f t y - e i g h t . From th e s e f ig u r e s i t was found th a t the a v er
age s i z e o f f a m ilie s o f Group I was 3 .1 6 .
Group I I had fo r ty -tw o men w ith a t o t a l o f one hund
red tw en ty-on e b ro th e r s and s i s t e r s and e ig h t who w ere
l i s t e d a s o n ly c h ild r e n which gave a t o t a l o f one hundred
se v e n ty -o n e c h ild r e n in the f a m il ie s . The a v era g e s i z e o f
40
TABLE I I I
HUM BÏE OF SIBLINGS AND ORDINAL POSITIONS
ENLISTED M E N OF GROUPS I AND I I
Group
I
Group
I I
T o ta l
Only c h ild 10 B 18
Number o f b r o th e r s 52 71 123
Number o f s i s t e r s 56 50
106
O rdinal p o s it io n
O ld est 21 22 43
Y oungest 8 8 16
M iddle 2 4 6
Other 9 8 17
41
th e f a m ilie s in Group I I was 3 .4 2 .
From th e s e f ig u r e s i t would seem th a t the s i z e o f th e
fa m ily in w hich th e man i s r a is e d had no s ig n if ic a n c e in h is
a b i l i t y to a d ju st to l i f e s it u a t io n s , a s fa r a s t h is group
o f men i s con cern ed .
A ccording to th e r e s u l t s o b ta in ed from th e s e two
groups o f men, the o r d in a l p o s it io n would seem to be o f no
im portance a s fa r a s a b i l i t y to adapt th em selv es to s e r v ic e
l i f e i s con cern ed . Twenty-one o f the men o f Group I and
tw enty-tw o in Group I I s t a t e d th a t they were th e o ld e s t
c h ild in th e fa m ily . E igh t men o f each group were the
y ou n gest c h ild in th e ir f a m ilie s ; two men o f Group I and
fou r men o f Group I I w ere the m id d le c h ild in t h e ir fam i
l i e s ; and n in e men o f Group I and e ig h t men o f Group I I
were in some o th er o r d in a l p o s it io n in th e fa m ily .
F in a n c ia l s t a tu s o f hom es. The home c o n d itio n s were
fu r th e r checked by a n a ly z in g th e f in a n c ia l s t a t u s a cco rd in g
to a r a tin g o f good, f a i r , or p oor.
Poor was u sed to in d ic a t e th o se homes w hich had bare
n e c e s s i t i e s or were on r e l i e f p a r t o f th e tim e. In many o f
th e s e c a s e s th e breadw inner was dependent on "made work"
and was engaged on p r o j e c t s o f th e Works P r o je c ts A dm inis
t r a t io n .
F a ir in d ic a te d the homes w hich su p p lie d n e c e s s i t i e s
42
and some lu x u r ie s . The f a m ilie s o f t h i s group were th o se
who ren ted th e ir farm s or homes but were a b le to p ro v id e
fo o d , c lo th in g and s h e lt e r fo r th e ir c h ild r e n w ith o u t
o u ts id e a s s is t a n c e .
Good was used to in d ic a t e the homes o f above average
incom e. These f a m ilie s owned th e ir own homes or farm s and
in a d d itio n owned a u to m o b ile s, r a d io s , and o th e r lu x u r ie s .
W hile t h i s r a tin g i s r a th e r rough i t does g iv e some
I n d ic a tio n o f the r e l a t i v e f in a n c ia l s t a t u s o f th e two
g ro u p s. In d eterm in in g th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f th e f in a n c ia l
s t a t u s th e man was ask ed w hether he would c o n sid e r the con
d it io n s under w hich he was r a is e d a s a v er a g e, above a v era g e,
or below a v era g e. S in ce th e p erio d in w hich th e man liv e d
in th e home would cover a number o f y e a r s and during t h i s
tim e the income would f lu c t u a t e i t seemed im p o ssib le to
make a c tu a l income a b a s is fo r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . Standard o f
l i v i n g would a ls o vary a cco rd in g to com m u n ities. For in
s ta n c e an incom e o f a c e r ta in amount would produce a h ig h er
standard o f l i v i n g in a community where l i v i n g ex p en ses
w ere ch ea p er. A llo w in g th e man to r a te h is own f in a n c ia l
s t a t u s was a s u b j e c t iv e approach but on the o th er hand i t
did g iv e th e approxim ate r a tin g in com parison w ith the
o th e r members o f h is p a r tic u la r community.
In Table I v , on the fo llo w in g p a g e, i t w i l l be n oted
th a t in Group I th e r e were e ig h t f a m ilie s l i s t e d a s good, or
43
TABLE C T
fuja n c ia l status of bomes dueir s childhood
OP e n listed M E N IK GROUPS I AND I I
Group
I
Group
II
T otal
Good
Humber o f c a s e s 8 9 17
P ercen ta g e o f c a s e s 16 18 34
F a ir
Humber o f c a s e s 14 28 42
P ercen ta g e o f c a s e s as 66 84
Poor
Humber o f c a s e s 26 13 41
P ercen tage o f c a s e s 56 26 82
44
16 per c e n t; w h ile in Group I I n in e e a s e s or ISiiper cen t
s t a t e ! th a t the^ w ere r a is e d in homes o f aboi7e a'verage in
come • In both groups t h is was th e s m a lle s t number o f o a s e s .
Group I had fo u r te e n or 28 p er c e n t who w ere r a is e d
in average homes and tw e n ty -e ig h t c a s e s o r 56 per pent o f
the men o f Group I I w ere l i s t e d a s f a i r , f h i s was the
la r g e s t d iv is io n o f Group I I and was more th a n tw ice the
number in the o th e r two c a t e g o r ie s com bined.
T w en ty -eig h t p erso n s or 56 p er cen t o f Group I were
l i s t e d a s poor and a l l o f them were from f a m ilie s who had
been on r e l i e f or on W. B* A. a t some tim e or o th e r . This
number was more than tw ice the t o t a l number o f o a se s in th e
good and f a i r colum ns. Group I I had t h ir te e n c a s e s or 26
p er cen t who were from poor hom es.
From th e se f ig u r e s i t would seem th a t the men who
a re r a is e d in poor homes make the p o o r e st adjustm ent and
th o se from average homes a re a p t to make the b e s t a d ju s t
m ent. However, s in c e th e r e are many o th e r c o n tr ib u tin g
f a c t o r s i t would n o t be a d v is a b le to bar a man from the
s e r v ic e on t h i s b a s is a s was in d ic a te d in Group I I where
t h ir te e n o f th e se men came from poor homes and y e t made a
very good ad ju stm en t.
