During World War II, there were tons of issues with the healthiness of recruits. Sadly, this was because of all the malnutrition of children (and adults) that occurred during The Depression.
This did not really effect the war effort during WWII. Fascinatingly, the US never really fully mobilized for WWII, and could have easily fielded an output 2-3x higher than it did. One of the more famous pieces of data is a survey at the end of the war that asked “did you feel you had to make significant sacrifices in your life or living style during the war”. 7 out of 10 said no.
Also, the US has always ramped up INCREDIBLY quickly during war. It’s a testament to the latent, incredible power of democracies. For example, it was just 6 months between Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, where 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk and hundreds of planes / pilots destroyed.
This did not really effect the war effort during WWII. Fascinatingly, the US never really fully mobilized for WWII, and could have easily fielded an output 2-3x higher than it did. One of the more famous pieces of data is a survey at the end of the war that asked “did you feel you had to make significant sacrifices in your life or living style during the war”. 7 out of 10 said no.
Also, the US has always ramped up INCREDIBLY quickly during war. It’s a testament to the latent, incredible power of democracies. For example, it was just 6 months between Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway, where 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk and hundreds of planes / pilots destroyed.