The first large- scale federal student financial aid initiative, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, and the recollections of six World War II veterans of its effect on their lives

Federally mandated benefits to American war veterans can be traced to the Colonial Period, notwithstanding their sporadic availability. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act or Public Law 346 (G.I. ill) was signed by President Roosevelt in 1944. Public Law 346 carried on that tradition by providing assistance to those who served during World War II. Although revised and renamed numerous times, the basic provisions of the 1944 legislation have been the law for over sixty-years. The purpose of this study was to explore how the education and training provision (Title II) of the 1944 legislation affected the lives of six WW II veterans. Data collected was done so by personal interviews. Numerous aspects of that legislation have been studied, as has its effects on WW II veterans. This study extends that inquiry by investigating retrospective recollections of the G.I. Bill by those who were first eligible. Findings included (a) an eagerness for veterans to "tell their stories," (b) widespread use of the bill, albeit for various reasons, and (c) the cognitive skills of veterans to recall long past events is above that which was to be expected. This investigation also identified areas needing further research. For example, how do contemporary G.I. Bill eligible veterans understand it? How are contemporary veterans planning to use the G.I. Bill: (a) for college, (b) for Voc Tech training, or (c) not sure?...