How the First Gi Bill Was Written
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A LEGION 50th ANNIVERSARY FEATURE HOW THE FIRST GI BILL WAS WRITTEN .. (PART II) Near.s! lIelV~lJ(lper::; a,5signed to turned from a conference at the Capitol 1I'0r/.: with the Legion',5 spf'cial Gl with Senator Bennett Champ Clark of illS IS TilE SECONll of '.IVO ar· ~"issOllri. a founder of the Legion, and /Jill COTllmittee ill 194344. one of the GI Bi1l's staunchest advocates tides on the exciting story 0/ Tada)', the CI Bills have proved T the 1/!rilifl,~ aml I){1S.HI{!f~ of in Congress. II/(, WW2 CI Hill 0/ Rights in themselvc:.> be,'oflfl all measure. The Washington representatives of !Jack then there 1fI(I.~ tremendous four smaller veterans organizations 1943-44. Last month's il/swamcill SlIpport for tile idca. Bitt OppO.H:' Omar B. Ketchum of Ihe Veterans of told how, in the midst o/1P1V2, the Foreign Wars; Millard W. Rice of the I.iol/ also gathered rapidly n!terthe Legion had dm/t.ed and /lias trying Disabled American Veterans; Frank origil/al GI Billllla.5 il/troduced ill to secure enactment 0/ the then Haley of the Military Order of the Congress ('or/y in lalll/ary 1944. Purple He:lrt;and \V. M. Floyd. National r,,/Jolutio/lary GI Bill. It was Ihe 011 Feb. 16, jOllr other1Jctcralls or Comm:lnder of the Rcgul:lr Veterans first 10111 in 0/11' hi.~torr 1.0 help all Organization-had sent a leiter 10 every ;;u1Ii;;(/,ioll.5 i.~::;lted (1 joi!/f., open /wtNfWS get 0/1 their feet alter a member of Congress. opposing the GI letter, opposing 'he Cf Bill. This war. Bill. jilin! installment picb lip the story E.~sefltiall.y, what /ollows is th" "Everything that glitters is not gold:' at I.hat pOilll. they said. The)' had called IIpon Congress I/"ord-/or-word eyewitness st.ory "/(It "not to be st:Jmpcded into hasty and the late David Camelon wrote /01' possibly unwise legislation." They at this magazine in 1949. It. has been WE HEI.D OUR COUNCIl. of W:lf c:lrly tacked the proposed educational aids .~ome/llhat edited and condeflsed- Ih:lt aftcrnoon of Fcbruary 17. that were to he hy far Ihe 1\10st beneficial and in some places If.fleIated. In ad- 1944-the daily meeting of the I.egion·s pan of the GI Bill. once it was passed. diliofl, some material edited Ollt 0/ board of strategy on how to gCt thc Gl John Stelle was concerned. ' . l Bill of Rights passed. "The letter is embarrassing to our Mr. Came.onl s story 1fI 1949 IUS John Stelle. ex-Illinois Governor and friends in the Congress," he said. "People been ineluded here. Mr. CamelOIl chairman of The Americ<ln Legion's don't knolV the relative strength of the u.:as one oj three writers whom the spcci;d 01 Bill Committee, had just re- .....USTR...T"'D BY CH"'R""'S WATERHOUSE 22 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE· FEBRUARY 1969 At Jacksonville airport, Rep. John Gibson races to plane for last lap of journey to reach Washington in time to save GI Bill. A Wild Ride From Georgia various veterans organizations. (The VFW member hrought us an internal Kearney of New York. who was both a fact was that the four smaller organizu VF\V memorandum 10 warn us of what Legionnaire and a Past National Com tions claimed a combined membership of was going on. The mcmo urgcd VFW mander of the VFW. worked intimately 555.000--lillle more than a third of thc state and local ollkers 10 ignore thc 01 with the Legion on the internal political Legion's membcn;hip.) Bill. cul1ing it "spout and fizzle. fizzle ,md dilemmas the hill faced in Congress, As • 'The letler can't beat thc 01 Bill, But spout:' Not only did individual VFW you'll sec, in the end he lipped the Legion SenatorClark asked me to get those other members continue to support the 01 Bill otT to what h;ld to be done at the last min organizations off his neck. if we can. and kcep us advised, but Rep. Pat ute to save thc whole hill from final They offer a wonderful excusc for some defeat. members of Congress to oppose the bill." But wh;ll Congress was hearing was John looked inquiringly at the other the VFW's top-level opposition to the members of his comrniltee who were bill. present. They nodded, Something h,ld to I wus sure that the VFW leaders really be done. wanted to share Ihe crcdit. In his in "John," I suid, "it would be dinicult for tern"l memo. VFW legislative director a Legionnaire to approach these other Ketchum had dwelt upon "prestige," organizations. But I'm an outsider. I "credit" and "the spotlight." know Omar Ketchum and Millurd Ricc. I