45
I I . MAN’ S HISTORY
É d u oation al baekground, Under t h is h ead in g a cheek
was made on the a g es o f th e men upon e n te r in g and le a v in g
s c h o o l. A ccording to T able V, on page 46, th e f ig u r e s com
p a rin g the two groups on t h is b a s is showed th a t th e age
upon e n te r in g sc h o o l was unim portant a s tw enty men o f Group
I and tw enty-tw o men o f Group I I en tered sc h o o l a t f i v e
y e a r s; tw e n ty -e ig h t o f Group I and tw en ty -sev en o f Group I I
en tered sc h o o l a t s ix y e a r s; and two men o f Group I and one
man o f Group I I s ta r te d to s c h o o l when he was sev en y e a r s
o f a g e .
The age upon le a v in g sc h o o l seemed to p la y some p a rt
in the a b i l i t y o f th e in d iv id u a l to adapt h im s e lf to s e r
v ic e l i f e or perhaps in d ic a te d i n a b i l i t y to g e t a lo n g in
s c h o o l. I t w i l l be n oted th a t in Group I th ere were th ree
men who l e f t sc h o o l when th ey were tw elv e y e a r s o f age and
th a t tw en ty -fo u r o f t h is group l e f t sc h o o l b efo re th ey were
s ix t e e n y e a r s o f a g e . In Group I I on ly sev en men l e f t
sc h o o l b efo re they w ere s ix t e e n y e a r s o f a g e.
I t w i l l a ls o be n o tic e d th a t in Group I on ly s i x men
rem ained in s c h o o l u n t i l e ig h te e n and two rem ained in sc h o o l
u n t i l they w ere tw enty, w h ile in Group I I i t was found th a t
tw en ty -n in e men went to s c h o o l u n t i l they w ere e ig h te e n and
two con tin u ed u n t i l n in e te e n y e a r s . Two in each group went
46
TABÎÆ V
ASES OF THE M E H O TO H m ^ m i m and lm y ih g s c h o o l
Group
I
T o ta l
Ages upon e n te r in g sc h o o l
5 20 22 42
6 28 27 55
? 2 1 3
A ges upon le a v in g sc h o o l
12 3 0 3
13 6 3 9
14 7 3 10
15 S 1 9
16 11 6 17
1? 7 4 11
18 6 28 35
19 0 2 2
20 2 2 4
47
to sc h o o l u n t i l they were twenty y e a r s o ld and fin is h e d
two y e a r s o f c o l l e g e .
On th e b a s is o f t h i s study i t would seem th a t th e
men who remain in sc h o o l u n t i l e ig h te e n y e a r s o f age are
more a p t to make a good adjustm ent than th o se who le a v e
s c h o o l younger. The men who rem ain in sc h o o l the lo n g e s t
and reach th e h ig h er g ra d es may make a b e tte r ad ju stm ent
but i t m ight a ls o be tru e th a t th ey rem ained in s c h o o l
lo n g e r because th ey w ere a b le to a d ju st th em selv es p r o f i t
a b ly to sch o o l l i f e . F ig u re 3, on page 4 8 , shows th e pro
p o r tio n o f men o f each group who l e f t s c h o o l a t v a r io u s
a g e s from tw elve to tw enty y e a r s .
Ik ploym ent. A check was made on the employment
re co r d s o f b oth g ro u p s. The stu d y o f employment was d ivid ed
in t o th ree p a r t s . In th e f i r s t p a rt an in q u ir y was made
in to the a g es a t w hich th e men o f both groups s ta r te d to
work. In th e second p a rt a reco rd was made o f the ty p es o f
employment In w hich the men were w orking p r io r to t h e ir
e n lis tm e n t. The th ir d p a r t shows th e type o f employment
in w hich th e men o f Group I a re now engaged, th a t i s ,
s in c e d isch a rg e txom the s e r v ic e .
Table V I, on page 4 9 , shows th a t th e re were th ir te e n
men o f Group I who w ere r e g u la r ly employed by the tim e they
were fo u r te e n y e a r s o f a g e . S ix went to work a t tw e lv e .
Humber of eases
48
80
Group I
Group I I
PIGDBS 3
AGBS OF mm OF BO TH G H O U PS tJPOI IrEAVIHG SCHOOI,
49
TABLE VI
AGE AT FIRST MPLOIMEHT
EHLISTED M E N OF GROUPS I AND I I
Age when f i r s t employed
Group
I
Group
I I
To t a l
12 6 3 9
13 1 0 1
14 6 0 6
16 2 0 2
16 6 4 9
17 6 2 8
18 5 13 18
19 1 3 4
20 1 0 1
Never p r e v io u s ly employed 17 25 42
50
one a t t h ir te e n y e a r s , and s i x a t fo u r te e n y e a r s . In Group
I I , th ree men were f i r s t employed a t tw e lv e y e a r s.
In Group I two men s ta r te d to work a t f i f t e e n , f i v e
a t s ix t e e n , s i x a t se v e n te e n and f i v e a t e ig h te e n . Hone o f
th e men o f Group I I s ta te d th a t they were f i r s t employed a t
f i f t e e n but fo u r began w orking a t s ix t e e n , two a t se v e n te e n ,
and t h ir te e n a t e ig h te e n y e a r s o f a g e.
One man o f Group I was f i r s t employed a t n in e te e n ,
one a t tw enty, and in Group I I th r e e men s ta r te d work a t
n in e te e n and none gave tw enty as the age o f t h e ir f i r s t
em ploym ent.
S even teen o f th o s e in Group I were n ever employed
r e g u la r ly p r io r to e n lis tm e n t and tw e n y -fiv e o f Group I I
had n ever been employed s t e a d ily b e fo r e they e n lis t e d .
The men o f Group I were found to have gone to work
younger than th o se o f Group I I , a f a c t w hich i s c lo s e ly
r e la te d to th e number o f y ea rs they a tten d ed s c h o o l. In
Table V i t was found th a t the men o f Group I I rem ained in
sc h o o l lo n g e r than th o se o f Group I and Table VI c o n v e r se ly
shows th a t Group I I men went to work l a t e r than Group I .
A ll o f the men In b oth groups who gave a h is to r y o f having
gone to work b e fo r e they were fo u r te e n were from r u r a l
d i s t r i c t s who secu red work a s farm hands.
These f ig u r e s do n ot show s i g n i f i c a n t d iff e r e n c e s but
th e r e were more men in Group I who went to work b efo r e they
§ 1
were s ix t e e n y e a r s o f age than did men in Group I I .
