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2 The World War II GI Bill: The Legacy Begins SONNY’S SUMMARY Knowing the unemployment and poverty that many of his fellow veterans faced in 1918 after World War I, Harry Colmery of The American Legion drafted the World War II “GI Bill of Rights” in December 1943. Although there were several champions of the “GI Bill” in Congress, the list of opponents initially included university presidents, labor unions, and some veterans’ organizations. Not before Congress held 22 hearings and took multiple votes did the GI Bill get to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s desk to be signed into law. After the war, 7.8 million veterans used the GI Bill for education and training, largely in skilled trades, business, industry, and engineering. Disciplined by duty and enlightened by experience,2 they were resoundingly successful at trade and business schools, on college campuses, and in the workplace through structured, on-job training and apprenticeships. In a law that had few grand expectations, veterans’initiative in pursuing education and training under the GI Bill made the United States the first predominantly middle-class nation in the world, as author Michael Bennett said. Milton Greenberg, Author and Provost, The American University Harry Colmery, The American Legion Representative Edith Rogers (R-MA) Representative Dewey Short (D-MO) Robert Maynard Hutchins, President, University of Chicago Senator Bennett Champ Clark (D-MO) Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States James Michener, Author Anthony Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 2001-2005 2 Sonny’s Cast of Characters1 ACROSS THE AISLE 18 Sonny’s Scene Setter About 15 million of our fellow Americans were called to arms during World War II3 —1941 to 1945—and returned home to an unsteady, post-war economy. In a broad sense, the “GI Bill” concept emerged during World War I.4 However,World War II was raging in Europe and the Pacific in June 1944 when Congress sent legislation called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s desk. It quickly became popularly known as the“GI Bill of Rights.” Have you wondered what “GI” stands for? In his book titled The GI Bill: The Law That Changed America, author Milton Greenberg describes it. “The term GI is an abbreviation for ‘ g o v e r n m e n t issue,’which refers to the standardization of the military regulations or equipment (GI boots,for example).But it came to signify an enlisted person in any branch of service. Adding ‘Bill of Rights’ to the term combined two enormously powerful images.”5,6 Mr. Montgomery Mr. Montgomery The 8thArmy7 Air Corps Museum (“Mighty 8th Air Force”) in Georgia is just one of the many museums in America dedicated to the 15.6 million GIs, American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen—including about 350,000 women—who served in our military during World War II.8 One Gentleman’s Crafting Under the broad guidance of John Stelle, former Governor of Illinois and a leader of The American Legion, the “GI Bill” concept was actually drafted by The American Legion’s Harry Colmery. While in Washington, D.C., Mr. Colmery wrote the draft in longhand in room 570 of the Mayflower Hotel. Some of the draft was written on hotel stationery.9 Mr. Colmery’s extensive drafts are now preserved under glass at The American Legion headquarters in Indianapolis. Mr. Colmery knew from his own military service that ordinary Americans who serve in our military often do extraordinary things in service to their nation. Mr.Colmery did not wantWorldWar II veterans to stand in unemployment lines or sell apples on the street corners, as was all too often the case in 1918 afterWorldWar I.10 Indeed,he was determined not to allow poverty to define World War II veterans after the cessation of hostilities.11 “…The burden of war falls on the citizen soldier who has gone forth,overnight to become the armored hope of humanity… . Never again, do we want to see the honor and glory of our nation fade to the extent that her ‘men of arms,’with despondent heart and palsied limb, totter from door to door, bowing their untamed souls to the frozen bosom of reluctant charity,as we saw after the last war.”12 Dr. Greenberg Mr. Colmery 19 Harry Colmery and his drafts of the GI Bill concept. From swords to plowshares… chapter 2 Milton Greenberg [3.142.171.180] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 07...

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