went 10 Omar Ketchum's office. and If you want me to, I'll sec what I can do," talked 10 him for more than an hour. At I was a HeMst eorrcspondent reporting last he said; the Legion's fight to put ovcr thc 01 Bill, hl\'1y legislative comminee is in Wash John nodded. ington, Let's tllik to them." "Yes," he said. "00 ahead and try." We had lunch at the Ambassudor Of the four opposing veterans organ- Hotel with the committee. hellded by izations, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Past National VFW Commander Paul was the largest. It cannot be said today O. Wolman of Bultimore. They agreed Gibson leaves plane after nightlong trip to coo..... rate if the Legion would meet that the VFW members generally agreed from his Georgia home. His vote broke ,.- with thcir leadership. Thut same day a House deadlock. assured bill's passage, with them. (Turn to /lext pCll-:e) THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE. fEBRUARY 1969 23 CONTINUED crans. We would have more than 16 mil lion veterans to discharge. On the day of How the First GI Bill was written discharge they would all be unemployed. For longer or shorter periods, if thcy had 1 helped 10 arrange a meeting at the appropriately described as 'ominous.'" no income, the nation would lose the Statler Hotel between Stelle's committec He billerly attacked the unemploy buying power of 16 million people. In and the Wolman group. The VF'W agrttd ment compensation provisions of the bill, this were the seeds of a postwar reces formally to support the bill. and Wolman which were soon to benefit over eight sion that would renect back from mer said: million veterans, saying: chanu who were not selling to out-of "I think that. in uniling the forces of 'The lazy and 'chisel)'" types of veter work veterans, 10 manufacturers and Ihese two great organizations. wc have ans would gct the most benefits. whereas farmers faced with layoffs because. for made history here." the resourceful. industrious and con varying lengthS of time, 16 million of Ihe A few suggeslions were made by the scientious veterans would get the least country's adults would lack funds to buy VFW, and accepted by the Legion, Chief benefits. if lmy." their minimum needs. among them was Ihe insertion of Ihe fig \Ve read that sentence with amaze The later complete proof of this was ure $500.000.000 in that seclion of the ment. We didn't know it would soon not yet visible. In 19441he logic of 52-20 hill authorizing the Veterans Administra haunt us from other sourccs as well. The made not a dent in those who felt that tion to proceed with an adequatc hos GI Bill provided $20 a week for a maxi the servicemen were by nature heroes pitalization program. mum of 52 weeks in unemployment ben overseas but bums at home. Thc Legion had avoided any specific efits for any \'cteran of WW2 who. while Harry Colmery, of the Legion's GI figure when the GI Bill was drafted. It looking for work, couldn't find il. Bill Committee, warned, in effect, that the opposition might mak~ bums of some sought adequate hospitalization for the The assumption of Rice and OIhers \VW2 bailie casualties, at whatever COSl. of them, by denying them a chance 10 was that too many \V\V2 veterans would without delay. gel a fresh start. sit back on their rumps for a solid year 'These men will be a potent force for Omar Ketchum wenl before the Sen to draw the $20 a week before stirring good or evil in the years to come," he .. te and House Committees to voice sup themselves. port of the bill. although later he joshed said. "They can make our counlry, or The Legion felt that this benefit. which liS in the dosing days of the bailie, whcn break it:' earned the nickname "52_20." was abso il scemed that the GI Bill of Rights might They would make America great, the lutely essential. It was confident that be lost. Legion knew, if they were nOt engulfed millions of veterans would usc 52-20 for in disillusion, if the courage and confi a few critical weeks before going to col dence with which they went to war were lege or taking job-training. that many preserved on their return. Their nccd more would tllke advantage of their could not be sacrificed because a small rights to return 10 their former jobs im minority might misuse the opportunities mediatcly. (And of course they did. in the GI Bill contained. more millions than anyone then guessed.) The opponents of the bill, on the other The Legion had not the slighlest doubt hand, apparently thought only of Ihe that some would.