A fa r th e r check was made on th e ty p e s o f employment
in w hich th e men w ere engaged a t th e tim e th ey e n li s t e d .
A ccording to Table V II, on th e fo llo w in g p age, f o r t y - t h r e e
men o f Group I w ere unemployed a t th e tim e o f e n lis tm e n t
and t h ir t y o f Group I I . T his h ig h p ercen ta g e o f unemployed
I s probably due to th e f a c t th a t th e s e men e n lis t e d a t a
tim e when employment was very s c a r c e , but i t m ight a ls o sug
g e s t th e d i f f i c u l t y w hich Group I men had in h o ld in g jo b s .
The men who were employed were engaged in a v a r ie ty
o f o c c u p a tio n s. Table V II shows th a t th ere were a t o t a l o f
s e v e n ty -th r e e men in b oth groups who were unemployed a t the
tim e o f e n lis tm e n t. F o r ty -th r e e w ere from Group I and
t h ir t y frcm Group I I .
I t i s in t e r e s t in g th a t th e r e was o n ly one man in
Group I who gave h is employment a t th e tim e o f e n lis tm e n t
a s farm work and y e t th e re w ere a c t u a lly t h ir t e e n o f t h is
group who had o r ig in a l ly worked on a farm . In Group I I
f i v e men were working a s farm hands when they e n li s t e d . One
man from each group was em ployed a s a m echanic, a salesm an,
and a repairm an.
In Group I two men had been c le r k s and one had been
a la b o r e r . In Group I I th e re were sev en men who had g iv e n
up p o s it io n s a s c le r k s when they e n l i s t e d , th ree had been
w orking a s la b o r e r s , one was w orking a t odd jo b s and a o th e r
52
TABLE VII
TYPES OF mPLOYMENT AT THE TIME OF ENLISTMENT
Group
I
Group
I I
To t a l
U nm ployed a t tim e o f e n lis tm e n t
Sknployed a t tim e o f e n lis tm e n t
43 SO 73
G eneral repairm an 1 1 2
Farm worker 1 5 6
M echanic 1 1 2
Salesm an 1 1 2
C lerk 2 7 9
Laborer 1 3 4
Odd jo b s 0 1 1
Miner 0 1 1
53
was a m in er.
P art o f the men o f both groups had never been s te a d
i l y employed and o f th o se who had worked b efo r e e n lis tm e n t
a check was made on th e ir a b i l i t y to h old jo b s. I t was
found th a t e ig h te e n men o f Group I s t a te d they had had no
d i f f i c u l t y in h o ld in g p o s it io n s . Seven s a id th a t th ey w ere
u n ab le to keep t h e ir jo b s a f t e r se c u r in g them and two men
o f t h is group s a id th a t th ey had no d i f f i c u l t y in h o ld in g
a jo b . The re a so n s g iv e n fo r n o t rem ainin g in a p o s it io n
were th a t they q u a rreled w ith t h e ir s u p e r io r s o f f e llo w
w ork ers, drank to o much liq u o r , th e em ployer took ad vantage
o f them, th ey became n ervou s and a ls o b ecau se they would
t i r e o f a p a r tic u la r kind o f work. Of Group I I th ere were
two men who gave a h is t o r y o f n o t b ein g a b le to r e t a in jo b s
and th ey b oth gave a s th e rea so n th a t they were alw ays
q u a r r e lin g w ith th e ir s u p e r io r s .
From th e s e f ig u r e s i t would seem th a t i t would be
a d v is a b le to in q u ir e in to the work h a b its o f an a p p lic a n t
fo r s e r v ic e s in c e h is a b i l i t y to g e t and r e ta in employment
i s some in d ic a t io n o f h is s t a b i l i t y .
I I I . 3BEYICE EEOORL
Reason fo r e n lis tm e n t. An e f f o r t was made to d i s
co v er th e rea so n th e s e men e n lis t e d in one o f the M ilita r y
S e r v ic e s . A ccroding to Table V I I I , on page 5 4 , unemployment
TABLE V III
REASONS FO R ENLISTMENT
64
R easons
Group
I
Group
I I
T otal
Unemployed 42 26 67
To g e t away from home 2 0 2
D idn’ t l i k e job 1 6 6
Like uniform 1 0 1
Had no home 1 1 2
Liked to t r a v e l 0 7 7
No ehanoe fo r advancem ent 0 6 e
S p e c ia l tr a in in g 0 2 2
M isc e lla n e o u s 0 2 2
Unknown 3 0 3
56
was g iv e n a s th e re a so n in fo r ty -tw o o f th e e a s e s o f Group
I and in tw e n ty -fiv e o a se s in Group I I . On t h is p o in t i t
i s in t e r e s t i n g to n o t ic e th a t a t th e tim e o f e n lis tm e n t
th ere were a c t u a lly f o r t y - t h r e e men who w ere unemployed o f
whom t h ir t y w ere in Group I a lth o u g h on ly tw e n ty -fiv e o f
th e se gave unemployment a s th e rea so n fo r e n lis tm e n t. As
i s se e n in Table V III o th e r re a so n s fo r e n lis tm e n t w ere:
to g e t away from home, b ecau se they did not l i k e th e ir
jo b s , lik e d the u niform , wanted to t r a v e l, had no chance
fo r advancem ent where they w ere w orking, wanted to g e t
s p e c ia l t r a in in g . In th r ee c a s e s o f Group I th e men co u ld
n ot be c o n ta c te d so th a t i t was im p o s sib le to g e t th e
rea so n s fo r th e ir e n lis tm e n ts .
Most o f th e men in Group I I who were n o t w orking a t
th e tim e th ey v o lu n tee re d and who did n ot g iv e unemployment
fo r a rea so n seemed to have d e f i n i t e id e a s a s to why they
were e n l i s t i n g , l i g h t o f them e n lis t e d b ecau se they f e l t
they had no chance to advance in th e p la c e they w ere work
in g . Seven men e n lis t e d fo r a chance to t r a v e l, and two
e n lis t e d to take advantage o f s p e c i a l tr a in in g o ffe r e d in
the s e r v ic e . One who e n lis t e d fo r s p e c ia l tr a in in g wanted
to be a ra d io te c h n ic ia n and th e o th e r was m u sica l and wanted
to co n tin u e w ith h is m u sica l e d u c a tio n in th e band.
