[Veterans' Information Program]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

VETERANS’ INFORMATION PROGRAM
Prepared by
OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION
in cooperation with
RETRAINING AND REEMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION
Reviewed by
WAR DEPARTMENT	VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
navy DEPARTMENT	FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY
SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM	DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
WAR PRODUCTION BOARD	DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WAR MANPOWER COMMISSION	CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
FEBRUARY 1945
FOREWORD
An informed public will meet the changing conditions of community life with a high degree of understanding.
The fundamental purpose, of the informational program outlined in this booklet is to create understanding on questions relating to veterans’ rights and benefits and their adjustment to civilian pursuits upon their return home from the service.
FRÄNK T. HINES, Administrator
Retraining and Reemployment Administration
n
A VETERANS’
INFORMATION PROGRAM . . .
... with two broad aims:
1,	To inform the veteran, his family, and the public of veteran rights, benefits, and privileges and to tell where and how the returning serviceman or woman may get them.
2.	To make the veteran’s readjustment to civilian life easier by providing the information necessary to combat possible misunderstandings between veterans and civilians.
In conformity with the National War Agencies Appropriation Act, 1945, which provides, "No part of this or any other appropriation shall be expended by the Office of War Information for the preparation or publication of any pamphlet or other literature for distribution to the public within the United States,” this publication is not for general distribution but is restricted to the use of media presenting information to the public.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUBJECT	PAGE
The Over-all Problem............................................. V
How Government and Other Groups Have Met the Challenge.........  VI
Information Objectives........................................  VII
Part I—BENEFITS.................................................1-6
A—The Steps from Serviceman to Veteran.......................  1
B—The Facts to Get Across..................................... 2
C—How to Present These Facts on Benefits...................... 4
D—Local Veterans Service Committees and Information Centers..	5
Part II—THE CIVILIANS’ WAR JOB.............................     7-9
Part III—READJUSTMENT......................................   10-17
A—Treatment of the Veteran................................... 10
B—What the Veteran Has to Offer an Employer.................. 15
C—The Veteran’s Responsibility .............................. 16
Basis of the Program.......................................... 17—18
NOTE TO WRITERS ON THE USE OF THIS BOOK
A comprehensive understanding of all parts of this book is highly desirable in writing messages, stories, or advertisements related to the Veterans’ Information Program. It is possible, however, to cover any one phase of the program by reading
that particular segment, plus the last section in the book, entitled “The Basis of the Program.” This latter portion indicates some of the basic information problems, and it is urged that it be carefully studied.
IV
THE OVER ALL PROBLEM
I.	JOBS AND OTHER BENEFITS
Finding jobs for veterans is relatively easy now. Due to the manpower shortage, practically all of the men and women now being discharged are absorbed by industry. When the war ends, however, there will be many cut-backs in war production, millions of war jobs will' be ended, and there will be increasing numbers of men and women gradually released from the armed services. The estimated 10 million servicemen and women to be
discharged after Germany and Japan have been defeated presents a sizable employment problem.
There is also the problem of providing information and action on the many rights, benefits, and privileges available to these men and women . . . for example, continuance of high-school education, college education, vocational training, insurance, legal information, home, farm, and business loans, mustering-out pay, pensions, and many others.
II.	READJUSTMENT
There are likewise over-all readjustment problems to be met if the veteran is to make a smooth transition from military to civilian life. When a man enters the armed forces he receives an orientation course to prepare him for military life. Comparatively little is done to help him adjust to a civilian life that has changed materially while he has been away.
An understanding family helps readjustment. But there is much for even an understanding family to learn about the outlook of the returning veteran before it can be truly helpful.
The average soldier expects things to be the same as when he left, particularly if he is returning from overseas. Just now, and for an unpredictable period, higher prices and limitations on what he anticipated as complete freedom of action are likely to become irritants. It is becoming clear that the serviceman’s elation at the time of his discharge fades in proportion to the difficulties he encounters. He begins to think of the three good meals each day, of the clothing and the shelter— in short, of the protection he received in the service. Civilian life can be, in contrast, competitive and uncertain.
Readjustment will be hard enough for the man who has suffered no disability. It will be more so for the one who is suffering from the shocks of war.
To make sure that the veteran resumes his place in civilian life with the least disruption of.his point of view or of the civilian economy, there must be as free an exchange of information and opinions as possible between civilians and the military. The Army and Navy are helping to accomplish this by telling the serviceman about the job the home front has been doing—of the post-war planning by communities and the government to create extra jobs and opportunities for him. However, the lion’s share of the burden of understanding rests with the civilian. The civilian must be instructed in the care and treatment of disabled, highly nervous, and even the perfectly normal veteran. To avoid conflicts in the process of reassimilating the veteran into the life of the community, the civilian must be given an understanding of, and the reasons behind, the returning veteran’s outlook and attitudes. He must have a knowledge of the skills and vocations which the serviceman may have developed during his service training. He must appreciate what has already been done by the armed forces to prepare the serviceman for his return to civilian life. And he must also invite the veteran to participate in homefront activities and contribute to the solving of his and other servicemen’s readjustment problems.
V
HOW GOVERNMENT AND OTHER GROUPS HAVE MET THE CHALLENGE
Legislatively, the Government has met the material aspects of the problem, such as job priorities, educational opportunities, and other specific rights and privileges by passing that part of the Selective Training and Service Act which pertains to veterans’ job rights, and by passing the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (the G. I. Bill of Rights) and other laws providing benefits for veterans. There may be even further legislation.
Administratively, the Government has made many provisions for the handling of these benefits. Although the Veterans’ Administration is the agency in direct charge of veterans’ benefits, other Government bureaus provide outlets for distribution of the benefits or advice on them. Among these are the War Department, Navy Department, Department of Labor, Federal Security Agency, Selective Service System, Veterans’ Employment Service of United States Employment Service (hereafter referred to briefly as USES), Department of Agriculture, United States Railroad Retirement Board, and the Retraining and Reemployment Administration. Most of these are already equipped to give the veteran action and/or information on more than one privilege, right, or benefit.
Consequently each right or benefit is covered, action-wise dr, in some cases, just informationally, by many agencies.
In addition to Federal legislation, most State and some local governments have passed laws pro
viding benefits for the veteran, and many private organizations, such as the American Red Gross, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, and the American Veterans of World War II, have made provisions to assist the veteran informationally and in presenting claims before the proper department of the Government. This book does not purport to describe the many services provided by non-governmental agencies, nor to indicate how necessary these services are in the accomplishment of the aims of the veterans’ program.
However, despite the fact that the benefit and privilege aspect of the problem has been met with praiseworthy vigor, unless information on what benefits are available and the many places they are obtainable is coordinated, the veteran and the public will be confused.
Much more can be done to facilitate veteran readjustment and to combat future misunderstanding between him and the civilian. The Army and Navy do considerable work along these lines in their orientation courses for men and women while they’re still in the service. But there is a great and increasing need for an interchange of viewpoints between the civilian and the veteran from the time the serviceman is discharged and throughout his readjustment period.
On the basis of the above, this veterans’ information program breaks down into five specific information objectives.
INFORMATION OBJECTIVES
1.	To inform the veteran, his family, and the public of the veteran’s rights and privileges and where they may be obtained.
2.	To show communities throughout the country the need for, and how to organize, veterans’ information committees and local information centers in cooperation with State Selective Service, USES, and Veterans’ Administration committees.
3.	To instruct the people at home on the treatment of the veteran whether he be disfigured, disabled, highly nervous, or in perfect physical and mental health.
4.	To acquaint employers with the many virtues of employing veterans whether they are disabled, recovering from nervous conditions, or are in good health. Also to emphasize to employers the value of the vocational and other training the veteran has received and, if disabled, the rehabilitation he has been given by the military service.
5.	To point out to the veteran his opportunity to help build a better America, reminding him that he is well qualified to do just that by reason of his military and other training, his qualities of leadership, and his respect for discipline.
VI
The objective of this campaign is to give the veteran, his family and the public a clear, concise picture of the many benefits and privileges offered the returning serviceman and servicewoman by government agencies
A.	THE STEPS FROM SERVICEMAN TO VETERAN
During a given period after V-E day, large-scale educational programs will be put into effect overseas which will enable the serviceman to receive valuable training while awaiting his return to the United States. Such training courses will cover a wide variety of vocational, technical, and general subjects, and will help him to get and hold a better job.
