THIRTEEN years ago the U.S. was at the peak of history's biggest demobilization of armed men. In a twelve-month period, no fewer than 10 million soldiers, sailors and marines charged through U.S. discharge centers, gleefully but uncertainly eyed themselves in civvies (which seemed ungainly, loose) and tried to pick up the tricky cadence of life in a competitive society. The homecoming was fraught with misgivings: never before had so many been away from normal life for so long. Could they ever catch up? Could they ever repair their "interrupted lives"?
Economist Sumner Slichter wrote that "in the opinion of many persons" millions...
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