In th e column ”M isc e lla n e o u s” in Table V I I I , one o f
the men o f Group I I gave a s the rea so n fo r e n lis tm e n t th a t
56
h is fa th e r was a se r g e a n t in the Army and he a ls o wanted to
make th e Army h i s c a r e e r . The o th e r man s a id th a t h is w ife
had d eserted him and he wanted to fin d some kind o f l i f e to
h elp him to f o r g e t .
One man in Group I and f i v e men in Group I I e n lis t e d
b ecau se th ey did n o t l i k e th e kind o f work they were d o in g .
A ll s i x o f th e se men were employed a s farm hands and used
t h is a s a means o f g e t t in g away from th e farm .
Two men o f Group I e n lis t e d to g e t away from home and
both o f th e se men gave a s the r ea so n th a t they had tr o u b le
w ith in e or b o th p a r e n ts . One man o f each group e n lis t e d
b ecau se he had no home, and one man o f Group I gave a s th e
rea so n fo r e n l i s t i n g the f a c t th a t he lik e d th e uniform .
Reason fo r d*ischarge. Of th e f i f t y c a s e s o f Group I
who were d isch a rg ed from the s e r v ic e , tw en ty -n in e were d is
charged w ith a d ia g n o s is o f c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic
I n f e r io r ; s ix t e e n were d isch a rg ed fo r in a p titu d e ; two were
d isch a rg ed fo r th e good o f the s e r v ic e and th ree were d is
charged because they w ere em o tio n a lly u n s ta b le .
W hile a l l o f th e s e men would come under the c o n s t i
t u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r io r group the re a so n some were
n ot so c l a s s i f i e d was th a t th ey w ere d isch a rg ed w ith o u t
having a stu d y made by a p s y c h ia t r is t .
57
IV. PEESOHALITY TRAITS
An attem p t was made to le a r n th e p e r s o n a lity t r a i t s
o f the two groups o f men in t h is stu d y . For t h i s purpose
a check was made on th e man’ s a t t it u d e toward f r ie n d s , s i b
l i n g s , p a r e n ts , r e l i g i o n and s c h o o l. In a d d itio n to t h i s
the sc h ed u le in clu d ed a q u e s tio n on the amusements and
i n t e r e s t s o f th e men o f each grou p .
A ttitu d e s toward f r ie n d s . To a s c e r t a in h is a t t it u d e
toward fr ie n d s th e man was asked w hether he was u s u a lly w e ll
lik e d and w hether he made f r ie n d s e a s i l y . I f ”No" was g iv e n
a s the answer to th e l a s t q u e s tio n sm e f f o r t was made to
fin d out why he did n o t make f r ie n d s e a s ily or why he was
n o t u s u a lly w e ll lik e d . In T able IX, on page 58, i t w i l l be
n oted th a t t h ir t y - n in e men o f Group I s ta te d th a t they were
u s u a lly w e ll lik e d and e le v e n s a id they were n ot u s u a lly
w e ll l i k e d . In Group I I a l l o f th e men s ta te d th a t they
w ere u s u a lly w e ll l i k e d . T his d oes n o t seem an unusual
f in d in g fo r Group I I , a s th e s e w ere a l l p erso n s who had been
promoted and found to be o u tsta n d in g . The very f a c t th a t
they w ere s e le c t e d fo r prom otion would in d ic a t e th a t they
w ere w e ll li k e d .
T w enty-nine o f the men o f Group I were p erso n s who
made f r ie n d s e a s i ly and tw en ty -o n e did n ot make fr ie n d s
e a s i l y . In Group I I f o r t y -s e v e n o f th e men s ta te d th a t they
58
TABLE IX
ATTITUDE T 0W A R 3) FRIMDS
Group
I
Group
I I
T otal
W ell lik e d by fr ie n d s 39 50 89
Not w e ll lik e d 11 0 11
Made fr ie n d s e a s ily 29 49 78
Did n ot make fr ie n d s e a s i l y 21 3 24
I f n o t, why n ot?
Shy 82 3 25
Q,uarreIsome 10 0 10
59
make f r ie n d s e a s ily and th r e e f e l t th a t they did n o t. A ll
th ree o f th e se men gave a s th e rea so n th a t they are I n c lin e d
to be shy w ith s tr a n g e r s . In Group I i t was found th a t
tw enty-tw o o f the men who did n ot make f r ie n d s e a s i l y or
who w ere n ot w e ll lik e d g ave a s the rea so n th a t they were
sh y . The o th e r te n gave a s the rea so n the f a c t th a t they
are in c lin e d to be q u arrelsom e.
A ttitu d e toward p a ren ts and s i b l i n g s . In order to
o b ta in in fo r m a tio n on th e a t t it u d e toward p a ren ts and s ib
l i n g s d ir e c t q u e s tio n in g was n o t used when the men were in
terview ed in p erso n . In stea d th e in fo rm a tio n was g a th ered
through in te r v ie w s . In some c a s e s the men d isc u sse d q u ite
f r e e ly th e ir f e e l i n g s toward th e members o f th e ir f a m ilie s
and in o th e r e a s e s i t was d i f f i c u l t to o b ta in a c le a r d es
c r ip t io n o f th e ir a t t it u d e s . In c a s e s where i t was im pos
s i b l e to in te r v ie w th e s e r v ic e man in p erso n th e in fo r m a tio n
was secu red from r e l a t i v e s .
In Group I i t was found th a t many o f th e se men had
d i f f i c u l t y in g e t t in g a lo n g w ith p a ren ts or p aren t s u b s t i
t u t e s . There w ere many re a so n s g iv e n fo r the c o n f l i c t and
i t w i l l be n oted in Table X, on page 60, th a t only f i f t e e n
o f th e se men ex p ressed the o p in io n th a t th e r e la t io n s h ip
betw een th e m se lv es and fa th e r or fa th e r s u b s t it u t e had been
s a t is f a c t o r y ; w hereas t h ir t y - e ig h t f e l t th a t t h e ir r e la t io n -
60
TABLE X
ATTITUDE T O W A R D PAEEUTS ADD SIBLIHS3
Group
I
Group
I I
T o ta l
F ather or fa th e r s u b s t it u t e
S a tis fa c to r y 15 47 62
Too s t r i c t 16 0 16
Expressed d i s l i k e 6 0 6
Q uarreled 10 3 13
No r e s p e c t
1 0 1
U n ju st Z 0 2
Mother or m other s u b s t it u t e
S a tis fa c to r y 38 50 88
Too s t r i c t 1 0 1
Q uarreled 6 0 6
No r e s p e c t Z 0 2
B it t e r 3 0 3
S ib lin g s
S a tis fa c to r y 24 42 66
J e a lo u s 6 0 6
F e lt in f e r io r 6 0 6
E xpressed d i s l ik e 1 0 1
R eserved 1 0 1
P r o te c tiv e 1 0 1
No i n t e r e s t 1 0 1
61
s h ip w ith t h e ir m other or m other s u b s t it u t e had been s a t i s
fa c t o r y . The a t t it u d e toward s i b l i n g s o f t h i s group, a s
found in Table X, was s a t is f a c t o r y in tw e n ty -fo u r o f th e
c a s e s and o th e r s gave s e v e r a l re a so n s fo r d i f f i c u l t y w ith
s i b l i n g s .
