Hot!Point System Used for Demobilization after WWII

I have read about the point system established at the end of WWII to determine which military personnel were eligible for return to the US for immediate discharge.  85 points were needed, following these general guidelines:
each month in service = 1 point
each month in service overseas = 1 point
combat award (including medal and battle stars) = 5 points
dependent child under age 18 = 12 points
 
My two questions are:
1.  Was the criteria the same for the Army Air Corps?
2.  Were gunners awarded points if they had been given credit for damaging or destroying an enemy plane?
 
Thanks,
AL

When I was discharged I needed only 50 points.

Al;
Actually the point system was started before the end of the war.  It was started sometime during the summer of 1945.  I returned from 3 years in the SW Pacific in March of '45.  After furloughs and other times I finally arrived at my new station, Page Field, Fla.  the last Sun. of April.  Don't remember the date but we were advised that the point system had been established, and if we had 60 points we were elegible for discharge.  A T/Sgt. friend who had returned from 2-1/2 years in Karachi, India and I both had 116 points - far more than needed.  Just one problem, our MOS numbers were frozen.  They weren't letting and Photo Lab Techs out.  Don't know why there always seemed to be a shortage of us guys.  But once the war was over and they no longer needed you, it didn't take long to get rid of you.  They dropped the Bomb Aug. 6,  they handed me an honorable discharge and certificate of appreciation Sept. 5.
Jack Heyn, Photo Section
3rd Bomb. Group.

I am having difficulty understanding your statement suggesting the Pacific Theater was short of men and materials promised but never received. Can you expand on this a little more? What promises were made etc.

Bill;
[[[[I am having difficulty understanding your statement suggesting the Pacific Theater was short of men and materials promised]]]]
I don't know about the promised B.S., but I can damn well tell you about the shortage of men and materials.  My 3rd Bomb. Gp. was an A-20 outfit stationed at Savannah Army Air Base Dec. 7, 1941.   Seven weeks later we were on the USS Ancon sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.  We arrived in Brisbane Feb. 25, '42 with a 1st Lt. Gp. Commander, four 1st Lt. Sq. Commanders -- and no airplanes.  The powers were in a hurry to get the oldest unit in the Air Corp in the fray -  just one problem, they failed to provide us with aircraft.  All of our ranking officers and aircraft were left in Savannah to form a new group, and pull sub patrol.
 
In March we recieved 25 A-24s destined for the  P.I., and put them in the 8th Sq.  We begged, borrowed or stole 25 B-25s from the Dutch and split them between the 13th and 90th Sq.  The 89th Sq. went begging for a while, finally recieved a few A-20s.  We pulled our first A-24 mission Mar. 31; our first B-25 mission April 5 (Easter Sunday) and started 41 months of continuous combat duty.  FINALLY - 2 years later in Jan. 1944 we  got a full compliment of 4 Sqs. of A-20s.
 
For a guy that wasn't there the Dutchman seems to know a lot about conditions we were living in.  New Gunina is no tropical paradise, and you damn well better sleep under a mosquito net, but our food wasn't all that bad, and we never had a problem with clean water to drink.  Altho at 90 degree temps we had to run film thur an alum bath before delvelping it.
Jack Heyn, Photo Section
3rc Bomb Gp.

Thank you for the history lesson regarding promises of Air Force personnel and equipment for the war in the Pacific following victory in Europe. That promise was underway prior to VJ-Day. Following my return from the UK, I was sent to a re-classification center to determine if I would be sent to the Pacific or be assigned to another base in the United States. The combat time I completed with the 8TH Air Force qualified me for the latter but others were headed for the Pacific when that war ended. I don't think anyone would question the fact that The Pacific War was won by the personnel who had been there a long time. They did a terrific job under very difficult circumstances.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dutchman;
You just like to see your self in print.  Ever since you got on this Forum a year or so ago, you use up too damned much space on the Forum.
Jack Heyn, Photo Sectio
3rd Bomb Gp.

I feel that my original question about the point system for discharge has been hijacked.  Can anyone add more information about how Army Air Corps men were discharged after WWII?
 
However, in regard to the other topic at hand--the war in Europe versus the Pacific--you might be interested in this explanation given by Gen. George C. Marshall in the documentary "Two Down and One to Go":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-6VPAjDhRK-4
 
AL

Al
A short cut for your request would be to "google".  Type in "GI discharge point system WWII".
You were polite in saying your post was "hijacked". It appears to have been "Ba------dized. 

Thanks, Yunch!  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any information about how the point system was changed to accommodate flying combat missions instead of serving on the ground.
 
AL

Al,
The point system was addressed here eons ago. Now to the senior moments, gray matter between the ears etc. It did not matter if you served in the air,on the ground, pounded the ground, served on the sea by the sea, the points were equal.
What did enter the equation was the following for points/extra points; The time served in the service, marital status, children, and millitary awards, Bronz Star, Silver Star etc. Purple Heart. I do recall that the latter was 5 extra points. Someone else may have a more intelligent reply.

Al,
The initial name of the "point system" is Adjusted Service Rating (ASR). A link with information about it is:
http://users.skynet.be/jeeper/point.html
Bill

PA.Dutchman

George Marshall, Roosevelt and his advisors decided that the war in Europe was their first priority, everything was to be focused on fighting and ending the war in Europe. Then the Pacific would come next, until then the Pacific Units were to fight the best war they could and hold off the Japanese as best they could.  

 
The Allies' "Europe First" strategy is well documented and wasn't even a secret during the war. The early priorities were to 1) keep Australia in the war and 2) keep China in the war. The campaign for Guadalcanal demonstrated the understanding of air power in the conflict. A Japanese base there would threaten the supply lines to Australia so the U.S. attacked with what they had, Marines with Springfields. More sailors were lost in the sea actions than Marines and soldiers on land. But the key was the airfield. The U.S. Navy saw the Pacific as their war. 
Douglas MacArthur understood the need to extend his "bomber line" and his island hopping strategy was defined by air power that led to the liberation of the Philippines. He, of course, constantly hammered his bosses for more of everything. 
IMHO the Pacific war suffered from a Europe First syndrome by the media. Newspapers, magazines, and a few broadcasters dispatched correspondents to the battle fronts for news and features, but what journalist wants to go to New Guinea when he can go to London? That's why guys like Andy Rooney and Walter Cronkheit received special training to fly missions with the 8th Air Force, but you didn't find many (any?) going along on B-24s of the 5th. 
To me what is the story here is not so much Europe First (someone had to make a decision), but what the troops did with what they had. Just look at photos of mechanics stripped down to shorts in the jungle maintaining the most technical equipment of the day. Dad was in India as a pilot and still endured jungle rot on his feet for the rest of his life. He spent his own money on any number of medications since the VA didn't consider that a disability.