When the time comes for the serviceman’s discharge from the Army, the following happens:
1.	He is instructed to put his Army and personal affairs in order preparatory to going to a separation center. A personal affairs officer is available at every post, camp, or station to give advice on the handling of personal affairs, such as insurance problems, transfer of war bonds, etc.
2.	He is then sent to an Army separation center where he remains for 48 to 72 hours. There he receives the War Department pamphlet, “Going Back to Civilian Life,” and finishes winding up his Army affairs. A military counsellor is available to help him with general personal planning. There are also representatives of the Veterans Administration, USES, Civil Service, and Selective Service to advise him on problems he will face upon his return to civilian life, and to give him whatever advice and counsel he desires. He is given a form summarizing his civilian and military educational and occupational history. He is told to check back with his local board within ten days after his discharge, told how to get his old job back, and so forth.
If he is discharged directly from a hospital, the same advice and counsel are at his disposal.
3.	After he is finally mustered out of the service, he takes thè train home, at Government expense. He can change into civilian clothes immediately or wear his uniform until he reaches home, provided this does not take more than 90 days.
At the time of his discharge, he receives a service button which he is entitled to wear with civilian clothes.
In the Navy, the discharge procedure is similar, except that the man goes to an “intake station” first, and then to the “discharge center” for from 48 to 72 hours. He too receives a booklet describing his rights and benefits and finds representatives of USES, Veterans Administration, Selective Service, and other agencies available for consultation. Each Navy dischargee also receives a document describing the highest rating held by him during service. This lists the duties performed in the rating, explains the special knowledge involved, and points out fields of civilian work related to his work in the service.
4.	Once the veteran has reached home he is required to report the facts on his separation to his Selective Service Local Board within ten days. He receives a new registration card and a new classification card. Honorably discharged veterans are classified I-C and are not liable for induction.
When, as a civilian, the veteran faces job-hunting, taking advantage of veteran’s benefits and other steps towards getting settled down to a normal life, he has, at his disposal, any number of agencies and committees willing and eager to help with the over-all problem. With this background in mind, here are . . .
1
B.	THE FACTS TO GET ACROSS
These are the points of emphasis in the Veterans* program that the veteran and the public must know. In reading them, bear in mind that most of the things to which a veteran is entitled (except his right to reemployment) are based on the condition that he has satisfactorily served in the armed forces for at least 90 days, or has served less than 90 days and has been discharged for disability due to service and was in service after September 16, 1940.
Because the following subjects vary in degree of importance, they are given priority ratings.
The wording of the subject is suggestive and is addressed to the veteran. Remember, however, that all three groups—the veteran, his family, and the public—may read or hear them. Each message includes the names of one or more places the veteran may go to apply for that particular benefit. Some communities, however, have the additional advantage of special Veterans’ Information Centers where knowledge about all benefits is centralized. More of these centers will be organized as the war progresses.
SUBJECTS WITH NUMBER ONE INFORMATIONAL PRIORITIES
1.	EMPLOYMENT
a.	Getting your old job back.—If you worked for a private employer or for the Federal Government on another than temporary basis immedi-ately prior to your entry into the armed forces, you are entitled to get your job back or one substantially equivalent in every respect, if: (a) you completed your military service satisfactorily, (b) you are qualified to perform the duties of the position, (c) you apply for reemployment within 90 days of your discharge, (d) and if the employer’s circumstances have not changed so as to make it impossible or unreasonable. Having met the above conditions, you cannot be dismissed without cause for the period of a year. Report any difficulty to your local Selective Service Board.
b.	Getting a new job.—If you want a new job, go to the U. S. Employment Service office nearest you as soon after your discharge as possible.
c.	Getting a Government job.—If you were a Federal Civil Service employee (other than temporary) in the Federal Civil Service when you entered the armed forces, you are entitled to your old job or one “of like seniority, status, and pay.” Apply to the agency where last employed within 90 days of your discharge. If you experience any difficulty in being reinstated, go to the U. S. Civil Service Commission or Selective Service Local Board. If you did not have a civil service job when you entered the armed forces, but wish to
obtain one after your discharge, apply to the U. S. Civil Service Commission. As an honorably discharged veteran, you are entitled to a number of special benefits in appointment of a civil service job.
Further information may be obtained from the U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washington 25, D. C., or from the Secretary, Board of U. S. Civil Service Examiners, at any first or second-class post office.
2.	EDUCATION.—Educational aid for veterans is available provided:
a.	You were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
b.	You served 90 days or more (not counting the time in Army Specialized Training Program or Navy College Training Program, which course was a continuation of a civilian course and which was pursued to completion, or as a Cadet or Midshipman in a service academy), or were discharged or released from service because of an actual service-incurred injury or disability.
c.	You start such education not later than two years after discharge or end of war (whichever date is later).
At the start you are entitled to one year of school or college or its equivalent in part-time study, if you desire a refresher or retraining course. In addition, if you were not over 25 at the time you entered the service or if you were over 25 and can demonstrate that your education or training was interrupted or interfered with by your entrance into service, and if you complete these courses satisfactorily, you will be entitled to additional education or training not to exceed the length of time you spent in active service after September 16, 1940, and before the end of the present war (not including ASTP or Navy College program). This additional course of education or training may not exceed three years.
You may select your own course at any educational or training institution which is on the list approved by the Veterans Administration and which accepts you as qualified.
The list includes public or private, elementary, secondary, or other schools furnishing education for adults; business schools and colleges; scientific and technical institutions; regular colleges, vocational schools; junior colleges, teachers’ colleges, normal schools, professional schools, universities, and other educational and training institutions, including industrial establishments providing apprentice or other training on the job.
The Veterans Administration will pay to the educational or training institution the customary cost of tuition, and such laboratory, library, infirmary, and similar payments as are customarily charged. It may also pay for books, supplies,
2
equipment, and such other necessary expenses (excluding board, lodging, other living expenses and travel), as are generally required by other students in the institution. Such payments shall not exceed $500 for an ordinary school year.
The Veterans Administration will likewise provide a subsistence allowance of $50 a month if you have no dependents; $75 if you have. (This may be reduced, however, if you attend on a part-time basis or receive a compensation for work done as part of your training.)
a.	Apprentice Training.—Virtually all of the 30,207 apprentice-training programs in the United States extend opportunities to returning veterans. You may be employed as an apprentice and be paid as you learn, getting not only a steady job but training which prepares you for a skilled job. For information, go to your nearest U. S. Employment Service office or the nearest office of the Veterans Administration.
b.	Vocational Training.—If you have a service-connected disability, which results in an occupational handicap, you can probably be taught a new type of work in which it will be no disadvantage. You may be trained in college, business, or trade school, or on the job with a business firm. Tuition, books, supplies, and equipment, will be provided at Government expense. During training, if your pension is less than $92 a month it will be increased to that amount, if you are single. If you are married, your pension during your training period will be $103.50 a month with an extra $5.75 for each child and $11.50 fof each dependent parent.
Apply to your nearest Veterans Administration office, U. S. Employment Service office, or local superintendent of schools.
i If your disability is not service-connected, or occurs after you have left the service, and constitutes a vocational handicap, you may apply to your State Board of Vocational Education for guidance, special training, and placement. If in financial , need, other services available include medical treatment, hospitalization, maintenance, and transportation during training, education supplies, occupational tools, and equipment.
Disabled dependents may also be entitled to vocational rehabilitation under this program.
Apply to your State Board of Vocational Education or ask your nearest U. S. Employment Service office for the address of the nearest Vocational Rehabilitation Officer.
3.	INSURANCE
a. Government.—Your National Service Life Insurance will be one of your most valuable assets in civilian life. If you let it lapse, you will be unable to buy similar protection for yourself and your family at the same cost To keep it in force you do two things:
1.	Pay the premiums direct. Make your check or money order payable to Treasurer of the United
States and mail it to the Collections Subdivision, Veterans Administration, Washington 25, D. C. You may arrange to pay your premiums monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually.
2.	Your insurance was originally issued on what is called the Five-Year-Level-Premium-Term plan. Any time after it has been in force a year, and before the end of five years, you may convert it into Ordinary Life, 20-Payment Life, or 30-Pay-ment Life. Your new policy will have regular cash values after the first year from which you can borrow if necessary.
