Past American Legion National Commander Harry W. Colmery starts to write in longhand, on Mayflower Hotel stationary in Washington, the first draft of what will later become the "GI Bill of Rights" - considered the Legion's single greatest achievement.
On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the original GI Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act, ushering in monumental changes in U.S. Society. Higher education becomes democratized after 8 million veterans go to school on the G.I. Bill, get better jobs, buy houses in the suburbs and raise families. Foe every dollar spent on educating veterans, the U.S. economy eventually gets $7 back.
Note: The original hand-written copy is in The American Legion Museum in Indianapolis, IN.