In Group I I o n ly th ree men had had c o n f l i c t s w ith
th e fa th e r or fa th e r s u b s t it u t e and none ex p re sse d any d i f
f i c u l t y w ith t h e ir m others or m other s u b s t it u t e s . None o f
them ex p ressed any ad v erse a t t it u d e s towards s i b l i n g s .
When r e l a t i v e s were in te r v ie w e d in the e a s e s o f
Group I the o p in io n was o fte n ex p ressed th a t they were
so rry to se e the man d isch a rg ed from the s e r v ic e a s he
needed I th e kind o f d ic ip lin e found in th e Army or Navy.
Many o f them were d esc rib e d a s quarrelsom e and hard to
manage.
I t i s d i f f i c u l t to say w hether th e s e c o n f l i c t s w ith
members o f the fa m ily c o n tr ib u te d to th e p a tte r n d isp la y e d
by th e man in a d u lt l i f e or w hether h is fa m ily c o n f l i c t s
were the r e s u l t o f inadquael e s w ith in h im s e lf.
Another in t e r e s t i n g p o in t in the a t t it u d e s i s th a t
f i f t e e n o f Group I had a s a t is f a c t o r y r e la t io n s h ip w ith the
fa th e r or fa th e r s u b s t it u e and t h ir t y - e ig h t had a s a t i s
fa c to r y r e la t io n s h ip w ith th e m other or m other s u b s t it u t e .
T h is may have been b ecau se th e mother was more in c lin e d to
be p r o t e c t iv e o f him and th e fa th e r re p r ese n ted a u th o r ity
62
o v er him. At any r a t e s ix t e e n o f th e men in t h is group
ex p ressed th e b e l i e f th a t the fa th e r was too s t r i c t w ith
them and te n men s a id th a t t h e ir f a t h e r s q u arreled w ith
them. When q u a r r e ls were in v e s t ig a t e d by fu r th e r q u e stio n
in g i t was found th a t th e fa th e r had u s u a lly attem p ted to
d i s c i p l i n e th e man in one way or a n o th er .
When q u e stio n ed about s i b l i n g s i t was found th a t
tw en ty -fo u r o f the men ex p ressed s a s a t is f a c t o r y r e la t io n
sh ip w ith b ro th ers and s i s t e r s . J e a lo u sy was g iv e n a s the
rea so n fo r c o n f l i c t in s i x c a s e s where th e r e la t io n s h ip was
n o t good and in s i x c a s e s th e man f e l t in f e r io r to s i b l i n g s .
One man exp ressed d i s l i k e fo r h i s b ro th er b ecau se h is
b ro th er had alw ays been h eld up to him a s a good exam ple.
A nother man was q u ite reserv ed when ta lk in g o f h is s i s t e r
and w h ile he d id n o t e x p r e ss any c o n f l i c t w ith h er, y e t he
in d ic a te d th a t the r e la t io n s h ip was n o t s a t i s f a c t o r y . In
one o f th e c a s e s the man took a p r o t e c t iv e a t t it u d e toward
h is younger b ro th e rs and was very a n x io u s to have h is m other
r e e s t a b lis h her home so th a t h is younger b ro th e rs would n o t
be r a is e d in f o s t e r homes a s he had b een . The o p p o s ite
a t t it u d e was e x p r e sse d by an o th er p erso n who s a id he was n o t
in t e r e s t e d in h is younger b ro th er a s no one had attem p ted
to make l i f e e a s ie r fo r him and h i s b roth er would have to
”f i g h t h is own b a t t le s in l i f e . ”
In Group I I , f o r t y -s e v e n o f the in d iv id u a ls f e l t th a t
63
they had had a s a t is f a c t o r y r e la t io n s h ip w ith th e ir fa th e r s
but th r e e o f th e men s a id th a t they had q u a rreled w ith
f a t h e r s when they were in the home. A ll th r ee o f th e s e men
were r a is e d in th e homes w ith t h e ir n a tu r a l f a th e r s and
s in c e le a v in g home t h i s r e la t io n s h ip has been stren g th en ed
and they are now fond o f each o th e r . The rea so n fo r t h is
change in a t t it u d e was g iv e n by one man a s th e f a c t th a t a s
a boy he had been q u ite stub b orn and head stro n g but s in c e
he had been ea rn in g h i s own l i v i n g he had le a rn ed th a t he
co u ld n o t "have my own way a l l the tim e .” The o th e r two
men ex p ressed th e b e l i e f th a t "the o ld man has changed s in c e
he has grown o ld e r ."
I t w i l l be n oted in T able X th a t in Group I under
th e column " S ib lin g s ” th e r e i s o n ly a t o t a l o f fo r ty c a s e s
and in Group I I a t o t a l o f fo r ty -tw o c a s e s . T h is i s be
cau se ten o f th e men in Group I and e ig h t o f the men in
Group I I had no s i b l i n g s .
V. PRISMT SITUATION
Only th e c a s e s o f Group I w ere co n sid ered under t h is
s e c t io n o f th e sc h e d u le . Here an e f f o r t was made to fin d
o u t th e p resen t w hereabouts o f th e man s in c e h i s d isch a rg e
from th e s e r v ic e and the kind o f employment he was engaged
in a t th e tim e th e study was made. I f he was em ployed he
was asked w hether he lik e d h is p re sen t employment and i f
64
t h is answer was n e g a tiv e he was fu r th e r q u e stio n ed a s to
what he would l i k e to do. A oheok was a ls o made on w hether
th e s e men w ere l i v i n g a t home or away from home.
