My father was drafted in that year, and he ended the war as a captain training pilots at Fort Benning. He told me a fascinating story about military justice as administered by NCO’s in his days with the 44th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis.
Back when my father was a buck sergeant, things had been disappearing from the barracks. After a few weeks, they caught the soldier who was stealing and took him to the company commander. The captain took a look at the man and said, “This man doesn’t look like a thief!”
The company first sergeant took the soldier back to the barracks, positioned him at the top of the stairs and threw him down the stairs. Then he took him back up to the top and threw him down the stairs again. This went on until the man was covered with blood.
Then the first sergeant took him back to the company commander who said, “Now this man looks like a thief!”