Canteens were set up, along with small stores offering American treats that were rare for servicemen who had been gone so long. The Navy modified its ships to allow them to take on more personnel but they also added extra amenities to make the voyage more comfortable. Included were civilian ships such as the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth and more than 360 U.S. More than 370 vessels were involved in Operation Magic Carpet. America stepped up, opened its heart and thousands of civilians welcomed the service members into their homes for Christmas. The sudden arrival of so many service members exceeded the railroad’s passenger capacity and more than 250,000 of them were stranded before Christmas. The monthly average for the sealift had been about 435,000 but during December 1945, more than 700,000 troops were brought home. Late in 1945, the operation was given the subset Operation Santa Claus, and an all-out effort was made to get more troops home by Christmas. The Pacific phase began in September 1945 and concluded in September 1946. The European phase of the operation began in June 1945 and ended in February 1946. The enormous task of bringing the troops back home was given the code name Operation Magic Carpet and was run by the War Shipping Administration. Some troops stationed in Europe had been sent home after the surrender of Germany, but most were left in place or readied for transfer to the Pacific theater. Within another four months, the operation effectively concluded with a transport of more than 200,000 sailors and soldiers returning from east Asia.At the end of WW II, the United States had approximately 7.6 million members of its armed forces stationed overseas. In December of 1945 alone, 700,000 troops were transported to the US mainland. Within a month of the first Pacific transports sailing eastward, Operation Magic Carpet was in full swing. Ships not originally equipped to transport servicemen en masse were converted into transports. At the start of the operation, roughly 370 US Navy ships were employed in the Pacific.Īircraft carriers, hospital ships, battleships, and assault transports that had sufficient room were loaded up with as many people as they could carry before heading to the US mainland. This process became known as Operation Magic Carpet, and was overseen by the WSA. In September of 1945, the task of bringing home millions of American military personnel who were no longer needed in the Pacific got underway. USS Saratoga (CV-3) during Operation Magic Carpet, late 1945 Operation Magic Carpet: Bringing the Troops Home Committee to determine the best course of action were established by Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall, and responsibility the implementation of the resulting recommendations fell to the War Shipping Administration (WSA). By mid-1943, nearly a year after the Battle of Midway turned the tide of war in the Allies' favor, the United States military realized it would need a massive effort to bring home the more than eight million troops scattered across all theaters. The effort to bring American servicemen home technically started even before the formal end of the war. While some would remain behind in Japan as occupying forces, the vast majority would eventually need to be repatriated. Millions Went to Warįrom early 1942 to 1945, the United States had been shipping troops out across the Pacific to take part in the fight against the Japanese. A massive repatriation effort, known as Operation Magic Carpet, soon got underway. Throughout the Pacific and east Asia, American soldiers, sailors, and Marines who had fought tirelessly against Japan awaited the long journey home. For many, however, there was still the issue of returning back home. After nearly four years of brutal fighting, the men and women of the United States military were ready to put an end to the war effort and get back to a normal way of life. As the summer of 1945 drew to a close, Americans were rejoicing as news of the victory in the Pacific swept across the nation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |