Posted on Jun 22, 2015
FDR signs GI Bill 71 Years Ago today - Has it worked for you or your family?
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Have you or your family benefited from the GI Bill (whichever rendition) over the past 71 years? Do you feel it's worked since its inception?
On this day in 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the GI bill to provide financial aid to veterans returning from World War II. Upon signing the legislation, Roosevelt voiced his belief that ensuring veterans’ employability was critical to a sound postwar economy.
The GI bill, named after the slang term for soldiers whose wartime goods and services were government issued, provided funding for education, home loans, unemployment insurance, job counseling and the construction of veterans’ hospital facilities. It also greatly strengthened the authority of and scope of services provided by the Veterans Administration. Tuition for advanced education or technical training was covered up to $500 per school year, along with a monthly living allowance while the veteran was in school. GIs could also apply for guaranteed home and business loans.
In his speech at the signing of the bill, Roosevelt acknowledged the sacrifices of America’s men and women in uniform and emphasized the moral responsibility of the American people not to let their veterans down once they returned to civilian life. He and his economic advisors foresaw potential problems as the then-robust wartime economy transitioned to peacetime. He hoped that the GI bill would help prevent a situation in which the return of 2.2 million servicemen from war created massive unemployment, economic depression or social unrest. Also in his speech, Roosevelt appealed to Congress to enact some sort of future legislation that would reassure current civilian workers that their services would still be needed in a post-war economy.
Roosevelt urged that the goal after the war should be the maximum utilization of our human and material resources. After his death and the end of the Second World War, veterans of wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and U.N.-led coalition conflicts continued to benefit from an evolving GI bill.
On this day in 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the GI bill to provide financial aid to veterans returning from World War II. Upon signing the legislation, Roosevelt voiced his belief that ensuring veterans’ employability was critical to a sound postwar economy.
The GI bill, named after the slang term for soldiers whose wartime goods and services were government issued, provided funding for education, home loans, unemployment insurance, job counseling and the construction of veterans’ hospital facilities. It also greatly strengthened the authority of and scope of services provided by the Veterans Administration. Tuition for advanced education or technical training was covered up to $500 per school year, along with a monthly living allowance while the veteran was in school. GIs could also apply for guaranteed home and business loans.
In his speech at the signing of the bill, Roosevelt acknowledged the sacrifices of America’s men and women in uniform and emphasized the moral responsibility of the American people not to let their veterans down once they returned to civilian life. He and his economic advisors foresaw potential problems as the then-robust wartime economy transitioned to peacetime. He hoped that the GI bill would help prevent a situation in which the return of 2.2 million servicemen from war created massive unemployment, economic depression or social unrest. Also in his speech, Roosevelt appealed to Congress to enact some sort of future legislation that would reassure current civilian workers that their services would still be needed in a post-war economy.
Roosevelt urged that the goal after the war should be the maximum utilization of our human and material resources. After his death and the end of the Second World War, veterans of wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and U.N.-led coalition conflicts continued to benefit from an evolving GI bill.
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SGM Matthew Quick The GI Bill was awesome for me and kept me afloat when I came off active duty during a time period when interest rates were as high as 18 and 19 percent in 1980. I used it for my Bachelors Degree and I use the post 911 GI Bill for my daughters education as well. This is something that the Government did right in my opinion. Thanks FDR!
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What a great opportunity the GI Bill was for my family. Although higher-education was not for me and with the high deployment rate I was unable to attend anyway. I was able to allow my Wife to use the bill and get a teaching degree.....was a long hard road with PCS(s) and three different schools but she is now a fully certified middle school teacher and that would not have been possible without this valuable program.....I strongly encourage everyone to take full advantage of it....if you're like me and know you won't use please please please consider allowing your spouse or children to use it...would be a shame for it to be wasted.
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Although I qualified under both versions, I converted mine to the post-9/11 version in order to transfer it to my wife. That is enabling her to finish her B.A. and most of her Masters so she can continue to help veterans in crisis. She has done this work in one form or another for almost 10 years but found that without the "letters" behind her name, she sometimes found her input discounted. The GI Bill is making her long term goals come true and allowing our family continue to serve veterans beyond the last half of my career.
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I love that man. He got the country out of depression and kept the British and Russians afloat during the war. When we joined WWII his convictions were resolute.
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