how were the soldiers in ww2 get paid by the army?
did they give the soldiers cheques so they could send home to the families?
or was it deposited in a special army account of somesort?

I beleive, just off the top of my head, that they were paid in cash. In some areas I think they may have been paid with a military pay certificate, which was like dollars, but it could also be used, accepted, and circulated by both US personnel and civillians in occupied/liberated area until that particular area had normal currency again.

That way soldiers could pay for goods and services in civilian areas and those civillians could then inturn, purchase things from soldiers or army units. That way there was a two way medium between the soldiers and civilians.

I may be off on that though, this would be a good area for research.

Nowdays it's all direct deposit.

"The Eagle Flies Today" was the general announcement for payday, the "flies" usually being surplanted with an expression for a bodily function.

We were paid in cash; and if we so desired, we could have the government withold some of our pay and send it to our family or designated recipient. Overseas, we were paid with coin of the realm, e.g., Pounds Sterling in the UK, Francs in France, Military Scrip in Germany, Lira in Italy, Turkey, and Libya. There was a special Dependent allotment for enlisted men, the soldier losing about $5 to $10 of his pay and the government adding enough to make the allotment about $60 - not a fortune, but enough for basic necessities, back in 1940-45.

LongJohn

very educational, even if I didn't understand "flies" part fully thank you for posting it. misako

Well Misako it would mean that the boys could go to pay a visit to the eeerrrrhhhh...Girls , you know money , booze and Girls...

so the Flie is a part of the trousers and the soldiers Eagle is behind it so...money , booze... girls....
I've to stay correct you know , but I think you'll understand now



Currahee !!!!!!!!!!!!


Mark W.

that would be the last thing on my mind, how i'm getting my money if i was fighting in a war.
so they did some sort of direct deposit?
i like the "flies" notion, thats funny.
hehe

..................................yes I understand. I feel very thick but then English isn't my first language..........appreciate your explanation . I won't ask anymore about it

mark mark mark

(american troops visit eeerrrrhhhh....girls.) i am crushed, i am sooo upset, i am laughing so hard that i can't stand it.

Katie, I'm glad you are laughing at Mark's explanation, not at my stupidity

Ladies and gentlemen, please forgive me for being so obtuse. The term, in GI-speak, was "The Eagle S***s Today." Enlisted men stood in a pay line in Alphabetical order, so in 1944 I was always wayyyy back in the line. The Pay Clerk and Pay Officer (armed with a .45) sat at a table, usually in a separate room, with a big box of pay envelopes, the envelopes already having been filled with cash before Pay Call (a bugle call) announced the happy event. Each man stepped up to the table, saluted the Payroll Officer and announced their name and rank. After receiving their pay envelop, they signed the pay roll (a term adopted by the civilian world), stepped back one pace, saluted the Pay Officer, did an about-face and left the room.

Pay for a Private in 1940 was $21 per month, encouraging the song and saying, "Twenty-one dollars a day once a month." Congress raised that to $50 in 1942.

The Pay grades shown below were the basic pay per month for each indicated grade, as established in 1942. The pay grades were the same for both the Navy and Army, the Marines being part of the Navy received pay on the same Navy Pay Grade as shown here. "Rated" means being given additional pay for Ratings such as Aircrewman, Pilot, Parachutist, etc. This might help you appreciate that the special Dependent Allotment of $60 per months went a long way, and that a reduction of $10 a month from a soldier's pay took away a big chunk of his pocket money:

Grade Pay per Month Class or Rating

1 $138 Chief petty officers, permanent appointment. (First Sergeant)
1A $126 Chief petty officers, acting appointment. (Master Sergeant)
2 $114 Petty officers, first class. (Tech Sergeant)
3 $96 Petty officers, second class. (Staff Sergeant)
4 $78 Petty officers, third class. (Sergeant)
5 $66 Nonrated men, first class. (Corporal)
6 $54 Nonrated men, second class. (Private First Class)
7 $50 Apprentice seamen. (Private)

Men could receive additional pay in some circumstances:

Men on duty where quarters or rations were not furnished were granted a daily allowance of $2.75 to $5.00 a day, depending on their station.
For awards of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross or Navy Cross, $2.00 per month was added to the man's pay.
For each three years of service, base pay increased 3%, to a maximum of a 50% increase.
After one year's service, a $35.00 clothing allowance was granted, paid in quarterly installments of $8.75.

Hope this helps,

LongJohn

actually i was laughing at the concept of american troops, these fine upstanding young men, doing this, as i know they do. more to the point i am laughing because i remember a story my uncle told me once about something that happened in korea. during the korean war one of the men in his squadron had visited a local (professional Girl) and had got VD. well this same man later got a shot and took care of the problem. but before doing so he visited another girl and give her VD. he forgot that he had give this girl VD and a few months later while a little drunk he (you got it he reinfected imself) his commander was given the medical report. and a certain first sgt (my uncle) had this man standing tall before him.

i have another funny story about this subject but i better leave it to a private message.

LongJohn,
Thank you for that information. I never knew that until now. Thanks for the education.
Hoobler and Muck fan

H&M fan,

My pleasure.

LongJohn

oh wow i never knew that


you mean, for the months that easy was in bastogne, they were also being paid on top of their salary since there were pretty much living in their fox holes?

I do understand all that and I thank you. Very interesting!

muntedkowhai,

Dirt is furnished everywhere. So is rain or snow. No extra pay for Bastogne.


LongJohn

LongJohn ,


I hope you understand I was just joking with my explanation , you know what was the word back in the 40's .


Sorry Girls , but I love to joke sometimes (let's say all the time )


LongJohn , Thaks for the serious explanation Sir (thumbs up), now I understand it better to !

Even if I think My joke is partly true


Currahee !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark W.

Remember boys ....:


"Flies spread disease so keep yours closed !!!"

Glad we are doing a little better now... Sothern California is a little to $$$ to have a family of 4 on $96 a month.

My grandfather said he received $21 a month, but that was later upped.

He had most of it tithed (deducted) and sent to his wife (my grandmother) back home. There was nothing to buy there, anyway, in the foxholes of Germany and Belgium.

Later, post-VE Day, he did use some of it to gamble. He quit playing craps as he kept losing, but did play blackjack and poker and got a tidy little sum. He used that to buy my grandmother a nice gold watch when he got back.

When he got a pass to Paris, his buddies loaded him up with cigarettes (my G didn't and doesn't smoke) because cigs were more valuable there than money.