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Author: Trott, Jerry M.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Trott, Jerry M.
A Veterans' Advantage: World War II and Vietnam Compared
Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University, 1989
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Educational Returns; Military Personnel; Occupational Attainment; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Veterans; Vietnam War

Researchers have observed that World War II veterans have an occupational superiority over their non veteran peers. In contrast, research on the occupational attainment of Vietnam era veterans indicates that they have no such advantage. This study examines the origins of the advantage held by World War II veterans and the reasons Vietnam era veterans have no such advantage. A model of military mobilization is presented to explain the differences in World War II and Vietnam era veterans' attainment. The data presented demonstrate that the high levels of mobilization in World War II, the lower levels of mobilization during Vietnam, and the Selective Service's use of student deferments as a tool of public policy heavily influences veterans' occupational attainment. This study argues that as a consequence of these factors, men from higher socioeconomic levels of society were not included in the mobilization during the Vietnam era, whereas during World War II not only were they included, but also, men from lower socioeconomic classes were excluded. The previously assumed occupational difference are not the consequences of military service, but the by-product of different mobilization structures. Data from both the NLS of Young Men and the Occupational Changes in a Generation II survey are used in multiple regression to confirm the model.
Bibliography Citation
Trott, Jerry M. A Veterans' Advantage: World War II and Vietnam Compared. Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University, 1989.