If you wish to change your beneficiary, write the Director of Insurance, Veterans Administration, Washington 25, D. C.
-	b. Private.—If, when you entered the service, you had private life insurance, you may have arranged to have the Government protect this for you by guaranteeing the premiums. If so, remember that payments must be brought up to date, with interest, within two years after your discharge.
For further information, check with your nearest Veterans Administration office or your own insurance company.
SUBJECTS WITH NUMBER TWO PRIORITIES
1.	Hospital and Domiciliary Care.—If you have a service-incurred disability, hospital care and free transportation to the hospital are provided. If your illness is not service-incurred and you are financially unable to pay the cost, you may still get hospitalization, if a bed is available. If you have a permanent disability, disease, or defect (service-incurred or otherwise) that prevents you from earning a living and you have no adequate means of support, domiciliary care is provided.
Apply to your nearest Veterans Administration office.
2.	Medical Attention.—If you need medical service or dental care not requiring hospitalization, for a condition caused or aggravated in line of duty by your service, it will be provided.
Apply to your nearest Veterans Administration office.
3.	Readjustment Allowances.—To cover temporary periods of unemployment following dis-charge, you are entitled to compensation up to $20 a week—for a period not exceeding 52 weeks, depending on your length of service. Apply to your local State Unemployment Insurance office, Unemployment Compensation office, or your U. S. Employment Service office.
4.	Loans for Homes, Farms, Business.—The Administrator of Veterans Affairs may guarantee up to 50 percent of a loan or loans for such purposes, provided the amount guaranteed does not exceed $2,000. These loans bear interest of not more than 4 percent per year and must be paid in
624650°—45---2
3
full within twenty years. The Administrator will pay the interest on the guaranteed amount for the first year.
Applications must be made within two years after discharge or separation, or two years after the end of the war (whichever is later).
SUBJECTS WITH NUMBER THREE PRIORITIES
1.	Disability Pensions.—If you are discharged from the armed forces with a disability due to service, you may be entitled to disability benefits including a pension. The amount payable runs from $11.50 a month for 10 percent disability up to $115 a month for 100 percent disability. In addition, there are special rates and allowances for specific injuries and more seriously disabling conditions.
Apply at your nearest Veterans Administration office.
2.	Legal Protection.—In general the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act protects servicemen and women up to six months after their discharge by making it possible for the courts to suspend enforcement of certain civil liabilities during that time, such as:
Lawsuits for collection Sale of property for of debts	taxes
Contracts	Eviction of dependents
Repossession of property for non-payment	of
Collections	of	certain rent
taxes	Insurance	premiums
Rights in public land
Check with your local Selective Service Board.
3.	Income Taxes.—In some cases, Federal and State laws provide for deferment or adjustment of tax payments by servicemen or veterans. For information on Federal income tax and other Federal taxes, go to the nearest office of the Collector of Internal Revenue.
4.	Assistance with Special Problems.—Most comT munities have organized agencies to meet specialized needs for financial assistance, medical care, legal aid, or other personal problems.
5.	Claims for Back Pay.—Address your Army inquiries to the Finance Office of the camp in the United States from which you were discharged or transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps. Address your Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard inquiries to the Claims Division, General Accounting Office, Washington 25, D. C. Be sure to print full name and serial or service number.
6.	Review of Discharge.—If you feel that your military service justified a more favorable discharge or dismissal than you received, a review will be granted at any time within 15 years, unless you were discharged or dismissed by general court-martial sentence. Subject to approval by the Secretary of War or of the Navy, the reviewing board may change or modify, discharge, or issue a new one, if evidence warrants. Apply to your own branch of the service.
7.	Review of Retirement.—If, as an officer, you were retired or released to inactive service without pay because of physical disability, you have the right (within 15 years) to request review of the retirement board’s decision. Apply to your own branch of the service.
8.	Lapel Buttons.—If you have served honorably in the armed forces of the United States on or after September 8, 1939, you are entitled to wear the lapel button that signifies such service. If you did not get this button when discharged, it is available upon presentation of your discharge certificate or other certificate of service at most military and naval installations.
9.	Mustering-Out Pay.—As a veteran discharged under honorable conditions, you automatically receive mustering-out pay of from $100 to $300. This sum will help tide you over the immediate period after your discharge and to aid you in your financial readjustment to civilian life.
If you have served less than 60 days, you receive $100; 60 days or more but no foreign service, $200; 60 days or more and foreign service, $300. Payments are $100 upon discharge, the rest in $100 monthly installments. Certain groups are excluded, such as those receiving base pay (not counting fogies) of more than $200 a month at the time of their discharge.
Apply to your own branch of the service.
C.	HOW TO PRESENT THESE FACTS ON BENEFITS
1.	To the Veteran—For the sake of clarity and emphasis, all should observe the following basic suggestions:
a.	Confine the message to facts on just one of the above subjects . . . for example, just “employment” or just “loans.”
b.	Present the message on a “Do you know that you are entitled to_____________” or “If you haven’t investigated your rights on________________” or “if you need advice on____________________________, get in touch with
_____________” basis.
4
c.	Close the message by naming the places where the veteran may go to get action or information on the benefit or privilege described. Avoid generalized statements of where to go and what to do to get a particular benefit.
d.	Avoid exaggeration as to the extent of the benefit, but urge its availability.
2.	To the Public.—These same principles apply generally to messages addressed to the public. The approach would, however, be different . . . for example: “If your husband (son, brother) is a veteran or about to leave the service, does he know that he is entitled to_?” or “If your husband (son, brother) is a veteran, be sure that he looks into_________•”
*****
Should it appear that the veteran is not taking sufficient advantage of his privileges and benefits
and is suffering in any way as a result, a general message would definitely be worthwhile . . . for example, “Are you facing any tough problems on the road back to civilian life? If it’s a job, insurance, financial, or any other kind of problem, have a heart-to-heart talk with your local Veterans Administration Officer, Selective Service Board or USES official.”
(Note: As this campaign progresses, the need for further supplementary campaigns may develop. For example, it may become advisable to have a campaign to remind veterans to report to their local Selective Service Boards, another to remind veterans that the loans to which they are entitled must be paid back, another to persuade veterans within certain age groups to take advantage of their educational opportunities, and so forth.)
D.	LOCAL VETERANS SERVICE COMMITTEES AND INFORMATION CENTERS
As pointed out in an earlier section and illustrated in the directions to be given veterans’ benefit messages, there are many places in the Government where veterans must go to apply for their benefits. There are also a great many private organizations offering services to veterans.
The local offices of the Veterans Administration, Selective Service and United States Employment Service each have been directed to provide full information as to their own programs and as to other existing programs for veterans, so that any one of them may advise the veteran where to go and what to do. Additional facilities may be established as hereafter described.
The Retraining and Reemployment Administration has issued an order providing for the establishment of a Veterans Service Committee in each State. This coipmittee is composed of representatives of the Selective Service System, the U. S. Employment Service of the War Manpower Commission, and the Veterans Administration. The order also provides for the establishment of a similar committee in every community that is represented by the Selective Service System, the U. S. Employment Service of the War Manpower Commission, and the Veterans Administration to the extent that each of these agencies has a representative in the community. The order provides that both State and local committees may add to their membership from local organizations or may represent the Federal Government on other community committees.
Practically all State Governments have established Veterans Service Committees, commissions, or departments. The stimulation provided by State groups and the Veterans Service Committee of the Retraining and Reemployment Administration and
often their own initiative have already led many communities to establish Veterans Service Committees.
It is important to note that each of these community committees has two distinct functions in serving the veteran. First, the planning and coordinating made necessary by the intense and widespread interest in the problem and the great variety of services available. Secondly, establishing the need for an information center at which a veteran may secure complete data about all of these services. 1. How to start a Veterans Service Committee.—Since no .two communities are alike, no two communities are attacking the veterans service problems in exactly the same way. However, careful planning and coordination are necessary if chaos and confusion are to be avoided. The initiative for setting up a Veterans Service Committee may come either from the committee of local agencies or some other group, organization, or individual in the community, such as the mayor, chamber of commerce, the newspaper, the community counseling centers under the auspices of the schools, women’s club, or veterans’ organization, but it should be representative of the community as a whole. It should be a carefully selected group composed of the local agency committee, at least one member of .each community organization rendering service to the veteran and representatives of veterans’ organizations. The type of organization and agency which may be represented on the Veterans Service Committee is as follows:
(1)	Local offices of Federal agencies rendering services to veterans (Selective Service System, Veterans Administration, and the USES).
