WWII pay scale

[Thorlifter]

Does anyone have a payscale of what the U.S. soldiers made? What about different countries?

TIA

Thor

 

[Thorlifter]

Of course, now that I asked the question and then went searching, I found this......

 

[FLYBOYJ]

2009 Military Pay Chart

A navy chart but shows 2009 pay

 

[mikewint]

wasn't a whole lot different in 1965. i received about $260 per month as an E-7 and $55 per month combat pay though you had to jump through hoops to get that since we were officially not in combat in vietnam

 

[ToughOmbre]

Back in 1971 I got $134.50 a month as an E-1 recruit. Went up to $175.00 as a PFC, around $200.00 as an E-4.

TO

 

[Glider]

In 1973 when I joined the RN as an apprectice the pay was £14.50 every two weeks. Not a lot

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I think I was making around $900 a month when I first joined. Not sure though, I will have to check out an old LES of mine.

Of course that was supplemented by my Cost of Living Allowance for living in Europe, my Separate Rations because I was never able to eat at the Mess Hall during meal hours because I was a flight crew, and my Flight Pay, so it was quite a bit more. When I got out of the military as an E-5 I was clearing over $4000 a month, but that included my base pay, flight pay, separate rations, cost of living allowance and my Housing Allowance because I was married and living off post on the German economy. Still not bad though...

 

[mikewint]

eagle, you did darn good, my "separate rations" were C-rats and K-rats left over from WWII. as the US got more and more into Vietnam the $55 came easier and things were cheap in Vietnam though as more and more troops poured in prices skyrocketed. also saw several guys who bought local end up with some pretty nasty intestinal parasites

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

eagle, you did darn good, my "separate rations" were C-rats and K-rats left over from WWII. as the US got more and more into Vietnam the $55 came easier and things were cheap in Vietnam though as more and more troops poured in prices skyrocketed. also saw several guys who bought local end up with some pretty nasty intestinal parasites

Oh trust me, I ate MRE's and other rations for months at a time when in the desert...

I love the sight of the green eggs and ham in the mud filled tents in the mornings.

My wife actually hooked me up and would send me a footlocker full of food once a month so that me and my friends had better stuff to eat. My favorite was the cans of SPAM and Vienna Sausages that I would heat up on the Pot Belly Stove. Even when the Chow Tent was up and running I could not eat there. The food always seemed to give me the galloping squirts.

I was deployed twice, I did not spend my entire 6 years in a garrison. But I will admit being aviation, we had it much better than others. I at least got to fly out to the larger Air Bases and do some shopping in the PX (Cigs, Chips, Candy, Soda, etc...) while waiting on the Passengers to finish up whatever the hell they were doing.

 

[mikewint]

MREs would have been pure heaven. though we were treated pretty well in the yard and nung villages

the ever present rice beer, had to drink with straws to filter out the rice. jugs would be filled with water, various plants and lots of spit then capped and left to brew a week or so. when they started to empty the women would fill them with more water and the process would begin again. note our tribal bracelets right wrist
the buffalo was killed and a ritual manner by the chief's son while the shaman looks on, this was my adoption dinner
Pleiku, the yards insisted on the local food from these street vendors an acquired an almost fatal parasitic infection

 

[Thorlifter]

@Mike - great pics. Thanks for posting them. Is one of the guys taking a drink you?

@Adler - $4000 a month? WOW. You were doing well. I understand you had a number of additions in there, but that's much higher than I imagine the military paying an E5.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

MREs would have been pure heaven. though we were treated pretty well in the yard and nung villages

the ever present rice beer, had to drink with straws to filter out the rice. jugs would be filled with water, various plants and lots of spit then capped and left to brew a week or so. when they started to empty the women would fill them with more water and the process would begin again. note our tribal bracelets right wrist
the buffalo was killed and a ritual manner by the chief's son while the shaman looks on, this was my adoption dinner
Pleiku, the yards insisted on the local food from these street vendors an acquired an almost fatal parasitic infection

You see that is where you had it nice. We had a Zero Alcohol policy. Artical 15 and removal from flight status if caught.

@Adler - $4000 a month? WOW. You were doing well. I understand you had a number of additions in there, but that's much higher than I imagine the military paying an E5.

Base pay was only about 2400, but the Army gave me an allowance to pay my rent off post, and all the etc. expenses. An E-5 in the United States would not make as much because the Cost of Living in Germany is so much higher.

 

[Messy1]

Great info and stories guys. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mikewint]

Thor, yea, i'm in there, the only one in tiger stripes
Eagle, that's true, the army used to truck in cases of beer and the NCO clubs had anything you wanted. if you were off duty status and no mission coming up no one cared what you did. more than one guy got carried back to his hooch unable to walk. it was the only way to forget, even if only for a little while, what was going on or had just happened.