Few government programs have meant more to the nation's cultural refinement than the World War II Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, the so-called GI Bill, and successive versions providing for veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars.
In total, some 16 million veterans—7.8 million from World War II, 2.4 million from the Korean War and 5.5 million from Vietnam—returned to school at government expense, winning degrees and educations that flooded society with a new generation of entrepreneurs, scientists, physicians, engineers, teachers, diplomats and a host of other specialists.
A new GI Bill to benefit Iraq and Afghanistan vets took effect this month, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008.
It's an enormous benefit for former and current service men and women to improve their lives with the best education, including tuition for three years, plus book and housing costs. But more than that, the GI Bill will have incalculable benefits to the nation, including an immediate 20 to 25 percent surge in college and vocational school enrollments.
Personnel who have endured and survived unspeakable combat tours will find their new educational opportunities to be a fast road to normalcy. And U.S. society will benefit from another large cadre of Americans prepared to contribute new skills to their country.
At an estimated cost of $78 billion, the price is cheap. U.S. education has lagged in recent years behind other nations. Men and women matured by war will now have new tools to serve their country: education that might have been out of their reach without the new GI bill.
