I have seen mention at various points of the significant societal pressures on young men of draftable age to sign up and serve in various conflicts, and I chose WWII because that is the conflict where, from what I've seen, there was the most societal consensus that it was the right/good/patriotic thing to do. I've also seen mention that people viewed as shirkers - those who refused to sign-up or serve - would be shunned or thought ill of by others.
My question would then be twofold - firstly is that latter portion accurate (ie, were non-serving young men treated poorly during WWII on the assumption they were shirking), and secondly did that same treatment, if it existed, befall 4-Fs and other people who either volunteered or reported when drafted, but were found to be unfit for service?
A final tag-on question if I may, the SSS literature to this day speaks of rigorous "physical, mental, and moral" tests of recruits to ensure they are suitable for the military. What on earth do they mean by "moral" tests? Is this simply a criminal background check, or was it also used for subjective elimination of people the recruiter decided were undesirable? Bearing in mind the 20 year rule, I'd be interested in how it was used during actual drafts, WWII through Vietnam.
What on earth do they mean by "moral" tests? Is this simply a criminal background check, or was it also used for subjective elimination of people the recruiter decided were undesirable?
That sounds vague enough to provide cover for disallowing anyone involved in adultery, homosexuality, gambling, drugs, even drinking, if the powers that be so desired. I hadn't really thought about it until you asked.
Going off of the above, "conduct unbecoming an officer" is a phrase commonly associated with courts-martial. How (if at all) were officers' codes of conduct more strict than those of enlisted men?
In the US, IIRC taking volunteers shut down in 1943. After that you had to be drafted (hey, I read it here on askhistorians).
This solved a lot of social and bureaucratic problems. Men couldn't be shirking. It also meant the SSS didn't have to check to see if someone was in vital warwork: they didn't get drafted. Y'know, aircraft designers, farmers, die cutters. They had a real problem with labour shortages on farms when the first waves signed up, and the remainder went away to the city for high-paying defense plant jobs.
No one was handing out white feathers. People would find out your situation if they didn't know you before judging.
Moral tests were to find people who were moral reprobates like dipsomaniacs and thieves. Those were considered moral problems then. Of course, they were also checking if those claiming to be homosexual were or just trying to dodge.
Sources:
Don't You Know There's a War On?
Let the Good Times Roll
Virtue Under Fire