Military

Following the First World War, veterans returned home to find jobs extremely difficult to secure. The government offered no aid beyond a train ticket home and less than $60 in allowance. As a direct result, some of the most violet riots in American history broke out in Washington D.C. Following the Second World War, however, the government introduced resources and educational benefits for veterans. In 1944, Congress passed the first Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, more commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. On June 22nd, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the veterans’ bill into law.

This bill, which I have signed today, substantially carries out most of the recommendations made by me in a speech on July 28, 1943, and more specifically in messages to the Congress dated October 27, 1943, and November 23, 1943:

• It gives servicemen and women the opportunity of resuming their education or technical training after discharge, or of taking a refresher or retainer course, not only without tuition charge up to $500 per school year, but with the right to receive a monthly living allowance while pursuing their studies.
• It makes provision for the guarantee by the Federal Government of not to exceed 50 percent of certain loans made to veterans for the purchase or construction of homes, farms, and business properties.
• It provides for reasonable unemployment allowances payable each week up to a maximum period of one year, to those veterans who are unable to find a job.
• It establishes improved machinery for effective job counseling for veterans and for finding jobs for returning soldiers and sailors.
• It authorizes the construction of all necessary additional hospital facilities.
• It strengthens the authority of the Veterans Administration to enable it to discharge its existing and added responsibilities with promptness and efficiency.

Although the veterans’ bill does not only offer educational benefits, these benefits may be some of the most important for veterans seeking to further their professional lives and enhance their overall standard of living.