4-F: Charles Bukowski and World War II (1 Viewer)

I think there's more to the "draft evasion" story than we know, and as usual, Bukowski has distilled a lot of incidents down into a single story. A few years ago I tried to get military records but hit a wall along the way. As it turns out, a lot of military records were lost in a fire in 1973, and I think Bukowski's may have been among them.

His initial interview with the draft board was in New Orleans in the summer of 1943, and they rejected him then. But in the fall of 1943 the Selective Service decided they were letting too many young men off the hook and introduced something called the Medical Survey Program. That allowed them to re-evaluate people they'd previously rejected, and all signs point to that being the reason Bukowski was considered for service again, and when they couldn't find him in New Orleans he was eventually jailed in Philadelphia.

The thing about the Medical Survey Program though, was they instituted it with a lot of unqualified people who would make vague or incomplete reports, so ultimately the program was deemed unsuccessful. The interview Bukowski always refers to was the second one, done in Philadelphia during his jail time, so it was likely part of the Medical Survey Program, which makes it possible that the interview was done by one of the unqualified people who took part in that.

It's all very interesting and I wish I could get more concrete information about Bukowski's interviews, but I get the feeling that information is lost.

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Here's some information about the Medical Survey Program:

MEDICAL SURVEY PROGRAM

Establishment

As the war progressed and the need for manpower grew more imperative, it became more apparent to all concerned that a method of selection which depended solely upon a brief examination at the induction station that obtained only a cross sectional view of a registrant's personality was an ineffective screening procedure. To facilitate more efficient selection, a longitudinal section or history of the individual's past experiences was needed. The only national organization that was in a position to undertake the task of providing the necessary historical data was the Selective Service System. Thus, after considerable groundwork and research, the Medical Survey Program came into being. The organization and operation of this program was outlined in Medical Circular No. 4, of the Selective Service System, issued on 18 October 1943. As was stated in the introduction of that circular:

The Selective Service System has provided this Medical Survey Program to furnish the Armed Forces induction stations with adequate medical, social, and educational histories on each registrant. The Selective Service System and the Armed Forces want to make certain that the greatest possible care is taken, (1) to accept those registrants whose previous medical and social history indicate their ability to adjust themselves under situations of stress, including those who may be termed "borderline" cases; and (2) to reject those registrants whose condition is such as positively indicates physical or mental breakdown, or failure to adjust themselves to the responsibilities of military service after being inducted.

The circular further stated:

Information regarding a registrant's medical and social history as revealed in health, education, employment, and social records is important in properly determining whether a registrant should be accepted or rejected.

Under section 623.33 (d), Selective Service Regulations24 local boards were charged with the responsibility of assembling pertinent information concerning the medical and social history of registrants. In order to provide the necessary personnel to carry out the gathering of such information, an amendment was made on 4 October 1943, to part 603, of the Selective Service Regulations (section 603.85, Appointment and Duties). These regulations provided for a field agent in each local board and, further, provided: "States may request permission to continue using an established medical survey program."

Details of the Medical Survey Program, as described in Medical Circular No. 4, dealt with procedures for obtaining information on the educational background and the medical and social history of the registrants; also, the forms to be used therefor. For the educational history, the form to be used, DSS 214 (Special School Report), contained space for comments by the registrant's past teachers as to his conduct in school, his adjustment or maladjustment in the school community, and other pertinent facts regarding his school career.

Deficiencies

Of the various forms, DSS Form 212 (Medical and Social History) was the most valuable. The completion of this form depended upon the activity of the medical field agent concerned. Although many field agents, especially in the Eastern States, were well qualified and turned in a creditable job, the vast majority were not prepared to accomplish this mission effectively either from the standpoint of training or from a standpoint of their own educational background. Clearly, trained social workers were needed to perform this task, but such personnel were extremely limited in number, and most were already occupied in either governmental or private enterprise. This scarcity of trained social workers constituted the greatest single handicap to the program.