5
(2)	Local offices of State agencies rendering services to veterans.
(3)	Veterans organizations.
(4)	Public and private health, welfare, and educational agencies.
(5)	Industrial and business organizations, labor unions, religious, and educational groups.
Since adequate representation of all interested agencies, organizations, and groups will result in a fairly large committee, it will usually be desirable to appoint an executive committee. In large communities, there may also be need for subcommittees, assigned to various phases of the veterans service program, such as medical care, legal advice, education, retraining, recreation, and employipent facilities.
One of the dangers which community committees should avoid is that of duplication of efforts on behalf of the veteran, so in setting up a community committee, particular care should be taken to assure that this end is achieved.
2.	The Committee’s Duties.—The local veterans committee has the following duties:
(1)	To maintain liaison with State veterans service agencies.
(2)	To act as the central clearing house for all plans and activities in the interest of veterans so as to avoid duplication of effort and confusion; and provide all individuals, groups and organizations the opportunity to make the maximum contribution to the program.
(3)	To facilitate planning by collecting information on the extent of the problems with which the community will be faced.
(4)	To ascertain the need for an information service center or centers and initiate necessary arrangements.
(5)	To elicit community understanding and support by conducting programs of public information and interpretation in connection with the activities of the committee.
3.	Information Centers.—The usual purpose of a veterans information center is to centralize information regarding the services available to the veteran, to interpret to him the nature of such services, and to refer him to the appropriate agencies for procedure. The need for such a centralized information center should be ascertained by the committee of the local agencies or the Veterans Service Committee on which it is represented since experience indicates that in general their services
should be limited to information and referral while all other duties are the responsibility of the appropriate service agencies.
4.	Facilities Needed for a Veterans Center.—It is important that the following physical facilities be available to the center:
(1)	Sizable space on the street level floor of a building in a centralized locality.
", (2) Adequate reception space to handle peak loads of men and women on days when news of changes in benefit rulings breaks.
(3)	Sufficient conference rooms which ensure privacy.
(4)	Adequate files to meet the needs of the Center.
(5)	Specialized staff members, instructed by supervisors of the organization in which they are employed. And a generalized staff composed of members of community organizations and volunteer workers. The latter can learn their jobs by means of discussion groups conducted by informed persons of the interested organizations and agencies and by reading and using their literature.
5.	Recruiting Volunteers.—Veterans Information Centers already operating have found that many of the jobs can be done satisfactorily by volunteers working on a part-time basis.
The number of volunteers used may be small. However, their quality should be high. Recruiting should, therefore, be carefully planned. The Information Center should make full job descriptions of the volunteer positions and gauge recruits according to native ability, personality, educational background, and experience.
Cities will probably have a volunteer office for recruiting qualified volunteers. In communities too small to maintain a volunteer office, the Information Center may make specific requests for volunteers of clubs, churches, and other organized groups whose membership is most likely to include the preferred type of worker. '
6.	The Center’s Atmosphere.—The atmosphere of the Center and its workers should be one of quiet efficiency and sympathetic understanding— but it should not be patronizing. The veteran is not a charity case to be pitied or looked down upon. He or she is a community asset and it is to the community’s self-interest to get the veteran back in harness as a contributing member. A primary function of the Center is to aid in this transition.
6
PART II
The Civilian’s War Job
A basic objective of this information program is to prevent such ¡misunderstandings between civilian and veteran as may arise from lack of information about status, war contribution, privileges, or activities of either group. Whatever differences may develop will probably be the result of misunderstandings within the community.
However, from a national standpoint, the Federal agencies involved have an obligation to see that the story is told in perspective; to see that both veteran and civilian are fully aware of each other’s rights, benefits, and place in the war effort insofar as the administrative function of each agency affects the public.
Therefore, one key part of this program is to procure wide publicity on what the veteran is entitled to and how he goes about getting it. If both the veteran and civilian are thoroughly aware of the opportunities and protection provided the veteran, there will be a minimum of concern on either side. If the civilian realizes his proper attitude toward, and treatment of, the veteran who is disabled, neurotic, or simply a human being who must readapt himself to a peacetime environment, other difficulties may be avoided. Further, if the civilian and employer recognize the need for community and other cooperative effort in behalf of the veteran as guided to a limited extent by the Federal Government, the task of readjustment will be much easier for all. These points are made in more detail in other parts of this book.
Another source of possible misunderstanding is the veteran’s opinion of the home front. Certainly the word “sacrifice” in connection with anything the civilian has done is woefully inept and
inaccurate when compared with the immensely greater contributions of the fighting men. Any argument that “the civilian has done his share” is meaningless in that it sets up an impossible comparison.
But nearly all civilians have done what has been asked of them, and have been more than willing to do as much more as was necessary. The Army and Navy recognize this fact, and are making every effort to tell the armed forces of the job on the home front so that the men in uniform will not leave the service with a false impression. This information job must be continued, not only to veterans, but to civilians, if we are to combat vary-ing degrees of misunderstandings as to the relative contribution of each group.
The facts about the civilian war effort follow. What is said is not in praise of the civilian but simply as the truth. These facts tell whatever story should be told. It is not suggested that an information program be developed solely around them. But in the preparation of material for other phases of the program, this information may be usefully incorporated.
Much of the “news” which servicemen have received of home front activities has been in the form of gossip, rumors, short items, or headlines. It has been, at best, incomplete. The people at home know of the ace who has shot down a record number of enemy planes or the gun crew that shot down one of our own planes, but they know much less of the day-in-day-out drudging task of the average soldier. By the same token, the serviceman may know about strikes and profiteering, but very little about the daily work of the average man and
7
woman at home and the part they have played in the war effort The following data indicates the magnitude of the job which has been and is being done for the war effort by the fighting man’s friends and neighbors at home—the civilian.
ARMS AND AMERICA
The following data is quoted directly from James F. Byrnes’ First Report as Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion, January 1, 1945:
Production has come a long way since Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. Then, except for a few experimental orders, the United States had hardly started to prepare for war. What has been done since is a dramatic tribute to industry, labor, and agriculture. ... War production climbed month by month from virtually nothing to a rate of approximately $5,000,000,000 per month. No nation can touch this rate of production. It is almost equal to the total war production of the rest of the world.
Behind that dramatic upsurge in war production is the story of men and machines, of organization and training, of hard work and the will to win. We must not forget that this country did not buckle down in earnest to war production until the Germans and the Japanese had built up war machines over many years and were coiled to strike. Yet today we have overcome their early advantage.
It might be well to review with the Congress the many ramifications of our war effort, how it extended into every comer of our economic, social and political life. To reach the point of mobilization we have achieved today, the United States had to do many things.
We had to build new plants and expand old ones, pass a special tax amortization law, extend Federal financing to war contractors.
We had to find contractors to take war work, teach them to produce new products, develop new forms of contracts, draw both big and small business into war production.
We had to curtail civilian production, convert industry from peacetime to wartime production.
We had to draw 7,000,000 extra youths, women, and older men into employment, pass and administer a Selective Service law, train workers for new jobs, provide housing for war workers.
We had to increase domestic sources and develop foreign sources of supply of critical materials.
We had to expand farm output to feed ourselves and our allies.
We had to develop a war program, determine the size of the Army and Navy, and spell out requirements in terms of men and equipment.
We had to integrate, so far as possible, United States procurement with that of our allies on raw materials, semi-processed goods, and munitions. That was done through the Combined Boards and Combined Chiefs of Staff.
We had to encourage research and develop new weapons.
We had to direct the flow, first of materials, then of critical components, and, finally, of manpower.
We had to control prices and wages, ration scarce necessities—shoes, gasoline, fuel, some foods.
We had to try to settle differences between labor and management and do away with strikes.
We had . to construct and man a merchant fleet to deliver our production of tanks, planes, guns, and ammunition to our own and allied forces on the fighting fronts.
We had to maintain the essential civilian economy.
Out of that tremendous mobilization of resources, energy, imagination, and work have come tangible results.
In 1944, we produced $64,000,000,0001 of munitions—twice the production of 1942.
The 1944 total included 95,000 airplanes weighing 950,000,000 pounds, double the number and more than three times the weight of 1942’s output. Among these planes were over 15,000 heavy bombers, six times the 1942 number, including a great many Superfortresses, which were produced only experimentally in 1942.
It also included ship construction and maintenance and repair—to the value of $14,000,000,000— about double the 1942 total. The major increases were in transports and landing vessels for carrying our armed strength to the enemy.
Production of guns and motor vehicles declined somewhat from the 1943 levels, but important items in these groups were pushed to new highs—heavy artillery, rocket launchers, heavy trucks, tractors, among others.
The $6,500,000,000 of ammunition produced in 1944 was more than double the 1942 output— with bombs and large caliber ammunition more than tripling 1942 production.
FOOD
Also, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, American farmers with less labor, inadequate machinery, and short supplies of fertilizer, have produced record amounts of food year after year for our fighting forces, our allies, and our civilian population. Food production in 1944 was 36 percent above the average for the 1935-39 prewar period.
LABOR, 1944
The following information was released by the War Production Board January 1, 1945:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, turnover in war industries has been astonishingly low, sufficiently so
1 Munitions data—August 1943 prices.
8
to refute the popular impression that workers have been deserting war industries in droves for jobs offering peacetime security.
Comparison of Bureau of Labor Statistics rate figures on “quits” for war industries and all other manufacturing plants for each month, January through September 1944, indicates that “quits” have been uniformly and significantly less in war industries. Quit rates compared for 13 selected war industries, October 1943 and October 1944, show that in five industries the quit rate was lower in 1944 than in 1943, and in three industries was virtually about the same for both years. In only three instances was the quit rate significantly higher in 1944 than a year ago (ammunition, except small arms, 2.05 higher per hundred; explosives, 1.93 higher per hundred; tires and inner tubes, 1.5 higher per hundred). In each of these three instances where the quit rate was higher for 1944, layoff and discharge rates were higher as well, indicating that to some extent quits were induced by feelings of insecurity.
Looking at the total hiring and total separation rates for the same 13 industries for the same period, the following facts stand out:
The total separation rate consisting of quits, layoffs, discharges, and military withdrawals, rose in only four industries (guns, etc.; ammunition, explosives, tire and tubes).
In seven of these programs accessions were lower than separations in October 1944, but layoffs were markedly higher in four of these programs in October 1944 than in October 1943 (guns, etc., aircraft, aircraft parts, and shipbuilding and repairs) .
The percentage of available man-days lost as a result of work stoppages was considerably lower in 1944 than in 1943, 1941, and 1939, according to information provided for the War Production Board by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and including a preliminary estimate made through November of 1944. The percentage for the first 11 months of 1944 was the same as in 1940. Only 1942 had a better record with regard to percentage of available working days lost.
The following table was compiled :
Year	Man-days lost (January-October)	Percentage of available working time lost as a result of stoppages (covering entire year)
1944—— 		7,135,000	»0.10
1943				9,896,757	.15
1942				3,861,891	.05
1941		21,174, 500	.32
1940 				-	3,502,751	.10
1939		15,763,384	.28
		
- » Through November only; preliminary estimate.
9
As stated on the cover of this book, the second general aim of the veterans’ information program is “to make the veteran’s readjustment to civilian life easier by providing the information necessary to combat possible misunderstandings between veterans and civilians.” In other words, to increase the mutual understanding between the two, thus speeding the absorption of the veteran back into civilian life.
The programs outlined in Part I will go far toward achieving this aim. The publicizing of his many benefits will bring home to the veteran the fact that the Country recognizes and fully appreciates the job that he has done. The service rendered the veteran by the community information centers and the personal advice and assistance he receives from community veteran committee members will go even farther toward bringing that fact to his attention.
But there are still three other information jobs to be done before it can be truly said that every-
A. TREATMENT OF THE VETERAN
(Note: Because the treatment of the veteran is the most dramatic topic in the veterans’ information program, there is the danger that it will be overstressed at the expense of the other equally important campaigns. So it is advised that this fact be kept in mind when messages or campaigns are planned on the subject, and that whatever is planned be considered in the perspective of the other veterans’ informational campaigns.)
According to the War and Navy Departments, the goal of their rehabilitation program is to restore the disabled individual as far as possible physically, mentally, and economically. And that takes more than good medical treatment Modem medical care and surgical skill may save the life of the soldier wounded in battle, but the obligation does not end
thing possible is being done, informationally, to speed the readjustment of the veteran back into the life of the community.
The first job is to instruct families, friends, and the general public, on the treatment of and general approach to the veteran.
The second is to inform the public and particularly employers of the advantages of employing discharged veterans whether they have been discharged for being disabled, neurotic, or for any other reason. This program points out the value of the special vocational and other training veterans have received in the service, and if the latter are disabled or neurotic, the rehabilitation job that has been done on them by the service to equip them to face civilian life and work.
The third is to point out to the veteran the part he must play in his own readjustment and the contribution he can make in building a better community and a better America.
there. To rehabilitate means “to restore to a former rank, state, or privilege.” And that demands our going all the way. We must help the veteran to overcome all mental hazards, as well as physical handicaps and restore him to a full and useful life. Rehabilitation is first undertaken in service hospitals coincident with medical and surgical treatment. But it must not stop there! It must be continued after discharge by those agencies legislatively equipped to serve, by family and friends who have a big stake in the veteran’s well being, and by the public in general.
That’s why all three groups should be fully informed on the basic principles behind, and the “do’s” and “don’ts” that make for proper treatment of the veteran. Most of the information contained
10
in the section is taken from “He’s Back,” a booklet produced by the Surgeon General’s Office of the War Department.
1.	Wounds of the Spirit
In spite of prompt and skillful medical attention, battle wounds sometimes cripple or cause prolonged invalidism. Often the deepest wounds— those hardest to heal—are of the spirit. It is essential, therefore, that medical treatment be supported by the spiritual guidance and informational assistance necessary to alleviate the mental anguish of the handicapped, and assure him that he can and will be self-sufficient and economically independent. Most difficult to dispel is the emotional despair of the blinded, the feeling of aloneness of the deafened, or the bitter resentment against a cruel fate that has allowed one youth to be armless, legless, or otherwise disfigured when so many of his companions suffered comparatively minor discomforts that could be quickly forgotten.
2.	False Beliefs About Handicaps are Common
Because of the almost universal tendency to associate disabilities with handicapped and dependent people, the approach to rehabilitation should seek to correct false beliefs people hold about illness and incapacity. Many persons think of blindness as the most terrible of all afflictions. To the average man, blindness and other equally serious handicaps mean incompetence and dependency, for he visualizes the man on the street comer with the tin cup and shoe laces, or the legless pencil seller on his little cart. Yet there are many blind who get about with amazing agility, are married, hold jobs, and live satisfying lives. Their achievements are the result of scientific rehabilitation and of their own patient practice in acquiring new skills.
The blind learn to devote increased attention to their other senses, and those senses become more acute as a result So it is with other handicapped people. Often they do more with their remaining physical equipment than ordinary people do with a full set. Edison, Steinmetz, Helen Keller, Alec Templeton, Seversky, and a host of others have risen to heights of fame in spite of handicaps.
Initially, the disabled veteran is apt to share the common belief that disablement means complete wreckage of all hopes for success. Therefore, rehabilitation must combat this misinformation and create assurance that life still can be satisfying and successful.
3.	Attitudes of Others Can Be Harmful
The attitude toward handicaps held by people with whom the disabled come in daily contact may profoundly influence adjustment. If others consider his future one of helplessness and dependency he will sense it, and this will increase his own fears and insecurities. You must really know that the
blind and the legless may overcome their afflictions and find happiness, if you are to be able to assure the man similarly disabled. The handicapped per-' son is keenly alert and hyper-sensitive to your reactions. He will be able to tell what you believe. Your excessive sympathy and assurance that he will be protected may plunge him into the depths of despair, for they may be proof enough to him that he will always be helplessly dependent upon others.
4.	Look Toward the Future
During the period of military hospitalization, rehabilitation measures are started which encourage the disabled serviceman to look hopefully toward the future. The gains made in this direction must be built upon after discharge from the service. Goals of self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and a full and useful life must be constantly in view. Pensions, governmental assistance, and the help of social agencies are not enough.
