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284837803
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White House Press Release, Statement by President Harry S. Truman
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document
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284837803
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document
title
White House Press Release, Statement by President Harry S. Truman
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White House Press Release Files (Truman Administration)
White House Press Releases
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284837803
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8
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1946-01-08
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1946
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450
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 8, 1946
10
Many appeals have been made to the President for the release
from the armed forces of various groups. In response to these appeals
the President has issued the following statement:
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
There is, naturally, great discussion both in public
and in private as to when the members of our individual families
in military service will return home. There are some who feel
that all fathers should be released at once. The parents of
young men whose education has been interrupted feel that they
should be given an immediate opportunity to resume their studies.
Others feel equally strongly that first consideration should be
given to men who are needed in certain occupations at home.
The armed forces have been reduced as fast as possible.
For many reasons it is impossible for every member of the armed
forces to be discharged promptly.
First, there is the enormous size of the task involved.
NARA
Second, there is the fact that our Nation must assume
its full share of responsibility for keeping the peace and destroy-
ing the war-making potential of the hostile nations that were bent
on keeping the world in a state of warfare.
Already the critical need for troops overseas has begun
to slow down the Army's rate of demobilization. This is not an
arbitrary action on the part of the Army. It is an inescapable
need of the nation in carrying out its obligation in this dif-
ficult and critical postwar period in which we must devote all
necessary strength to building a firm foundation for the future
peace of the world. The future of our country now is as much
at stake as it was in the days of the war.
To satisfy myself that demobilization is being carried
out with all possible speed, I have reviewed once more the Army
and Navy procedures. I am convinced, as every other American who
examines the record must be, that the services are carrying out
demobilization with commendable efficiency and with justice
to all concerned.
The task has been enormous. The Army has now released
well over half the 8,300,000 in service when the European fighting
stopped. More than four and three-quarter million men and women
have passed through the separation centers.
The Navy has pursued an equally vigorous policy in
speeding the separation of its men and women. Out of a peak
strength of 3,500,000, the Navy has already returned close to a
million and a quarter to civilian life. From the Marine Corps,
which totaled nearly 486,000, more than 183,000 have been dis-
charged. The Coast Guard, with 180,000 men, has demobilized
over 74,000.
These numbers are staggering when you consider what
they mean in ships, in extensive staffs required to carry out
processing before discharge, and in rail transport sufficient to
carry these soldiers, sailors and marines to their homes once they
reach our ports. The wonder is not that some of our soldiers,
sailors and marines are not yet home but that SO many are already
back at their own firesides.
There are, it is true, parents who are still waiting for
the return of their sons. There are young men in service who are
anxious for the chance to find jobs and establish homes. There are
others eager to continue their education. There are wives and
children impatiently awaiting the return of their husbands and
fathers. To prefer the members of any single group, however appeal-
ing their claim, would be to ignore our obligation to give first
consideration to the individuals who have made the heaviest sacrifices.