20. Operation Magic Carpet was the beginning of American demobilization
Throughout 1946 and for the years beyond, the American economy shifted from war production to commercial production. The passenger railroads enjoyed their peak period, which began to decline shortly after Magic Carpet was completed. In 1945 the United States had over 12 million men and women in uniform, by the end of June, 1947, only 1,566,000 were on active duty in the American military, all branches inclusive. The US Navy scrapped or deactivated all but four of the 24 battleships which had been in commission at the end of World War II. In March, 1947, the draft was suspended, and the United States military became all-voluntary for less than a year, when inadequate enlistments caused it to be reinstated.
Despite the reinstatement of the draft, the active duty military of the United States remained at the level of about 1.5 million through the remainder of the 1940s, despite the creation of an independent United States Air Force in 1948. Many of the facilities abandoned by American units during Operation Magic Carpet were retaken by nature, others by local authorities, and the ruins of some, in Europe and in the Pacific, can still be seen. What it cost taxpayers through the discarding of salvageable materials is impossible to ascertain. Magic Carpet was a World War II operation which had but one goal in the eyes of the people and the servicemen involved – getting the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, home as quickly as possible.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“Operation Magic Carpet”. Stewart B. Milstein, Universal Ship Cancellation Society. 2008 Pdf, online
“War brides recall coming to US aboard the Queen Mary after WWII”. Coleen Sullivan, KABC. November 9, 2015
“The Army ‘Mutiny’ of 1946”. R. Alton Lee, The Journal of American History. December, 1966
“History of Personnel Demobilization in the United States Army”. John C. Sparrow, Center of Military History, United States Army. 1994
“Introduction: The Cigarette Camps”. The Cigarette Camps, Skylighters.org.
“Camp Lucky Strike: RAMP Camp No. 1”. National WWII Museum .
“Bringing Home The 8 Million Boys After WWII; Operation Magic Carpet”. Elly Farelly, War History Online. June 29, 2016
“Bringing Them Home: Operation Magic Carpet”. Michael Haskew, Warfare History Network. October 1, 2018
“Special Section: War Anniversary”. Staff, All Hands Magazine. December, 1945
“World War II Railroads: The 1940s”. entry, American-Rails.com
“History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 14, Victory in the Pacific”. Samuel Eliot Morrison. 1961
“Ships for Victory”. Frederic C. Lane. 2001
“Army returning 500,000 this month”. George Horne, The New York Times. November 18, 1945
“The GI War Against Japan: American soldiers in Asia and the Pacific during World War II”. Peter Schrijvers. 2002
“USS Saratoga CV-3: An Illustrated History of the Legendary Aircraft Carrier 1927-1946”. John Fry. 1996
“Flying the Hump”. C.V. Glines, Air Force Association Magazine. March, 1991
“Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia”. Bernard A. Cook. 2001