4.+1944+Serviceman’s+Readjustment+Act+also+known+as+the+GI+Bill+of+Rights

Scott Higginson 10/20/08 Block 1



Dear America, My name is John Fusco and I was born on June 22, 1915 to a loving family. I was drafted into the army when I was just 28 years old. Well, I wanted to join the military because I thought it would be so heroic, but I have developed many new problems. It is now 1944 and I have trouble making money to support my family. I did my time in the military and served my country. After the war ended and Germany was charged with war reparations, the government told us veterans that they were going to put a bill into place that would help us veterans back into civilization. This bill was called the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act, or the GI Bill of Rights. At first I had no idea what it was going to do to benefit me, but this bill helped out my family and I so much. The government said that this Act would open up more opportunities for all of the veterans (Mason 1). The GI Bill of Rights paid for my tuition, fees, books, and educational materials so I could go back to school and get a degree, as well as all of the other veterans (GI 1). My neighbor, Randolph, told me that there was an estimated 16 million people that were eligible to participate in the programs of the GI Bill of Rights (Mason 1). I did go back to school, but all of my classrooms were packed to their max capacity, it was very hard to concentrate for me. I heard from my professor that just over half of the veterans of World War II attended colleges and technical schools under the GI Bill, that’s an estimated 7.8 million veterans (Danzer et al. 592)! And listen to this, the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act also guaranteed that all veterans could receive low interest loans to buy homes or farms, or for starting new businesses (Danzer et al. 634)! Now that the GI bill was put into effect, my family does not have to struggle anymore because I opened my own business. I was only able to do that because the government gave a loan that had a lower interest rate than anything I had ever heard. Thanks to the GI Bill of Rights, I will not have to worry about money for quite a while. Your friend forever, John Fusco

Works Cited Danzer, Gerald A., et al. __The Americans__. Illinois: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. __GI Bill of Rights__. Department of Adult Education, Community Development and counseling Psychology. 20 October 2008 . __Mason, Dave__. “GI Bill of Rights.” __Encyclopedia of American History: The Great Depression and World War II, 1929 to 1945, vol. 8.__ New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. __American History Online__, Facts On File, Inc. Hunterdon Central Regional High School. 20 October 2008.