What then can puzzled friends and family, who stand by in loving concern, do to help? How can a puzzled public assist? The answers are to be found in the following:
5.	Try to Understand the Veteran’s Problem
Anxiety is associated with serious illness or injury. Crippling injuries, disfiguring wounds, or any serious and prolonged illness induce an apprehensive fear that life will somehow be profoundly altered afterwards. At the outset, emotional upsets and black despondency are to be expected, though some men accept their misfortunes with remarkable calm and fortitude. Others gain strength from beholding comrades in varying stages of convalescence, some quite skillful in the use of their artificial limbs. As long as the veteran is a member of a group similarly handicapped, it is easy for him to suppress his fear of going home a cripple and facing friends.
Any disability which makes a person less efficient creates an unconscious dependence upon others, quite like that of the helpless child upon his parents. Gains in self-reliance, made in the hospital, may be swept away by the fear of pity and by resentment toward a “make-it-easy-for-the-boy” attitude on the part of people at home. “Tailspins” are frequent. It takes patient guidance to reestablish a disabled man’s self-confidence.
6.	Control Your Emotions
When meeting the disabled, the disfigured, or the seriously ill, allow no horror, sorrow, or revulsion to appear in . face or manner. Avoid excesses \of sympathy. It may be harmful to treat him either like a hero or a martyr. Recognize the debt we owe to him for his sacrifice, but don’t patronize, pity, or fuss over him.
What a man looks like matters little. One of the most cheerful and pleasing personalities is often
11
carried about in the twisted and deformed body of a hunchback.
7.	Treat the Disabled Veteran Like a Normal, Mature Man
The loss of an ear, an arm or a leg may change the appearance of a man, but his personality and character need not alter. The handicap or disability should be ignored and the individual treated as the normal person he is. There are no special techniques to be mastered in such an approach. A natural manner is all that is necessary. Avoid questions about combat experiences and don’t inquire about the symptoms and origins of a man’s present trouble unless he seems to want to get something off his chest. Listening, under such conditions, places an obligation upon the listener to do no harm. Don’t become involved in giving advice or opinions about the adequacy of treatment or the completeness of recovery that may be anticipated. Do reassure him that handicaps are no more than that—and can be overcome. Remember, too, that war speeds the process of growing up. The 18-year-old lad who has been away from home a couple of years and wears the Purple Heart for his sacrifice in combat is not the carefree boy he was. He’s a man now. Exposure to danger and assumption of daily responsibilities in the service have made him older than his years. Treat him with awareness of that fact.
8.	Help Restore Faith in Himself
Even though a man in a hospital is surrounded with every comfort and sympathy and has nurses to wait on his every wish, he may still despair. The .thoughts of his own helplessness and the fear that he may become a burden upon loved ones appall him. The newly blinded man fears he will make himself ridiculously conspicuous or fall and hurt himself if he ventures out of his room. He is quite willing to have people wait on him. Unless he does brave the unknown dangers of his new world of darkness, he will never learn to walk about easily or to orient himself through his remaining senses. That requires practice, discouragement, and many hard knocks. But it is essential, if rehabilitation is to be successful to restore the individual’s faith in his ability to do things for himself as a person. Happiness is related to goals, is born of achievement and is built through one’s efforts. Help the veteran concentrate on the determination to get well and overcome his loss. Help him to realize that he can. New goals and new interests can be found. Opportunities consistent with the disability still exist and offer a realm for self-satisfaction. A problem-solving point of view and the slogan, “I’ll get there yet,” help restore faith.
9.	Face the Reality of Disability
There have been times when a disabled serviceman was afraid to go home and face his friends be
cause of his reluctance to expose his disability to them. There must be created within every handicapped veteran the conscious acceptance of his acquired physical limitations. Don’t attempt to minimize the crippling effects that may result from the disability. It will usually be found that there is far less emotional shock to the average handicapped man if the hazards of his new life are discussed at the outset. The man who has undergone extensive plastic surgery is helped through the understanding that his appearance has changed, and he learns to accept that fact. We are familiar with the worried disfigured person who feels that he must ask, “How do I look?”. When well-meaning friends say, “Why—just fine!” it only momentarily quiets his anxieties, for he is aware of the untruth of this assertion, even though he hasn’t brought himself to face it. Personal anxieties and even great problems lose their capacity to frighten and cause tension if they are brought into the open, squarely faced, and talked about. How much simpler life becomes ^or all when the hard of hearing wear their hearing aids openly! The handicap of deafness is seldom concealed by bluffing. The hook of an artificial arm may not be attractive, but when skillfully used it makes possible normal competitive work.
10.	Help the Disabled to Help Themselves
In the hospital, the physical therapist cannot restore a functioning hand merely through heat and massage; nor can the occupational therapist prevent stiffness unaided. It is the man himself, who must work diligently by exercise to restore normal functioning. A man may be fitted with an artificial leg and be shown how to use it, but it is up to the man to work at the job of developing power, balance, and skill. Every handicapped individual has a share in the responsibility for his own welfare. Even though he falter and find the path to recovery difficult, he must learn to do it for himself, for only by so doing may he become independent, and self-reliant. Avoid doing things for the handicapped unnecessarily. Adversity may become an asset if aided by reassurance, guidance, and a chance to work things out for one’s self.
11.	Aids to the Management of Specific Disabilities
The following pointers indicate how specific information may make the adjustment of the handicapped easier. There are many useful prepared guides to particular handicaps.
a.	For the Blind: The relatives of the newly blind man may be his worst enemies, for although prompted by kindness, they may thwart rehabilitation and foster dependency. The blind learn to use their ears and hands and other senses to visualize their world. It is important to remember that the newly blind soldier continues to visualize his surroundings even though he doesn’t see. Learn to
A
12
describe scenes and places. Explain the arrangement of rooms. Don’t fail to describe any changes made in the familiar arrangement of furniture. Help him “see” people through your description.-Encourage him to meet people. Always identify yourself and others present. Address him directly, don’t talk through other persons. And don’t whisper within his acute earshot.
Gall his attention frankly to any mannerism or unusual habits he may develop. Help him by your encouragement to have good posture, a normal walking gait, neat personal appearance, good table etiquette, and an animated facial expression.
Keep doors open or shut, never half open. Offer your arm when walking; he’ll touch it lightly. Don’t grab his arm and push him around.
b.	For the Deafened: The deafened serviceman is taught lip reading prior to discharge from the service. He will usually wear a hearing aid. Encourage him to wear it and keep it in good working order. Lip reading supplements what he doesn’t hear with an aid. When you speak to him, face him and be sure there is enough light so that he can see your lips. Don’t cover your mouth or speak with a cigarette in your lips. Attract his attention by moving your hand. Speak slowly and distinctly, without “mouthing” your words. It is sufficiently difficult to read lips without having to interpret exaggerated distortions. If he doesn’t understand, don’t shout. Rephrase the sentence, it’s easier to catch the meaning that way. Be sure he understands; discourage bluffing. Proper names are always difficult. Never talk behind his back. Never, at any time, direct conversation to another person which he is not supposed to hear. Extend him the courtesy you would if he had normal hearing.
Correct any change in his voice quality in order that his speech may remain pleasant. Encourage him to keep up with his lip reading and to secure advanced training if he needs it.
c.	For the Man with an Amputation: Take good care of the amputation stump. If soreness or irritation develops, communicate, with the nearest facility of the Veterans Administration. See that there is sufficient supply of stump socks for a daily change. Wash the woolen socks carefully. The artificial limb should be worn and kept in good adjustment and repair. If replacement becomes necessary, consult the Veterans Administration. The man with an amputation asks no consideration other than a little longer time to be sure of him-self on a job.
d.	For the Neuropsychiatric Patient: In the great majority of instances where a man has been discharged from the service for nervous or mental reasons, it has been for psychoneurosis. This is not a form of insanity nor is it likely to become insanity. With proper management, it doesn’t interfere with living a normal life and, if cured, it is not likely to recur. It is not hereditary. Psychoneuroses in combat troops usually are the result of
the tremendously abnormal situations. Some people can stand less of the horrors in battle than others, but nearly all break down if kept under fire long enough. Such battle psychoneuroses show up in otherwise normal men, whereas it is more common to find a civilian psychoneuroses in an abnormal person (one with immature and faulty habits of reaction to situations who has a nervous break-down under the stress of ordinary life.)
