80 years of the G.I. Bill

One of the most widely-utilized benefits for service members is the G.I. Bill, which a federal program that helps veterans and their families pay for education and training. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers the program, which has been available since June 22, 1944, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (SRA) of 1944, otherwise known as the G.I. Bill of Rights.

“This generation,” said President Roosevelt, “has a rendezvous with destiny.” More than 16 million Americans served in World War II. Nearly 300,000 died in battle. Many were returning home to uncertain futures.

Harry Colmery was a World War I Veteran, a former national commander of the American Legion and a former Republican National Chairman. He and the committee of legionnaires he led had a plan—a law that would assist new Veterans in their transition from military service.

Colmery wrote the original language of the bill that would eventually be sponsored by U.S. Representative Edith Norse-Rogers of Massachusetts, who eventually chaired the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

The SRA provided WWII Veterans funds for college, unemployment insurance and housing benefits. By the end of the World War II-era in 1956, roughly 8 million out of 16 million WWII Veterans had used their G.I. Bill benefit for some kind of training.

“With the signing of this bill a well-rounded program of special Veterans’ benefits is nearly completed,” President Roosevelt said. “It gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.”

The G.I. Bill put tools and resources into the hands of young Americans, helping to create and strengthen the American middle class. It also had important social impact as it played a role in the promotion of the American Dream—owning a home, getting a good education and achieving upward mobility.

Upon its passage 80 years ago, not all Veterans benefitted equally. Racial and gender disparities made it difficult for all Veterans to access and use the benefits they earned. While VA cannot tell this story without including this truth, today, equity and access have become part of VA’s top priorities. VA remains committed to supporting America’s Veterans of every generation as they strive to realize their own American Dreams.

Today, service members and their families can use the G.I. Bill for college, graduate school, and vocational training, as well as for the cost of exams such as the LSAT or the GRE.

To learn more about the G.I.Bill benefits, please visit www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/