As a direct result of this deficiency, it became apparent that a majority of forms received at induction stations did not contain much useful information. There seemed to be a marked tendency on the part of schoolteachers to indicate their own appraisal of the individual and to make recommendations. For instance, it was not uncommon to receive a school form with a notation, "I don't think John would make a good soldier." Because even under the best conditions it was rarely possible for a psychiatrist to see a registrant at the induction station for a time longer than 4 or 5 minutes, except for questionable cases, the examining psychiatrists came to believe that it was not worthwhile, from a time standpoint, to open the sealed envelopes and sort out the various forms, only to discover, after reading them, that the information sought for was not to be found. Not only were many blank forms received, obviously without any information whatsoever, but examiners objected to the type of data that were forwarded. In this regard, examiners repeatedly stated that factual material was wanted, not opinions of untrained persons who gather the information. This lack of capable field agents was scarcely amendable to correction as time, funds, and facilities were not available for their training.
 
It's kind of the same like the whole Barbara-Frye-story. Some parts are missing, obviously. Letters, dates, facts, whatever. We only have Bukowskis fictional account of the whole story.

Or Jane. Were they married, weren't they? Who knows. Was their living together really that wild and crazy, all the time?

Some parts of Bukowskis personal history simply got lost along the way. Or so it seems.
 
In Sounes book, he states that the second psych assessment takes place in Jail by the prison psychiatrist following which, he is released - as 4-F again. Sounes states his sources for this as being Bukowski's Draft receords and Prison file - ? not sure if this has been overturned by research elsewhere?
 
Okay, in jail.

I'm quite sure Mr Sounes did not find records of the interview or the Medical Survey Program report (if there was one). If he had he would have certainly quoted from it. That's what I was trying to find, the report. The interview. That's what everyone wants to read. Well, I do anyway.
 
I suppose my point was it was done by a pyschiatrist not an underqualified posibly inappropriate person. He was released from Jail with his 4F intact rather fhan face prosecution and possibly further jail time. But I agree,it would make very interesting reading.

* If that is what happened
 
I guess it's hard not to be curious about what really happened. I think the reality of his life was not as interesting as was his writing...
in some cases you only need a couple 65 c tacos to get a good story.
 
He was a fiction writer, and I don't personally care what his real story was, he was an amazing fiction writer. I can't imagine a world in which he wasn't around to tell his stories. I'm sure there probably were some great writers who died in WW2 and subsequent wars without us ever knowing who they were. I'm glad Bukowski wasn't one of them.
 
I think there's more to the "draft evasion" story than we know, and as usual, Bukowski has distilled a lot of incidents down into a single story. A few years ago I tried to get military records but hit a wall along the way. As it turns out, a lot of military records were lost in a fire in 1973, and I think Bukowski's may have been among them.
Interesting you mention military records lost in a fire. This is on quite a tangent... But, I am reading Bill Kreutzmann's recent memoirs/book called "Deal." Kreutzmann is one of the 2 drummers from the Grateful Dead. Anyways, in the mid/late 60's he talks about reporting to the draft board office in San Jose to find it torched to the ground. At the time there were no backups, no databases for people drafted other than a single file somewhere. So, he essentially lucked out of being drafted into the Vietnam war in the sense his file no longer existed at the induction center he was supposed to report to. So at a similar time to when Bukowski's records were lost, perhaps there was a lot of draft office arson occurring in California, and surely around the country. Although it's obviously not the same fire or place, just thought it seemed semi relevant to the idea of how easily lost records once were. Now we've got technology holding onto everything forever
 
Well, being human, psychiatrists can be both under-qualified and inappropriate. I doubt that the shitty old prison there in Philadelphia attracted the best and brightest in their respective fields.
Yeah, I know for a fact as a juvenile probation officer we have psychologists at the "kid jail" who do evals all the time and they may be okay people but the reports? They do too many of them to be very accurate, helpful, insightful, and in the long run, any good at all. Let's not forget the one who, about 2 years ago, got arrested for looking out the window of his office at Family Court at the girls high school while spankin it.
 
the Selective Service decided they were letting too many young men off the hook and introduced something called the Medical Survey Program. That allowed them to re-evaluate people they'd previously rejected, and all signs point to that being the reason Bukowski was considered for service again, and when they couldn't find him in New Orleans he was eventually jailed in Philadelphia...

It boggles my mind what an absolutely insane world that must have been back during the war. Not that it isn't insane now but now it's all invisible. Back then, the insanity was actively shoving all men onto boats with guns. Holy cow, and god bless buk for his service to posterity by staying out of the fray
 

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