Analysis: The Public's Responsibility Toward Veterans
"Analysis: The Public's Responsibility Toward Veterans" examines the evolving role of society in supporting military veterans returning from conflict throughout American history. The document highlights significant shifts in governmental policies from the post-Civil War era, where veterans were promised lifelong pensions, to the more rehabilitative approach adopted after World War I, which favored vocational rehabilitation over direct financial benefits. It also discusses the impact of World War II on public perception and policy-making, particularly with the introduction of the GI Bill, which aimed to ease the transition for returning soldiers.
Major General Norman T. Kirk, the Army's surgeon general during World War II, emphasized the importance of fostering self-sufficiency among veterans rather than focusing on charity or pity. He argued that while sympathy is well-intentioned, it can undermine veterans' dignity and independence. Instead, Kirk called for public acceptance and support that acknowledge the skills and resilience of returning soldiers. The overview explores the complexities of readjustment for veterans, including the mental health challenges they face, and underscores the essential role of community support in facilitating their reintegration into civilian life. Overall, this analysis invites reflection on the collective responsibility of society to advocate for and assist veterans in a meaningful, empowering way.
Analysis: The Public's Responsibility Toward Veterans
Date: October 12, 1944
Author: Norman T. Kirk
Genre: speech
Summary Overview
The United States' approach to assisting soldiers returning from war shifted during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Following the Civil War, Union soldiers were promised lifelong pension payments; during World War I, the emphasis shifted from cash benefits to vocational rehabilitation. The issue of how to provide the most effective support for returning veterans was still hotly debated during World War II.
More than sixteen million Americans fought in World War II, and many returned from the battlefields with physical or mental disabilities. In this speech, Major General Norman T. Kirk—then surgeon general of the United States Army—discussed the medical care injured soldiers receive from the military before returning home. He acknowledged the desire of the American public to assist returning soldiers, but he emphasized the need for a sense of resilience and self-sufficiency. He argued that pity and charity damage soldiers' recovery and believed rehabilitation was the best approach to help disabled soldiers return to civilian life.
Defining Moment
Following the Civil War, the US government promised a lifelong pension to soldiers of the Union army. But by the early twentieth century, the government was feeling the financial strain of these payments. As the beginnings of World War I stirred in Europe, Americans became concerned about potential US involvement, which, in turn, led to concern that the pension model was not sustainable if the number of war veterans were to grow significantly. Additionally, reformers suspected that some returning veterans falsely claimed disabilities in order to collect benefits and avoid working, and that the system favored those who could afford expensive attorneys to help them secure these benefits.
As a result, the federal government tried a different approach for soldiers returning from World War I: rather than pay disability benefits to injured veterans, the government emphasized occupational therapy and vocational rehabilitation. The plan was to help soldiers either return to their prior jobs or qualify for new ones, in hopes that doing so would strengthen the economy and create a more efficient workforce.
Even though the United States was officially involved for only a short time, close to five million Americans served in World War I, and approximately two hundred thousand suffered permanent injuries. To address the growing needs of veterans, in 1917, Congress established disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and insurance programs, along with three agencies to administer these programs. However, many veterans struggled to rejoin civilian life and find employment, particularly as the Great Depression took hold.
The United States officially joined World War II in December 1941, following Japan's attack on the Pearl Harbor military base in Hawaii. More than sixteen million Americans served in the military during World War II, and many returned from the battlefields with physical or mental disabilities that made readjustment to civilian life difficult.
The large number of returning veterans, combined with the lessons learned following World War I, raised another call for reform. Concerns about widespread unemployment and social unrest among returning veterans led to the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, often known as the GI Bill. This bill established support systems for returning soldiers, including assistance with expenses to attend college or vocational school, low-interest mortgages for purchasing homes, low-interest farm and small business loans, and a living allowance for unemployed veterans. The bill also established veterans' hospitals and vocational rehabilitation programs.
Despite general agreement that the federal government should provide support systems for returning veterans, public opinion was sharply divided on the most appropriate way to achieve this. Speaking at the New York Times Conference in New York City on October 12, 1944, Major General Norman T. Kirk, then the surgeon general (or chief medical officer) of the United States Army, delivered a speech sharing his thoughts on how the United States should care for returning soldiers.
Author Biography
Norman T. Kirk was born on January 3, 1888, in Rising Sun, Maryland. He graduated from medical school at the University of Maryland in 1910, and served as resident physician at the University Hospital in Baltimore for two years. In 1912, he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Army's Medical Reserve Corps, thus beginning his career as a military doctor.
During World War I, Kirk specialized in bone and joint surgery; while at the Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, DC, he treated nearly one-third of the amputees returning from World War I battlefronts. After the war, he served as chief of surgical service at several hospitals in the United States and the Philippines, and, as World War II loomed, he worked with the supply division of the Surgeon General's Office to ensure proper supplies for treating soldiers wounded in battle.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Kirk surgeon general of the United States Army. Kirk was credited with establishing preventative health-care programs and emergency treatment protocols for the battlefield that dramatically increased the survival rate of frontline soldiers during the war. He served in this position until his retirement on June 1, 1947. Kirk died in Washington, DC, on August 13, 1960.
Document Analysis
Kirk begins his speech by describing the medical care delivered to frontline soldiers in times of war. As the surgeon general of the United States Army, he reassures his audience that soldiers receive the best possible care for their injuries, both on the battlefield and after they return to the United States. He acknowledges that many men return from war with physical and mental disabilities. However, he implores the public to recognize that these injured men need support rather than sympathy or charity.
Specifically, Kirk explains that, throughout the recovery process, injured soldiers receive encouragement and support from all the medical personnel they encounter. Their spirits are high because they survived a life-threatening injury, and they have learned how to operate a prosthetic limb or handle disfigurement. With the help of the Army's well-trained medical staff, soldiers regain the self-sufficiency necessary to rejoin the civilian world.
However, Kirk notes that once they leave the military, disabled soldiers are often looked upon with pity when they try to rejoin civilian life. He understands that the public only wants to help soldiers who appear to be in need, but he explains that misplaced charity can actually hurt more than help. He insists that, while it is “humanitarian to subsidize him in accordance with his handicap,” it is important to recognize that the former soldier is intelligent and highly trained. Veterans value their independence and pride themselves on their self-sufficiency. He argues that passing legislation and granting funds to disabled soldiers is not the most important ingredient in helping them return to living their lives, but rather the acceptance and support of their friends, relatives, and the public at large.
Kirk also explains that many soldiers returning from battle experience “psychoneurosis” as a result of the stresses and strains of living in combat zones. They work and fight long hours, sleep in uncomfortable quarters, and often have only army rations to eat. These conditions can make even the strongest man crack under the pressures of a combat situation; and as Kirk points out, some men enlist already struggling with mental difficulties, so the stress of combat only makes these situations worse.
Finally, Kirk outlines the “reconditioning” program, newly established by the US military for soldiers returning from World War II battlefronts. The program includes physical, educational, and occupational therapy, and is designed to help returning soldiers reintegrate into civilian life in the best physical and mental state possible. This might mean teaching soldiers how to adapt to their old jobs given their limitations, or helping them learn a new skill and transition into a new occupation.
Glossary
ambulant: moving from place to place; able to walk
ballyhoo: clamor or outcry
invalid: an infirm or sickly person; someone too weak to care for themselves
Bibliography and Additional Reading
Altschuler, Glenn C., and Stuart M. Blumin. The GI Bill: A New Deal for Veterans. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
“GI Bill: History and Timeline.” US Department of Veterans Affairs. US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Johnson, Greg. “Rehabilitating Soldiers after War.” Penn Current. U of Penn., 15 Dec. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
Morin, Rich. “The Difficult Transition from Military to Civilian Life.” Pew Research: Social and Demographic Trends. Pew Research Center, 8 Dec. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
“Norman T. Kirk.” Office of Medical History. US Army Medical Dept., 20 Feb. 2009. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
“Primary Sources: GI Bill.” The National WWII Museum. National WWII Museum, 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.
“Veterans Benefit History.” Now. PBS, 13 May 2005. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.