The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II

The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II by David Nasaw

In my mind, American history went from the Great Depression to World War II to the 1950s. This misses out on an entire half-decade of history in the late 1940s. This was a time of transition from active combat to peacemaking and rebuilding abroad. Millions of troops also had to be returned home and reintegrated in society. Those at home had to rapidly adjust to the many changes. This was not an easy process. Just the logistics of getting troops home was a huge challenge. The troops also suffered from many physical and mental injuries. The mental part was barely understood and people were often expected to just get over the trauma. Southern black troops had to return from places where they were considered normal people to places were they were treated as sub-humans. Families had big adjustments as people that were gone for years are now back home. There were significant divorces and challenges adjusting to this new reality.

The book can get a little confusing as it pivots from discussing conditions as they were experienced at the time to reanalysis of conditions based on modern understanding. However, it did bring out some interesting points. Family life was starting to disintegrate. The seeds of the 1960's civil rights movement and counterculture appear to have been sewn during the war. The southerners still held significant influence as they tried to maintain their white supremacy. The many veterans benefits were actually a compromise. There was a desire to extend many of these programs to everyone, but this was quashed in part to appease the south. Black veterans supposedly had access to these programs. However, states controlled implementation leaving those in the south with little opportunity. Nearly a century after the civil war, the experience of slavery was still spreading its claws. 

The post war boom was also not something that was expected. Many expected a recession after the war. It was hard to find jobs for those returning. Most women returned to the home (often willingly), freeing up jobs for returning veterans. Veterans were supposed to be entitled to their previous job. They also received benefits such as tuition coverage and living allowance or unemployment benefits.  (These plans were slowly rolled out and changed over time. Initially, only those that were in school could get college help, but later it was expanded to everyone for 4 years of school.) There was post-war labor unrest that eventually calmed down and led to the post-war boom. There were huge shortages of housing after the war. It took a few tries before a boom in production took place. The divorce boom preceded the baby boom. The path from the end of hostilities to economic boom was far from foreordained, with many veterans suffering in both the short and long term.