John was a little surprised that Bradley was so quick to come up with the idea of inviting famous battle heroes to cheer up the recruits. When he first presented www.biquge.info the "All-American House" plan at a meeting a few days ago, Bradley knew almost nothing about how to apply psychological knowledge to the building of the army.

At that time, John was representing the divisional staff for the first time at a meeting on the plan for the reception, assignment and training of recruits. At that meeting, he made a splash and came up with a plan to make the troops quickly improve their cohesion and combat effectiveness by psychological counseling and adjustment of recruits, which immediately shocked Bradley, Ridgway, and Swain.

In the project, which he named "Home All America," John detailed the psychological problems that recruits might encounter when they were stationed at Camp Claybo. He pointed out that after most recruits leave their hometowns and come to lonely and unfamiliar barracks, homesickness is inevitable. And the serious, boring life in the barracks can also make recruits feel bored, making them demoralized and demoralized.

Therefore, he believes that in order for the troops to form a cohesive force in a short period of time and devote themselves to training with high morale, it is necessary to first help these recruits find a new psychological sustenance, and this "new home" is the 82nd Division. The so-called "All-American Home" refers to the goal of building the All-American Division into a common spiritual home for all officers and men.

Of course, if John had only put forward these purely theoretical things, Bradley and the others would not have been so amazed and admired. The point is, John went on to come up with a series of practical ways to give recruits a sense of family belonging to the 82nd Division.

For example, Lieutenant Colonel Eaton arranged for a group of officers from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee (all of which were recruited by the 82nd Division) to go to the state stations to prepare for them. And accompany them all the way to the Klaebo military camp to eliminate their psychological anxiety caused by leaving their hometown.

For example, a lively welcome ceremony was organized for the recruits at the station, and a brass band was invited from Alexandria to blow and beat all the way, and the recruits were taken from the train station to the barracks like a triumphant welcome hero. From the first day they entered the barracks, they felt a sense of novelty and excitement, and temporarily forgot about their hometown.

Another example is to put a personal information tag on each bed in advance, lay out the quilt and bedding (usually the recruits need to line up to get the bedding themselves), and place a welcome letter from Division Commander Bradley in each person's personal belongings cabinet. Let the recruits have a warm and comfortable rest space as soon as they arrive, without facing cold, empty dormitories and field tents.

In addition, John demanded that the cafeteria must provide hot meals for recruits (which is not as easy as it sounds, especially given the large number of recruits and the uncertain arrival times), and suggested contacting women and nonprofits in Alexandria to invite volunteer social workers to open a makeshift laundry room for recruits to help them wash their laundry that had soiled during the long journey.

In short, all these measures have only one purpose, to create a "home" atmosphere for the recruits as much as possible, so that they know that even if they leave their familiar hometown, there are still people who care about them in the 82nd Division. This will greatly reduce the negative emotions of the recruits, allowing them to face the training life later with a more positive and open mind.

Bradley and Ridgway are veterans and are well aware of the problems that recruits can have in the early days of their enlistment. But before, they had never thought about it from a psychological point of view (at present, the US military has not yet recognized the impact of psychological state on soldiers, and only military chaplains occasionally shoulder the role of some psychological counselors).

Therefore, as soon as John's plan came out, they had the feeling of being empowered and suddenly opened. Bradley exclaimed several times in a row, "Amazing! After that, the plan was immediately approved.

In fact, the reason why John has to spend a lot of time and energy to promote this "National House" project under such a tight logistical reform work is that he has his own small calculations.

Although he had only been in office for a week, John already had a clear understanding of his position in the 82nd Division. He knew very well that he had no advantage in front of Bradley's people, whether it was engaging in military training or commanding operations. Now that he has positioned a breakthrough in logistics work, his goal is to be a good "wet nurse" of the 82nd Division.

However, John's ambition is not only limited to providing supplies for the troops, he is not only a "wet nurse" who can not only replenish blood, but also help the troops improve their attributes and eliminate negative status, somewhat similar to the combination of the political commissar and the logistics minister. The "Home of America" program is John's first step towards achieving this goal.

According to John's plan, after the situation of this group of recruits has stabilized and they have a certain psychological sense of belonging to the 82nd Division, he will further implement the second plan: to enhance the cohesion of the big family of the 82nd Division by creating a sense of common honor.

In this follow-up plan, there is a content of inviting famous combat heroes to meet with recruits face-to-face. I didn't expect Bradley to draw inferences so quickly and think of it with him.

However, in terms of invitations, John has a more suitable candidate for the 82nd Division. "Omar, Major Nicholson (the father of DC Comics) is very popular among young people, but when it comes to our 82nd Division, there is another person who is more suitable, but it is not very easy to please."

"Who is going to listen, who is such a big name, even you can't move?" Bradley came interested.

"Sergeant York, how's it going, it's big enough!"

John's words first made Bradley's eyes light up, and then he frowned again.

To Bradley's excitement, Sergeant York was a good fit. Not to mention the fact that the 82nd Division had only been reconstituted for a few months, during World War I, it was also a meritorious unit that participated in the battles of Lorraine, Saint-Miel and Meuse-Argon. Sergeant Alvin York, of Company G of the Division's 328th Regiment, is a legendary combat hero who is a household name in the United States.

How legendary is this Sergeant York, who led the remaining eight or nine soldiers of his squad to beat a battalion of German infantry in an encounter. Not only did he magically take out 20 of his enemies with 21 bullets, but he also defeated his opponents and captured 132 Germans (including a major).

His heroic deeds caused a global sensation at the time, and the British, French, and Italian capitals awarded him high-ranking medals, and in 1922, the U.S. Congress officially awarded him the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for a military man.

Born as a soldier (the sergeant was promoted after that encounter), with outstanding combat achievements and a high reputation, he was also a direct senior of the 82nd Division, and it was only fitting that he could invite Sergeant York to communicate with the recruits. Not to mention how much combat experience can be learned from him, the key is that his legendary experience can give the 82nd Division a layer of heroism and greatly enhance the pride and collective sense of honor of the recruits.

And to the headache of both John and Bradley, this York sergeant was not so easy to invite. As a famous combat hero, it is not an exaggeration to say that he "kills like hemp" on the battlefield. However, he was also a devout believer, and his heart was always against war and killing.

After World War I, Sergeant York returned to his hometown and lived a quiet idyllic life on 385 acres of land awarded to him by the Tennessee State Council (the state council gave him an honorary colonel), refusing to accept outside interference. The Fight for Freedom committee had been reaching out to him to gain his public support, but to no avail.

"It's a good fit, but how sure are you that you can please him?" Bradley asked

"I'm not sure at all, for so many years, how many people want to write a book about him and make a movie, but none of them succeeded." John's biggest headache is to meet a person like Sergeant York who has no desires, and there is really no place to start.

"Fortunately, he was just a pacifist, and he was not the same thing as an isolationist or a Nazi supporter." John remembers that Sergeant York was persuaded by the military to agree to use his deeds to make a movie to inspire the American people to fight fascism. The Hollywood actor who played Sergeant York also won an Oscar for the film.

"Why don't you try it yourself, Omar?" John felt that Sergeant York might be able to sell Bradley a face.

"I'll think about it." Bradley was obviously not sure, but he didn't want to just give up, and he had to try it if it didn't work out.