It's the number of points that soldiers had to earn before they could be sent home from Europe. The war in Europe was over after Germany surrendered but was still going on against Japan and would for several more months. Therefore, US Army troops were still required to serve until they were redeployed to the Pacific to fight the war against Japan or until Japan stopped fighting, which wouldn't happen until August 15th, 1945.
Subsequently, there was still a lot of work left to do in Europe even after Germany surrendered: German soldiers and their commanding officers were surrendering their units to Allied troops and returning home, rebuilding efforts had to begin, millions of civilians had been displaced, concentration and death camps were being liberated all over Poland and Germany (and other countries and territories) and many other operations that had to be completed.
Once a soldier earned 85 points, they could request to be sent home. Some people like Shifty Powers had a low total despite their length of service and were given a chance to go home before earning their points by lottery, which was fixed by all the members of the 101st.
Subsequently, there was still a lot of work left to do in Europe even after Germany surrendered: German soldiers and their commanding officers were surrendering their units to Allied troops and returning home, rebuilding efforts had to begin, millions of civilians had been displaced, concentration and death camps were being liberated all over Poland and Germany (and other countries and territories) and many other operations that had to be completed.
Once a soldier earned 85 points, they could request to be sent home. Some people like Shifty Powers had a low total despite their length of service and were given a chance to go home before earning their points by lottery, which was fixed by all the members of the 101st.
Shifty was a great soldier, not to mention an incredible marksman, and was well-liked by everyone in the unit. However, even though he'd been through combat and the hardest operations the unit faced, he still hadn't been wounded in battle, which put him behind on points compared to the rest of Easy. So, the officers from Easy, likely with the agreement of the rest of the men, rigged the lottery to give him a well-deserved break. Unfortunately, while he was being driven to the airfield to start home, the vehicle he was travelling in was involved in a bad accident and Shifty was injured severely enough that he had to recuperate in Europe for several months before he could return home, long after the war had ended.
It's a sign of respect that Winters allows the colonel to keep his pistol. Germany had already surrendered and the colonel himself seems like a pretty sane person. To attack Winters at that point would be futile and he'd end up killed or thrown in prison and executed after a war tribunal. So there was no need to strip the colonel of a part of his ensemble -- he seems quite willing to comply with the articles of war regarding surrendering his unit.
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