Army Pay? Memorial Day question....

[Stig / Major Tom]

At breakfast my daughter was discussing pay for young people these days - and asked me how much I was paid as a young Army medic in the 60's.
So, went digging for my one remaining Army folder. It contained some pay records.

Some might recall that I entered the Army as a conscientious objector, and was trained as a combat medic in Texas.
Point being here is that my country, while being pleased at my participation, would be happy to see me go after 24 months....I could not stay longer, or reenlist. I wasn't so much an embarrassment - as a administrative headache.
Pay grade - E/5 one+ year in service.

The Army paid me monthly:
"Basic Pay"...………………...$231.60
"Foreign duty"...……………...$13.00

"Incentive Pay -HFP" ...…$65.00 (love this one - my "incentive" was to keep moving & stay low. "HFP"=hostile fire pay)

"Quarters Allowance/ 1 Dep"...$90.60 ( one dependent - I issued myself a wife. She was to live on that $90.60)

minus FICA of $11.12

We were rolling in $389.08 a month.
Figure thirty 8 hr days at War = @$1.62 an hour!

Amazing - I think minimum wage in the USA was a $1.65 in those days.
The U.S. Army is very, very good at their sums ~~~ having figured out how to pay combat soldiers the same as a McDonald's hamburger flipper.

But, never heard anyone complain about our pay. Sure, the 'Charles, the officers, the bugs, heat, rain, the ARVN, malaria pills, politicians - but never the pay.

Happy Memorial Day folks....


Took the pup for a sunrise walk today. Fishermen were out, too.


Stig

[Neil955i]

A different world back then Tom pay-wise. My first full time job back in 1970 paid £450 per annum! Mind you, in those days you could buy a house where I lived for £700. No houses anywhere here at 2x average salary nowadays. Progress eh?


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[CROSSBOLT]

A different world back then Tom pay-wise. My first full time job back in 1970 paid £450 per annum! Mind you, in those days you could buy a house where I lived for £700. No houses anywhere here at 2x average salary nowadays. Progress eh?
You just pointed out what happens when the government is taken by bankers removing value of the currency. That is, the intrinsic value of currency made from precious metal. Debased currency will fail and has every time since Nimrod.


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[dan v.]

E6 with 5-1/2 years service: not married so no housing or subsistance allowance.  $9,000-/year in 1980.

Got out, went back in reserves after college.  Lots of the junior guys complained about their pay - and they got housing and subsistance married or not!  Counseled many of them on how things were not so rosy on the outside...one young man insisted that he would be better off at $10- hr. "back home".  In about a year he was back - told me I was correct.

I thank you all for the retirement I now get.  It was my pleasure to have served over 30 years.  (And I receive more than the $9k/yr I used to get.....40 years - man, the time went fast!)

[Stig / Major Tom]

E6 with 5-1/2 years service: not married so no housing or subsistance allowance.  $9,000-/year in 1980.

Got out, went back in reserves after college.  Lots of the junior guys complained about their pay - and they got housing and subsistance married or not!  Counseled many of them on how things were not so rosy on the outside...one young man insisted that he would be better off at $10- hr. "back home".  In about a year he was back - told me I was correct.

I thank you all for the retirement I now get.  It was my pleasure to have served over 30 years.  (And I receive more than the $9k/yr I used to get.....40 years - man, the time went fast!)

Dan, thank you for your service - no need to thank us for your well earned retirement.
It was always my understanding that many of the military specialties could be parlayed into much higher pay in the civilian world.
My father absolutely loved the Air Force - and was somewhat lost for a few years after he had to step out after 30 years.
At the age of 50 ….he was too young. And all his hunting, fishing and RVing all over 49 states just did not compare to 30 years as a flight crew member.
He passed at the Wright Patterson AFB hospital with complications from senility. The AF medical personnel treated the Colonel, and our family, with respect - even in his confused state - and sent riflemen and a bugler to his funeral.
Stig

[Kansas kymco]

Stig is  it not  customary for all miltary to get a rifle salute and  bugler funeral? I remember it from dad's funeral and them handing me the folded flag from his coffin. 

[dan v.]

That benefit is available to all Veterans who served honorably.  Not all take advantage of it, nor in some cases are the Honor Guard available. 

A couple of months before I retired I was asked - volunteered as it was to take a few of our crew for a service of a retired Chief at Fort Custer National Cemetery.  The 21 gun salute by the volunteer Honor Guard and my presentation of the Flag to the widow was one of the coolest things I had experienced in all my years of service.  It kinda put a capstone on my career.

[SemperVee]

  Retired Marine here.  As I remember I made enough in  the early 1970's to make my new 1973 VW beetle car payment with one pay check and the other to take my soon to be wife on a date, pay my car insurance and get a motel room for one night! 

[Stig / Major Tom]

That benefit is available to all Veterans who served honorably.  Not all take advantage of it, nor in some cases are the Honor Guard available. 

A couple of months before I retired I was asked - volunteered as it was to take a few of our crew for a service of a retired Chief at Fort Custer National Cemetery.  The 21 gun salute by the volunteer Honor Guard and my presentation of the Flag to the widow was one of the coolest things I had experienced in all my years of service.  It kinda put a capstone on my career.

Joined Vietnam Veterans of America chapter 97, in Dayton, for a time when the Wall went up. We did funerals, flag raisings, Mem. &  Veteran's Day events and parades.
For a few I was needed to carry an M-16, which was a little different for this old C.O.😊  - rather than just serving as the chaplain and the medic.
The difference in the color guard for my father's funeral was that all members were active duty.

An FYI for all: if you lost or never received your medals from Vietnam, you have a one-time replacement option from St Louis. Just tell them you had a house fire, if need be.
My Marine son did this for me years ago, as a Veteran's Day surprise....after I answered that a Zippo and my 2 pr of bandage scissors constituted my war memorabilia.
Discovered a pres. unit citation and 2 bronzes w/V that I wasn't aware of.
Hopefully your records survived that big fire in St Louis.
Stig