Category: May, 1945
May 4, 1945 “Nazis’ 1940 Hero Gives Up to Yanks” – (AP) With the 26th Division’s 328th Infantry.
May 5, 1945 -Well, it kinda looks as if the war is really over now. Hitler, Mussolini, Goebbels, all dead………It looks as if we’re the only ones fighting.
May 8, 1945 Sense of relief to know that no longer would we have to dodge German bullets & artillery. Happy Mother’s Day
May 11, 1945 Might be able to get film developed if we get to a place that has electricity. War over, no more “looting.”
May 17, 1945 Points, Points, Points. Usually followed by “How the @#$!!& did you get so many?”
At the core of the U.S. Army Demobilization Plan was the so-called ‘Point System.’ Points were awarded for years of service overseas, medals and other commendations received, campaign battle stars earned, as well as other factors. The magic point total for being sent home was 85. Many men had more points, and those that had the most were slated to be sent home first. Following is a pretty typical point-system computation table (though probably incomplete):
Number of months in the armed forces
Number of months overseas
Number of children
Number of battle stars earned by unit
Purple Heart winner
Soldier’s Medal winner
Bronze Star winner
Presidential Unit Citation winner
1 point per month
1 point per month
12 points per child
5 points per star
5 points per award
5 points per award
5 points per award
5 points per award
May 24, 1945 Moved to a small town. Section here displays American, Czech, and Russian flags – they’re keeping on safe side.
PFC Benjamin Kaplow 