The psychoneurotic may be hard to live with for a while, but nervousness and emotional upsets may be overcome in time. Tensions and nervousness are often expressed in bodily symptoms. The fact is common experience, for everyone is familiar with indigestion which follows excitement and headaches that develop when one has had an unpleasant experience. The man who has developed a psychoneurosis in the service should return to work and should confidently look forward to freedom from symptoms that interfere with his normal life.
Remember always to think before you say anything—a careless inconsiderate word can mean the difference between a man who has a good hold on himself and one who has not. Remember that you are not a psychiatrist. If a man seems to show signs of being a difficult mental case, do not try to diagnose or “fix him up.” Report the man to your local Veterans Administration office. Remember that the vast majority of men coming back from combat or isolation zones will be quite normal; do not go around imagining you detect psychiatric cases. Attempt to show the man your own friendly, helpful attitude and that of your friends or clubs. Do not presume a man is a “case” if he is not interested in dancing and gayety. Do not urge such activities onto him. Let him talk to you as he will, but do not prod him into conversation with ill-considered questions.
12.	Help the Disabled to Get Back to Work Quickly
One of the very best incentives to rapid recovery is the certainty of a job ahead which the disabled veteran is confident he can handle. Therefore, it is best to get a job promptly or go back to school. Work is associated in our minds with health. It is for this reason that occupational therapy is started early during the stay in a hospital. Idleness and boredom during the hospital’s weary days breed restlessness and discontent. It is even more important to get back to work when a man comes home.
13.	In General
By far the largest number of veterans will be normal, and of sound mind and body. They will need no special treatment, no special attention. They may, however, be somewhat different from the men and women, or boys and girls, which they
13
were when they went away, if only because they are older and because of the experiences they have been through.
With that in mind, the following suggestions are made for the families and friends of all veterans:
(Note to Writers: The following are not necessarily phrased for publication or broadcast. They are statements of basic principles and therefore should be handled and interpreted according to the nature of the medium and audience.)
Twelve Simple Principles of Thought and Action for the Civilian
1.	Be natural at all times. Don’t strain to appear nice or to say the right thing. Don’t be effusive. Though changed, the veteran is still an ordinary human and wants to be treated as such. In fact, his service friendships have been such genuine ones and have been based on such conditions of reality that he can spot insincerity readily.
2.	Treat him as a responsible citizen, as well as a veteran. He has a tremendous job to do and will be one of the most important citizens in the community. Don’t be patronizing. Recognize him for what he is, a citizen who is better equipped for success, as a result of his service experience, than most civilians.
3.	Don’t pamper him and don’t feel or show pity. He’s entitled to all the real consideration at your command, but he’s a man who has been taught to stand on his own feet.
4.	Don’t kill him with sympathy. He Wants real help, not maudlin tears. Genuine kindness and a recognition of the job he has done form the basis of the ideal attitude for you to develop.
5.	He’ll talk about what he’s been through if he wants to, but don’t urge him. Like all of us, some veterans will want to talk, while others won’t. Remember, if only one civilian were curious about what it was like it would be one thing, but he is likely to be queried by scores. So let him take the initiative in such conversations.
6.	Keep your poise and don’t be startled if he has changed markedly, is disfigured, disabled, or highly nervous. He knows you’ll notice so don’t stare or call attention to it. If you feel you must mention, or he brings it up, discuss it in as natural a way as possible.
7.	Be realistic. If he wants to talk about his problems and the future, don’t tell him that he doesn’t need to worry. Tell him the facts
about employment and other situations in the community, and advise him, if you can, on how to cope with them. The G. I. Bill gives him a lot of help, but he’ll have to compete with civilians and other veterans for long-term success.
8.	Develop serenity of spirit. This applies especially to those who are close to the veteran. He may have thought you are wonderful, so try to show your best colors.
9.	Don’t brag about how much money you’ve made , or how well you’ve done while he was away. And if he’s curious, tell him, but remember he may think, and rightly so in some cases, that the war has given the people who stayed at home an advantage.
10.	Don’t bring up the subject of how difficult things have been at home. It hasn’t been difficult and he knows it. Certainly it would sound ironical to mention the petty home-front hardships in the face of what he’s been through. Just let him know most of us have done everything that we’ve been asked to do and have wanted to do more.
11.	Help him in every way you can. Be sure he is aware of his rights, his opportunities to get an education, his priority on his old job, under certain circumstances, and other benefits. Help get your community organized to bring this information to him, and try to get the veterans interested in participating.
12.	Remember, too, that you face problems of adjustment. Your nonwar job may not pay as well and it won’t be as easy to get a job as it was. Furthermore, the veteran should have a prior right to any available job because he has given up time and opportunity to fight for us.
Your attitude and vigilance in this endeavor are of the utmost importance. It is vital that veterans and civilians understand each other and work together to build a better America. The underlying caution is to avoid effusiveness, emotionalism, excessive display of all kinds.
(Warning for Writers : Whenever preparing a message referring to the fact that the veteran may be changed, different, or even just older, there is a tendency to give an exaggerated or overdramatic picture of such a change. Try to avoid this pitfail as such exaggeration and overdramatization has an unfavorable effect bn civilian and veteran alike. The soldier was carefully selected from civilian life in the first place and his military training has given him many opportunities. He is much more likely to be greatly improved from his experience than to have been weakened either physically or mentally.)
14
B.	WHAT THE VETERAN HAS TO
OFFER AN EMPLOYER
The returning veteran is the hope of the Nation. Generally speaking, he is that segment of the Nation which will furnish this country’s leadership in the years that lie ahead.
But today he returns to the community as one of its most valuable potential employees—a better one, in fact, for his service training than he would have been without it. Here are the facts which make him so:
1.	Indoctrination in Service Philosophy
Military service teaches a man or woman many things, among them respect for discipline and procedure. The strict adherence to the rules of discipline and procedure in turn make a person a better leader, and these qualities are transmitted to his attitude toward civilian life.
Another thing the military teaches a man is self-sufficiency. Each man is trained to be a one-man army or navy to the extent that he learns all the phases of the particular job he is given to do and is expected to be resourceful enough to meet any unforeseen circumstances.
These, and the many other qualities, ingrained in men and women during their time in service make them better workers, more ingenious, and more thorough than would have been possible without such training.
2.	Service Jobs and Civilian Jobs
One-third of all service jobs are directly related to civilian occupations, but all service jobs are related to them in some way. For example, an artillery mechanic can fill approximately 30 civilian occupations, a radar repairman can fill at least 18. Considering there are 1,028 military jobs and these are related to nearly 17,500 civilian jobs covering about 130 industries, it is evident that ample skill will be available from military ranks. Here are two specific examples of this close relationship:
Civilian
Bus mechanic
Electric motor repairman Electric refrigerator serviceman Electrical repairman Motorcycle repairman Pipe fitter Plumber
Refrigeration mechanic Refrigerator engineer Steamfitter
Tractor mechanic Truck mechanic Vacuum cleaner mechanic
Service
Refrigeration mechanic_________
Service
Radar repairman______________
Civilian
Electric motor installer Electrical adjuster Electrical tester Electrician, radio Instrument maker Magnet winder Photophone assembler Public address serviceman Radio and electrical inspector Radio equipment assembler Radio equipment installer Radio mechanic Radio repairman Radio technical helper Receiver tester Roto assembler k Transmitter tester
Of course in some cases the veteran will need extra specialized training, or at least some brushing up on the related civilian occupation which he undertakes. But generally speaking, he comes out of the Army or Navy a “skilled” individual and consequently an ideal potential employee for certain related civilian occupations.
3.	The United States Armed Forces Institute Training
This is the largest correspondence school in the world, with 800,000 enrollees as of September 1944. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands more servicemen are expected to register when occupation duties give them more time for study.
Many of the courses of this institute are of a university extension nature and meet university standards. Among the trades and businesses on
History Home Economics Languages Law Mathematics Navigation and Seamanship Philosophy Photography Psychology Radio Science Sociology
The employer who considers hiring a veteran, trained by the U. S. Armed Forces Institute can be sure that he is as well equipped for the job
its list of courses are:
Accounting Aviation Building Business and Economics
Drafting and Applied Art Education Engineering English Geography Government Health
15
as a specified amount of university training can make him.
