Home by Christmas!

1945: GIs act to stop the war machine

By Dustin Langley

In the months following the end of World War II, some in Washington wanted to use the 12 million men and women in uniform against the Soviet Union and the growing anti-colonial movements throughout the world. Some even favored immediate military action against the Soviet Union, which had been a U.S. ally and played a decisive role in the war against Nazi Germany and a major role against Imperial Japan.

But the Soviet Union was a socialist country and thus a class enemy of the big capitalists that the Washington government represented.

Also, with the defeat of the Japanese military, movements for independence surfaced in Indonesia, Indochina, and the Philippines, where the Anti-Japanese National Liberation Army, known as the Huks, had already liberated several provinces. U.S. imperialism faced a threat to its Asian holdings and wanted the military to secure these spoils of war.

Washington’s plans were thwarted by a massive uprising of troops in both the European and Asian Theaters. Large demonstrations took place in the Philippines, Hawaii, France, Germany, Guam, Japan, Korea, India, Burma, Austria, Great Britain, and in the United States.

More than 60 percent of U.S. military personnel were draftees. Many others had volunteered in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Almost all wanted to return home after the end of the wars against Germany and Japan.

Soldiers who had been stationed in the European Theater were the first to protest. They returned to the United States to discover that they were going to be shipped to the Asian Theater for occupation duty. On Aug. 21, 1945, some 580 GIs from the 95th Division signed a protest telegram to President Harry Truman.

When Gen. Harry Lewis Twaddle tried to assemble the 95th to issue orders to deploy for occupation duty, the Washington Post reported, “the boos from the soldiers were so prolonged and frequent that it took [Twaddle] 40 minutes to deliver a 15-minute speech.”

Members of the 97th Division hung banners from their train, which was taking them to California to be shipped out to Asia, reading, “We’re being sold down the river while Congress vacations.”

Families give support

At home, military families added their support to the growing resistance. Congress was flooded with letters and telegrams demanding that the troops be brought home. As Christmas drew near, some sent baby booties to their representatives in Congress with a note that read, “Be a good Santa Claus and release the fathers.”

Sen. Elbert D. Thomas, who headed the Military Affairs Committee, said: “Constituents are on their necks day and night. The pressure is unbelievable. Mail from wives, mothers and sweethearts demanding that their men be brought home is running to almost 100,000 letters daily.”

From October through December 1945, the “Bring the Boys Home by Christmas” movement grew among rank-and-file GIs and their supporters at home. The unrest increased in January, when it was revealed that Truman had decided to reverse the policy of releasing all troops with two years of service by March 20, 1946. This disclosure sparked spontaneous demonstrations.

On Jan 8, 1946, thousands of soldiers in Paris marched down the Champs Elysees to a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy with the demand: “Get us home!”

On Jan. 9, the New York Times reported that 4,000 GIs had tried to rush the headquarters of the United States Forces in the European Theater to present their demand to be sent home to Gen. Joseph T. McNarney. Speakers at the demonstration sent a telegraph to Congress that asked, “Are the brass-hats to be permitted to build empires?”

Protests continued and two days later the GIs won a meeting with general staff officers. On Jan. 11, the Times headline read, “GIs in Frankfort Deride McNarney As They Fail to Get Sailing Date.” The story reported that there were also demonstrations by rank-and-file soldiers in London and Vienna.

Five hundred soldiers rallied in the Trocadero in Paris to demand the firing of Secretary of War Robert Patterson. They also elected a committee to meet with a group of senators about to visit the area.

This meeting issued what the New York Times called “an enlisted man’s Magna Carta,” with the following demands:

1. Abolition of officers’ messes, with all rations to be served in a common mess on a first-come-first-served basis

2. The opening of all officers’ clubs at all posts, camps and stations to officers and enlisted men alike

3. Abolition of reserved sections for officers at recreational events

4. Abolition of all special officers’quarters and the requirement of all officers to serve at least one year as enlisted men except in time of war

5. Reform of army court-martial boards to include enlisted men

GIs have ‘strike fever’

On Jan. 13, the Times reported: “The fact is the GIs have strike fever. Almost every soldier you talk to is full of resentment, humiliation and anger. He acts exactly as workers have acted and by doing so drew the GI’s criticism in the past. ... But now the shoe is on the other foot. The GIs now feel they have a legitimate gripe against their employers.”

In response to the GI protests and their growing support at home, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower announced a new schedule of demobilization on Jan. 15. This schedule, however, did not meet the GIs’ demand for the release of all soldiers with two years’ service by March 20, 1946; instead, it provided for the release of those with 30 months’ service by April 30.

While the movement fell short of winning all its demands, it was successful in forcing Washington to demobilize the army. This gave enormous space for the Soviet Union to recover from the bloody war and for the liberation struggles in China, Indonesia, Indochina and elsewhere.

The movement also revealed the great potential for military members’ resistance to the imperial ambitions of Washington. One of the ruling class’s greatest weaknesses is that it is forced to rely on working people as soldiers in its wars of conquest, and these working people have interests that are directly opposed to those of Washington and Wall Street.

As the criminal occupation of Iraq continues, revolutionaries and progressives have an obligation to support and encourage organizing and resistance by the rank and file.

Resources:

Iraq Veterans Against the War:
www.ivaw.org<
GI Special: www.militaryproject.org

Appeal for Redress:
www.appealforredress.org

Different Drummer:
www.differentdrummercafe.org