The U.S. Government emphasized secrecy among citizens for the soldiers’ safety. Spies could overhear this information if the women talked about where their boyfriends or husbands were stationed or what they were producing in the factories. It could ultimately lead to the murder of soldiers.
Citation: Holcomb, Dal. Quiet! Loose Talk Can Cost Lives. Kittleson World War II Collection. Hennepin County Library, n.d. https://digitalcollections.hclib.org/digital/collection/p17208coll3/id/1284/.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
1. Why didn't John use his G.I. Bill to attend college?
2. Was John's drinking as a result of the war?
In this letter, John mentions that he wants to attend college. After World War II ended, the G.I. Bill was signed by Roosevelt on 22 June 1944. The G.I. Bill provided veterans of World War II with funds for education, job-finding assistance, and made it easier for veterans to receive loans. Home ownership grew for veterans after this Bill because banks would pay back either 50 percent of the loan or $2,000 if the recipient failed to pay for the loan. While the G.I.Bill helped many veterans enroll in college, many schools took advantage of this bill and committed fraud. Schools would fabricate the amount of veterans attending their universities and overcharged the Veterans Administration (VA). The benefits of the G.I. Bill did not apply to every veteran of the war. In the South, because of segregation, blacks were not allowed to attend state universities. The G.I. Bill’s guidelines changed in 2008 to benefit all veterans. John also talked about needing to leave to go drink a few beers. After World War II, alcohol abuse appeared in 53% in soldiers.
February 20-25, 1944 was known as "The Big Week" for the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and the Royal Air Force (RAF). They conducted an all-out campaign against Germany’s aviation industry and the Luftwaffe. The USAAF flew 4,000 planes that dropped more than 20 million pounds of bombs on industrial and military targets. The USAAF lost more than 200 bombers. The Big Week operations cost the Luftwaffe a third of its available fighter aircraft and a fifth of the Luftwaffe’s fighter pilots.
This image depicts the B-24 Liberator used during the Big Week attack. The B-24 Liberator usually had a crew of ten men and sometimes had an extra navigator.