National Affairs: No More 4-Fs?

By the end of World War II, the U.S. armed forces had passed over 6,419,700 4-Fs on the theory that they were not physically fit for general military service. This was a waste of valuable manpower, argued Colonel Warner Bowers, chief surgical consultant for the Army, last week. Most 4-Fs could have been used for less strenuous service behind the lines. His recommendation: abolish the 4-F category, classify such men for special limited duty, defer them until they are needed.