The r e s u l t s o f t h i s su rvey showed th a t sev en o f th e
men had l e f t home and t h e ir f a m il ie s cou ld n o t g iv e any
in fo r m a tio n r e g a r d in g t h e ir p r e s e n t w hereabouts a s they
had l o s t tr a c k o f them. F iv e o f the men were in m ental
h o s p it a ls and one o f the men was dead. E leven o f the men
w ere unem ployed. The tw e n ty -s ix who were employed worked
a t a number o f o c c u p a tio n s . S ix w ere d ish w a sh ers, f i v e
worked a t odd jo b s , th r ee w ere tru ck d r iv e r s , two worked
a s la b o r e r s , two w ere w a ite r s , fo u r were r e p a ir men, and
fo u r were l i s t e d under m is c e lla n e o u s . Under th e l a s t c l a s s
i f i c a t i o n were in clu d ed one each o f the fo llo w in g occupa
t io n s : cook , new spaper ven d or, r a is in g p o u ltr y , and a s s i s t
an t p r e a c h e r .
Of the tw e n ty -s ix employed men i t was found th a t
tw en ty -fo u r w ere d i s s a t i s f i e d w ith t h e ir work and wanted to
do som ething e l s e . The two men who w ere s a t i s f i e d w ith
t h e ir employment were th e p o u ltr y r a i s e r and th e a s s i s t a n t
m in is te r .
When the men were q u e stio n e d a s to th e kind o f work
they wanted to do i t was found th a t s i x o f them did n o t know
what kind o f work they would l i k e . Ten o f them did n o t have
any p r e fe r e n c e a s to th e type o f employment j u s t so they
65
were p aid more money, and th r ee wanted e a s ie r work. The
a ir p la n e f a c t o r ie s had a t tr a c t e d th r ee o f the men and they
h a d x tried u n s u c c e s s fu lly to g e t work in one o f them. In
a d d itio n to th e se o c c u p a tio n s the fo llo w in g w ere l i s t e d :
th ree wanted to be sa lesm en , th ree wanted to do o f f i c e
work, two wanted to t r a in to become m ech a n ics, one was in
te r e s te d in stu d y in g a r t , and one wanted to be a m u sicia n .
At th e tim e o f th e stu d y th e r e were te n o f the men
who w ere l i v i n g a t home and t h ir t y - f o u r were l i v i n g away
from home. T h is seem s q u ite s ig n i f i c a n t when i t i s co n sid
ered th a t the f a m ilie s o f tw e n ty -s ix o f th e se in d iv id u a ls
were l i v i n g in th e same c i t y w ith them, y e t they p re fe r re d
to l i v e away from home. T his i s fu r th e r in d ic a t io n th a t
tw e n ty -s ix o f th e s e men were probably unhappy in t h e ir own
homes.
I t was found th a t one o f the men o f Group I had com
m itte d s u ic id e s in c e d is c h a r g e . I t i s n o t uncommon fo r the
c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r io r to attem p t s u ic id e .
They f e e l in ad eq u ate to w ith sta n d th e s t r e s s and s t r a in o f
l i f e and may rea ch a s t a t e o f p an ic and perform some im pul
s iv e a c t . However, th e s e a ttem p ts a t s u ic id e do n o t a s a
r u le r e s u lt in d eath a s th e s e p erso n s u s u a lly s e e to i t th a t
they a r e rescu ed b e fo r e any harm i s done. O c c a sio n a lly
th e s e in d iv id u a ls do co m p lete the s u ic id a l a c t , e it h e r
66
a c c id e n ta lly or through in t e n t .^
P a rso n s, E w alt, and Peak, 0£ . c i t . . p . 4 4 .
CHAPTER IV
SGMÎARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In summ arizing th e m a te r ia l in the stud y o f f i f t y
f a i l u r e s and f i f t y s u c c e s s f u l e n lis t e d men and in a t t o p t
in g to draw c o n c lu s io n s i t i s w e ll to keep in mind th a t
th e se two groups r e p r e se n t two ex trem es. In betw een w i l l
be found men who a re a b le to a d ju s t to m ilit a r y l i f e w ith
v a ry in g d eg rees o f s u c c e s s . That i s , th e r e w i l l be a group
w hich does n ot a d ju st w e ll to the M ilita r y S e r v ic e s but who
a r e a b le to "get by," and a t th e o th e r end w i l l be th o se
who u s u a lly g e t a lo n g w e ll but a re n o t a s o u tsta n d in g a s
th o se stu d ie d in Group I I . In betw een w i l l be an oth er
group w hich I s a v er a g e . I t I s im p o s sib le to draw a d i s
t i n c t l i n e and to say th a t th o se on one s id e can su cceed
and th o s e on the o th er ca n n o t.
Summary. From th e one hundred c a s e s stu d ie d i t was
found th a t a m a jo r ity o f th e men who did n o t a d ju s t to
m ilit a r y l i f e were r a is e d in broken homes w h ile a l l ex c e p t
th r ee o f th e men in Group I I w ere r a is e d in homes w ith
t h e ir n a tu r a l p a r e n ts .
I t was a ls o n o tic e d th a t the men who rem ained in
sc h o o l a t l e a s t U n til they had f in is h e d h ig h sc h o o l were
more l i k e l y to make a good ad ju stm en t than th ose who l e f t
68
sc h o o l e a r l i e r . T his does n o t n e c e s s a r ily show a h ig h e r
d egree o f i n t e l li g e n c e but r a th e r i t may in d ic a t e th a t
th o se who rem ain in s c h o o l lo n g e r do so b ecau se they are
a b le to a d ju s t to sch o o l l i f e s a t i s f a c t o r i l y .
The employment record i s a ls o im portant a s i t n o t
on ly g iv e s a c lu e to th e kind o f work the man w i l l probably
be b e s t s u ite d fo r in th e s e r v ic e but i t in d ic a t e s to some
e x te n t the d egree to w hich the man can be ex p ected to adapt
to c ir c u m sta n c e s.
The man’ s re a so n fo r e n l i s t i n g should be o f s i g n i f i
cance in stu d y in g h i s a p p lic a t io n fo r a c c e p ta n c e . T his
q u e stio n i s asked o f the r e c r u it . The d i f f i c u l t y h ere i s
in se c u r in g an aaccu rate answer a s s e v e r a l men in b oth grou p s
s ta te d th a t a t th e tim e o f e n listm e n t they had g iv e n a s the
answdr to th a t q u e stio n th a t th ey had se en th e p o s te r s r e
ga rd in g e n lis tm e n t when in r e a l i t y they had e n lis t e d fo r
q u ite a n oth er r e a so n .