4.	His Contacts
The contacts a serviceman and woman have made in military life can be of great value to an employer, too.
Each veteran, whether officer or enlisted man, has been a part of a highly integrated fraternity of 12 million important men and women. s There will always be a feeling of kinship among members of the armed forces, even after they have disbanded, because of the honor of having served, their mutual respect for the job done, the experiences and confidences shared—and the fact that they’ve risked their lives together. Beyond that, the “sim-patico” aroused by proximity has created many a friendship that will last throughout life.
5.	Disabled or Nervous Veterans
Employers should know that both services do their utmost to discharge a man only when he has been either fully physically rehabilitated to return to civilian life or has been sent to the Veterans Administration for further treatment. In other words, almost every veteran who is up and doing and applying for a job is physically and mentally equipped to undertake one and to make a success of it. If disabled, he has been taught how to use an artificial limb.
Consequently, so called deficiencies should not influence the employer in hiring a veteran. It is patriotic to hire veterans. But more than that, in hiring a veteran, the chances are you’ll get a better all-around worker.
C.	THE VETERAN’S RESPONSIBILITY
The veteran has the highest stake of all in a successful readjustment to civilian ways, civilian work, and the life of the community. He has sacrificed the most to safeguard and maintain that way of living. So, once back, he should strive to get into the swing of things and enjoy it to the fullest.
There are several attitudes which the veteran should adopt and specific things which he should do to facilitate his readjustments to life at home. They can be best summed up in these—
Twelve Simple Principles of Thought and Action for the Veteran
(Note to Writers: The following are not necessarily phrased for publication or broadcast. They are statements of basic principles and therefore should be handled and interpreted, in whole or in part, according to the nature of the medium and audience. While this program is one of the five major phases of the over-all program, it is also a fundamental theme and the messages which are hereafter suggested should be interwoven in other campaigns. In many cases, such a technique will be more useful than any other.)
1.	Don’t expect home folks to be the same. On the basis of time alone, your family, friends, and others have changed too. So accept them as they are today and reestablish relationships on the basis- of what you now have in common. You’ll be happier if you do.
2.	Don’t be resentful of the easy way in which some people who stayed at home appear to have weathered the war. Everybody obeys the Government’s orders during wartime, and in 99 percent of the cases, the man who was not in uniform either could not qualify physically
or the Government thought him more valuable sticking to his job. So even though it has been easy for some, wipe resentment of that fact from your mind. You’ll get back in the swing faster. You’ll get ahead faster.
3.	You’re a success. You’ve been idolized by family, friends, the public, and especially children for what you’ve done and for what you’ve been through, so don’t disappoint them. Your future will be that much happier if you continue to show the traits which made you a success in the greatest fighting force in history.
4.	Play your part in the community. You’re young, eager, and thanks to your service training, better equipped than many to help solve the tough problems which face your town and country as a whole. So get back in the community life as fast as you can. Your help is wanted and needed.
5.	Sell yourself. You have fought for and won freedom of opportunity. So make the most of it. You’ve got to compete with everyone else, just as you did before. But you’re better equipped to win success than you were before.
6.	Don’t expect to find making a living easy. Your rights and benefits are designed to help give you a start, but real, long-term success/depends on you alone.
7.	Don’t be disappointed if the people at home can’t fully comprehend what it was like or what you’ve been through. The person who wasn’t there can never understand, so don’t expect him to. You’ve got to hear the whine of the shells, see the horror war creates and experience the discomfort and suffering yourself before you can understand.
8.	Have faith in the future, and contribute toward making it a better one. You have fought
16
for your right to control your country’s future, so make the most of it.
9.	Your service experience qualifies you for leadership. And the future of the country is in the hands of your generation. So continue to educate yourself and shoulder your responsibilities, so that when the time comes, you will be equipped to put that leadership to work toward the betterment of the country’s government, industry, and other institutions.
10.	In your civilian life, try to approach the heights of your war sacrifice. This may sound like preaching to a civilian, but you know what it means and the spiritual satisfaction that goes with it.
11.	Remember thkt the home folks are with you, and will stay with you.
12.	You have prior rights of many kinds and these rights will be respected, but remember that the • home folks must make a living too. So strive to work for unity among all of us.
It is most important that the above twelve points for the veteran not be considered as the basis for a “lecture” to him. Few civilians could appropriately give him this advice. They have a sufficient responsibility of their own. Nevertheless, it is important that the veteran does not get a grandiose notion of what awaits him, an idea which he might easily develop from the extensive publicity that has developed around his benefits. Ordinarily, talk of this kind should come from veteran—or from some other source that has a right to speak.
BASIS OF THE PROGRAM
The fundamental objective of this program is to inform. There is little question of the desire of the civilian and the veteran to do what is necessary. The need lies most in what to do and how to do it.
There is no problem of arousing the public’s sympathy or pity. Rather, this can easily become a pitfall. There undoubtedly will be a tendency to become tearful, sentimentally dramatic, and effusive. Nothing could be more abhorrent to the veteran, nor less needed from an information standpoint.
The fundamental information need is to be sure that:
. . . The veteran knows his rights, benefits, and responsibilities . . . plus how to get the first two and how to discharge the last.
-. . . That the public also knows these same things plus its responsibilities to the veteran so that the veteran will receive intelligent help, advice, and treatment.
To the extent that everyone is informed, two basic results will be achieved:
. . . The veteran will get assistance and understanding.
. . . The misunderstandings which may have a tendency to develop will be mitigated to the extent the facts justify.
Experience following the last war indicates dangers. Some of them were entirely economic in nature. But some flowed from beliefs, in summary, that the veteran, or the civilian, as the case might be, was being favored too much or not enough.
Planning to assure that the veteran receives adequate attention is much further along now than during the last war. There is every probability that a much better job will be done. Many governmental and private agencies are already operating
in the field and are rapidly improving their operations.
Nonetheless, there are sure to be inadequacies and mistakes. There is danger that some services designed to help the veteran will not be fully utilized through lack of information about them. There is danger that either veteran or civilian may again feel that either too much or too little is being done. Thus, loans for veterans may be regarded as gifts. Or, publicity on rights and benefits may lead to the impression that the veteran is set for life.
To meet this danger requires a complete presentation of the facts so that
. . . the public will understand its continuing responsibility, now and in the years to come, to see that the veteran gets his rights and benefits.
... the veteran will not get an exaggerated impression of what is available, and at the same time take full advantage of his opportunities to get his rights and benefits, and utilize his own resources to become an important member of the community.
There is further danger that in the great desire of the people to help the veteran, he will be hindered in his readjustment to civilian life by a plethora of information. For example, it is almost certain that dozens of repetitive pamphlets will be prepared. Scores of organizations will probably find themselves turning out avalanches of duplicating data. The veteran may become confused and frustrated as he tries to follow many counsels, travel many roads. The remedies are
. . . for community workers to participate in centrally organized programs in order to coordinate the flow of veteran information.
. . . for federal agencies to coordinate their
17
informational activities under the Retraining and Reemployment Administration.
. . . for private organizations to avoid duplicating effort perhaps, if they desire, by checking their information plans for the veteran with the appropriate federal agencies.
There is another fundamental caution, the war still goes on. This fact should be frequently repeated, with its corollary that a relatively few fighting men may be expected to return until the military effort is substantially reduced. Even then, transportation problems, requirements for occupation, and other difficulties indicate that while mustering out will proceed rapidly, actual demobilization will not occur overnight. The information program should be timed, developed, expanded in terms of the need.
Also, because they lend themselves so easily to dramatic handling, the subjects, treatment of the disabled and treatment of the neurotic veteran.
can easily receive over-emphasis. Constant informational activity on the problems which the men and women in these groups face and on their care may create the impression that all veterans are changed markedly, and such an impression would react most unfavorably on all veterans, normal and otherwise. So this subject should receive a minimum of informational treatment and must be kept in proper perspective. The accurate statement is that the veteran has changed for the better in the majority of instances. His readjustment may be somewhat difficult, but a strongly affirmative approach to this problem will be much truer than one which continuously paints him as an object of pity.
There is a need for this information program . . . for each of these campaigns . . . right now, but it will be much greater as time goes on. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that the program and its various segments be organized on a long term basis, with the expectation that some phases should be continued for years.
■. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: l«4S
18