G.I. Bill

Uncommon card · No. 80111

A G.I. Bill is a colloquial name given to several pieces of legislation that have provided a range of benefits for American military veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s), particularly education benefits. The first G.I. Bill, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was largely designed and passed through Congress in 1944 in a bipartisan effort led by the American Legion, which wanted to reward practically all wartime veterans. John H. Stelle, a former Democratic governor of Illinois, served as the Chairman of the Legion's Executive Committee, which drafted and mobilized public opinion to get the G.I. Bill to President Roosevelt's desk on June 22, 1944. He is commonly referred to as the "Father of the G.I. Bill." It provided immediate financial rewards for practically all World War II veterans, thereby avoiding the highly disputed postponed life insurance policy payout for World War I veterans that had caused political turmoil in the 1920s and 1930s. Benefits included low-cost mortgages...

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