A tt it u d e s toward o th e r s sh ould a ls o be taken in to
c o n s id e r a tio n . There i s , a t p r e s e n t, no d e v ic e s u c c e s s
f u l l y m easuring th e se a t t it u d e s but they are o f paramount
im portance in any attem p t to e lim in a te th o se who probably
w i l l n o t be a b le to cope w ith th e problem s a r is in g from
m ilit a r y l i f e . Some o f the men could be found by c a r e f u lly
in te r v ie w in g a t the tim e they ap ply fo r e n lis tm e n t or
during th e p h y s ic a l ex a m in a tio n . T his should in c lu d e th e ir
69
a t t it u d e s tow ards p a r e n ts, s i b l i n g s , and f r ie n d s .
C o n c lu sio n s. I f the fin d in g s o f t h is study a re to
be r e lie d upon they in d ic a t e th a t th ere should bé some a t
tempt made to se cu re th e s o c i a l h is t o r y o f th e a p p lic a n t
fo r e n lis tm e n t in th e M ilita r y S e r v ic e s when he a p p lie s
fo r e n lis tm e n t. T h is p rocedu re would h e lp to weed ou t the
c o n s t it u t io n a l p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r io r group.
I t i s reco g n ized th a t the p sy ch o p a th ic in f e r io r i s
n ot a p erso n w ith a d e f ic ie n c y o f i n t e l l i g e n c e but r a th e r
i s an in d iv id u a l whose p e r s o n a lity i s d e f ic ie n t * S in ce t h i s
i s the c a s e i t would seem th a t th e b e st way to d eterm in e
t h is (Q uality would be to in q u ir e in to th e man*s p a st in
ord er to le a r n o f h is r e a c t io n to h is environm ent and to
th o se about him. f h i s would probably in c lu d e h is a t t it u d e
toward h is fa m ily , f r ie n d s , s c h o o l, and employment. Perhaps
in th e fu tu r e a m easuring rod w i l l be d e v ise d to gauge t h is
g .u a lity o f p e r s o n a lity w ith some d egree o f accu racy as was
the c a se in the developm ent o f i n t e l l i g e n c e t e s t s . There
has been some attem p t to c l a s s i f y th e se in d iv id u a ls through
p h y s ic a l fin d in g s but so fa r l i t t l e p r o g r e ss has been made.
The r e s u l t s o f t h i s study seem to in d ic a t e th a t in
f i f t y o a se s p e r s o n a lity d e fic ie n c y i s to be a s s o c ia t e d w ith
c e r t a in f a c t o r s in the environm ent and e a r ly tr a in in g o f
c h ild h o o d . A m a jo r ity o f th e f a i lu r e s were found to have
70
been r a is e d in p o v e r ty , in homes w ith o u t b oth p a r e n ts , to
have l e f t sc h o o l e a r ly and to have been in c o n f l i c t w ith
th e w orld around th æ i. The c o n te n tio n o f one sc h o o l o f
thought i s th a t environm ent ca u se s th e s e in d iv id u a ls to be
inadeçLuate w h ile an oth er b e lie v e s th a t th e se p erso n s have a
p e r s o n a lity d e fic ie n c y from b ir th # No doubt both p o in ts o f
view should be c o n sid er ed in d e a lin g w ith th e s e in d iv id u a ls ,
T his stu d y was n ot s u f f i c i e n t l y e x te n s iv e to p ro v id e
d ata on w hich to draw d e f i n i t e c o n c lu s io n s in support o f
e ith e r th e o r y . The f a c t th a t the men o f Group I were m ost
ly from broken homes did n o t prove th a t the d e fic ie n c y was
due to ch ild h o o d environm ent. In ord er to do th is i t would
be n e c e ssa r y to go fa th e r and to stu d y th e o th er c h ild r e n
in th e se f a m ilie s to fin d ou t w hether they were a b le to
overcom e t h e ir en viron m en tal in f lu e n c e s , or w hether th ey
to o were f a i l u r e s .
CHAPTIE VI
REG OM M M ÎDÂTIO HS FO R FüHTHffi STOBY
As a r e s u lt o f the f in d in g s from the one hundred
c a s e s s t u d ie s th e re were two problem s w hich in d ic a t e the
need fo r fu r th e r r e s e a r c h . The f i r s t was th e r e la t io n o f
th e d e fic ie n c y o f p e r s o n a lity in c e r t a in in d iv id u a ls to
en vironm en t, and the second th e a t t it u d e toward a u th o r ity
w hich seemed to be o f im portance in th e a b i l i t y o f a man to
a d ju s t h im s e lf to M ilita r y S e r v ic e ,
P e r s o n a lity d e f ic ie n c y . In c i v i l i a n l i f e i t i s
som etim es hard to s e g r e g a te t h i s group a s th ey have a te n
dency to f l o a t from one job to an oth er and l o s e th em selv es
in th e crowd. As a r u le they do n ot come to the a t t e n t io n
o f a p s y c h ia t r is t but o f t e n c a l l upon th e s o c ia l worker fo r
a s s is t a n c e . S in ce many o f th e se c a s e s cou ld probably be
found in the f i l e s o f r e l i e f a g e n c ie s i t would make an in
t e r e s t in g study to tr y to fin d out w hether t h i s p e r s o n a lity
d e f ic ie n c y i s p r esen t from b ir t h or w hether i t i s caused by
poor ch ild h ood tr a in in g and bad en vironm en tal c o n d itio n s
during th e p l a s t i c y e a r s .
When th e cau se o f t h i s d e fic ie n c y i s found on ly then
can we hope to fin d a s o lu t io n to th e problem s w ith w hich
th e se in d iv id u a ls a r e fa c e d . I t may a ls o h e lp p rev en t such
c o n d itio n s in th e fu tu r e .
72
A ttitu d e toward a u th o r it y . In Table X i t w i l l be
n oted th a t in t h i r t y - f i v e c a s e s o f th e f i f t y in Group I
th e re was an u n s a t is f a c t o r y r e la t io n s h ip betw een the fa th e r
or fa th e r s u b s t it u t e and the s e r v ic e man. Most o f t h is
d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n was based on th e a u th o r ity o f the fa th e r
w hich was r e s e n te d . The fa th e r was too s t r i c t , u n ju s t, or
the man q u a rreled w ith him b ecau se he f e l t h is fa th e r
tr ie d to " b oss him too much." A ll o f th e se a t t it u d e s seem
to come back to th e a b i l i t y o f th e man to a cc ep t a u th o r ity .
Only tw elve o f th e men had an u n s a t is f a c t o r y r e la t io n s h ip
w ith th e m other or mother s u b s t it u t e and a l l ex c ep t th r ee
o f them had c o n f l i c t s w ith her b eca u se th ey co u ld n o t a c
ce p t her a u th o r ity over them.
I f t h is a b i l i t y to a c c e p t a u th o r ity p layed as im port-
and a p a rt a s i t ap pears t o , i t w i l l h e lp to accou n t fo r
the w ide d iff e r e n c e in th e f ig u r e s w hich w ere found in
Group I where o n ly f i f t e e n men had a s a t is f a c t o r y r e la t io n
sh ip w ith th e fa th e r and t h ir t y - e i g h t had a s a t is f a c t o r y
r e la t io n s h ip w ith the m other. S in ce th e fa th e r i s th e sym
b o l o f a u th o r ity in th e home i t was d i f f i c u l t fo r th e s e men
to a c c e p t him.
In Group I I th e re were th r e e c a s e s where the s e r v ic e
man had been in c o n f l i c t w ith th e fa th e r and in two o f th e se
e a s e s i t i s p o s s ib le to s e e how th e man had worked through
t h is problem a f t e r he e n l i s t e d .
73
Case I ^ * In one o f th e se c a s e s th e s e r v ic e man s t a te d
th a t he and h is fa th e r had g^uarreled a s lo n g a s he could
remember. When he was fo u r te e n th e man went to work a f t e r
s c h o o l to earn h i s own money and s t i l l h is fa th e r demanded
o b ed ien ce from him . F in a lly when he was n in e te e n y e a r s o f
age th e man e n lis t e d in th e Army and th e f i r s t s i x or e ig h t
months he was in the s e r v ic e he was in tr o u b le a l l th e tim e.
He was se n ten ced to th e guard house and w h ile he was
c o n fin e d he was v i s i t e d by th e C a th o lic C hap lain . At f i r s t
the s e r v ic e man was on guard a g a in s t th e c h a p la in a s he did
n o t in ten d to r e tu r n to th e ch u rch . A fte r he found th a t
the C haplain did n o t want to p reach to him but o n ly to make
f r ie n d ly v i s i t s he began to lo o k forward to having th e
c h a p la in c a l l upon him.
Up to t h is p o in t th e s o ld ie r had co n sid er ed h im s e lf
sm arter than th e o th er men in h is o r g a n iz a tio n whom he r e
fe r r e d to a s " s u c k e r s .” One day he began to th in k about
th in g s d if f e r e n t l y and d ecided th a t men l i k e the ch a p la in
and th e o th er men in h i s company could n o t a l l be wrong.
W ith t h is came a s tr u g g le w ith h im s e lf or a s he d escrib ed
i t , ”a s tr u g g le w ith th e d e v i l . ” L ater he r e jo in e d the
church and s in c e then h as been promoted and h o ld s a resp o n
s i b l e p o s it io n . T his man was asked about h is p r esen t r e
la t io n s h ip w ith h is fa th e r and he r e p lie d th a t he and h is
fa th e r have become good f r ie n d s as h is fa th e r has "changed”
74
S in c e he i s o ld e r .
In t h is c a s e i t would seem th a t t h is s o ld ie r worked
through h is a t t it u d e toward a u th o r ity by a c c e p tin g the
church. When he was a b le to a c c e p t th e a u th o r ity o f God
through the church he was a b le to then a cc e p t the a u th o r ity
o f h is fa th e r and a ls o a cc ep t th e a u th o r ity o f th o se over
him in the s e r v ic e .
Case I I . The second c a se was o f an e n lis t e d man in
th e Navy. He e n lis t e d b ecau se he was unemployed and then
d ecid ed he did n o t l i k e navy l i f e . He broke a l l the r u le s
and r e g u la tio n s and sp en t m ost o f h i s tim e in th e " b r ig ."
One day h is commanding o f f i c e r c a lle d him to t a lk over h is
problem s w ith him . During the c o n v e r sa tio n th e commanding
o f f i c e r su g g ested th a t he was th in k in g o f h aving th e man
s e n t to the h o s p it a l fo r o b se r v a tio n . T his shocked the
s a il o r and he s a id to h im s e lf, "He th in k s I ’m c r a z y .” That
n ig h t the s a i l o r began to th in k back through h is tr o u b le s
and r e a liz e d th a t he was n o t lik e d by th e o th er men or h is
o f f i c e r s and d ecid ed to sto p a c tin g l i k e a s p o ile d c h ild .
He was a b le to work, through h is problem s and made an e x c e l
le n t record f o r h im s e lf.
He admired and r e s p e c te d h is commanding o f f i c e r and
when th e l a t t e r was tr a n sfe r r e d to a n o th er sh ip the s a ilo r
asked to go w ith him but the c a p ta in su g g ested th a t he was
76
needed th ere fo r the p r e s e n t and la t e r he m ight t r a n s fe r .
At f i r s t th e s e r v ic e man did n o t know w hether he cou ld
a c c e p t the new commanding o f f i c e r hut found th a t he cou ld
carry on w ith the new man a s w e ll a s h is o ld commanding
o f f i c e r .
In t h i s c a s e th e s e r v ic e man was a b le to work through
h is a t t it u d e toward a u th o r ity w ith th e aid o f h is c a p ta in .
I t i s a ls o in t e r e s t i n g to n o t ic e th a t th e o f f i c e r did n ot
a llo w the s a i l o r to become dependent upon him but was a b le
to push him o f f on h is own when he was tr a n sfe r r e d to
a n o th er s h ip .
Case I I I . In a th ir d e a se th e s e r v ic e man was appar
e n tly a b le to work through h i s a t t it u d e toward a u th o r ity a s
he gave a h is to r y o f c o n f l i c t w ith h is fa th e r and a ls o o f
d i f f i c u l t y w ith s u p e r v is o r s when he was w orking. I t i s n o t
known how t h i s man was a b le to s o lv e h is problem .
From th e s e c a s e s i t seem s th a t th e a t t it u d e toward
a u th o r ity must p la y some p a rt in th e a b i l i t y o f some o f
th e s e men to a d ju st to m ilit a r y l i f e and would make a v a lu
a b le study a t some fu tu r e tim e .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Asset Metadata

Creator Bohlender, Mildred Elizabeth Anderson (author)

Core Title An analysis of the social histories of one hundred enlisted men in the military services

Degree Master of Social Work

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Social Sciences

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c39-178755

Unique identifier UC11314699

Identifier EP66162.pdf (filename),usctheses-c39-178755 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP66162.pdf

Dmrecord 178755

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Bohlender, Mildred Elizabeth Anderson

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA