GI Bill of Rights

RESTRICTED HIWPEAN TREATER -. PAWNS . UNITED STATES ARMY

"It is desired that, consistent with operational
requirements, group discussions, through the
medium ARMY TALKS . . . be held in all
units within this command, using one hour
of trainingtime each week . . unit
commanders will conduct an orientation
program, using not less than one hour
training time a week . . . presentation of
this material is a command function . . .
A company officer will be present at each
discussion, whether or not he is the
discussion leader . . ..

BY COMMAND OF GENERAL EISENHOWER.

(Extract from letter ETO, 30 April 1944, AG 352/2 OpGA,

Subject : Education in Military and Current Affairs.)
 ARMY TALKS
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

GI Bill of Rights
INE chances out of ten you aren't in a position right now to do

N much dreaming about what you're going to do after R-day (the

day you return to civilian life) . There are far more urgent things
now like wiping out Jerry machine gun nests and snipers, dropping bombs
and getting supplies up front.
But when you do have a moment to think ahead, you might take into
account some of the things the U .S . Government has lined up for her
veterans of World War II.
The new GI Bill of Rights, known on the Statute books as the Service-
men's Readjustment Act of 1944, is designed to give a boost to your personal
post-war ambitions and to tide you over any hard times that may come your
way before you can get another start on `-` civvy street ."
Before going into what we'll be entitled to as veterans we might first
take into account a few advantages we've already got in the bag . One
is our present rate of pay and dependence allowances . The highest enjoyed
by any army now in the fight . Out of this most Joes, even those with
spendthrift leanings, have managed to save something.

Mustering Out Pay In Three Portions

Added to whatever we can save from our monthly pay will be the
mustering out pay of 300 bucks due_in three monthly installments beginning
the day some smiling officer hands us our discharge paper and says " Buddy
you're now a civilian ." Those who don't get overseas will get $eoo if
they've had at least 6o days active service, and even those honorably
discharged for some reason or other without 6o days service get $ i oo.

. All honorably discharged members of the armed forces are eligible

for mustering out pay except those above the rank of Captain in the Army
and Lieutenant Senior` Grade in the Navy .


4 ARMY TALKS

Then we've also got to remember that law which enabled the President
to send so many of us his famous Ietter reading " Greetings : You have
been selected by a board composed of your friends and neighbors . . . ."
That law did more than get soldiers out of a fish bowl. It also stated that
when the scrap is over those who had worked for a private employer are
entitled to their old job or its equivalent " at the same rate of pay and
with the same seniority and privileges ." The Selective Service Act also
states that a re-employed veteran can't be discharged without cause within
one year of his re-employment.

Most guys have promised themselves a good long period of civilian

goldbricking to go fishin ' , etc ., when it's all over, but don't forget that the
law requires that an application for re-employment be made within 40
days after date of discharge.
While a good many veterans of World War 1I should be able to go home
and live on easy street again, there will be others who through no fault
of their own may need a helping hand . This is particularly true of those
who hadn' t yet finished their education or hadn't had a chance to get a
foothold in their trade, profession or business when the 4ime came to pack
up and go to an induction center. For those of you in this position, the
new GI Bill of Rights provides benefits that will offset some of these
setbacks.
The new GI Bill of Rights also provides something better than mere
sympathy for the veteran who may get down on his luck, if a spell of
unemployment should result during the period of readjustment and
transition to civilian production after the war.

Loans For Homes, Farms And Business

The GI Bill of Rights provides for a guarantee by the government of
50 percent—but not to exceed $2,000--of a loan or loans desired by a
veteran for the purchase of a home, farm or business.
The government requires no security for its loan except the right to lay
a claim against the property of the man who contracts the obligation.
A maximum of four percent interest is allowed on the loans thus guaranteed
and they are payable in full in not more than 20 years. Uncle Sam even
agrees to pay the first year's interest .


2 August, 1944 5

To be eligible for a loan guaranty a veteran must have had 90 days

active military or naval service since September 16, 1940, and an honorable
discharge . Otherwise he must have been released because of disability
received in line of duty if he has less than 90 days service.
It is required that you apply for a loan within two years after leaving
the service or the end of the war, whichever is later, and in no event more
than five years after the end of hostilities.
There is nothing in the text of the act which would prevent a veteran
from obtaining more than one of the benefits . However, there is a provision
that any benefits received under this act will be deducted from any future
benefits that may be voted for veterans. In the case of a veteran who has
obtained a loan under the GI Bill of Rights it is provided that in the event
of any future compensation being authorized under a new act, the new
compensation would be used first to pay off the loan.

Home Loans Provide For Repairs, Too

The act provides for the guaranty of a loan not only for the purchase or
building of a home but for repairs or improvements on your present home,
and for payment of back taxes, special assessments and similar obligations.
A veteran availing himself of the offer will have to satisfy the Administrator
of Veterans Affairs that : (1) the home is for his own use, (2) the nature
and condition of the property makes it a suitable dwelling place, (3) that
the terms of the payment of any mortgage (in addition to the guaranteed
loan) bears a proper relation to his present and anticipated income and
expenses, and (q .) the purchase or construction cost does not exceed a
proper appraised value.
Let's consider what this is going to mean to some of you Joes who ' ve
been dreaming in your foxholes of the day you march up to the altar with

a girl back in the States and then will want to settle down in a home of your
own . Let's say you've got your eye on a place worth $7,000 . The bank
or loan institution you deal with would probably say that it would allow
you $3,500 as a first mortgage . You could then point out that you are entitled
to a veteran's loan guaranty of $2,000, which would enable the bank to
enlarge its loan to $5,500 and make the amount which you would have to
invest only $1,500, or equal to a modest saving during an average period
of military duty.
 ARMY TALKS

Farmers, Here Is Your Chance !

The government's $2,00o loan guaranty is designed to assist veterans
who want to go into farming as well as those who need to take care of
neglected buildings or replace outmoded equipment . Loans may be used
" in purchasing any land, buildings, livestock, equipment, machinery, or
implements, or in repairing, altering or improving any buildings or equip-
ment to be used in farming operations conducted by the applicant ."

The Administrator of Veteran's Affairs must be satisfied that the ability

and experience of the veteran, and the nature of the proposed farming
operations to be conducted by him, are such that there is a reasonable
likelihood that such operations will be successful . The Department of
Agriculture probably will be called upon to determine these stipulations.

Want To Start Your Own Business ?

Those of you who have your heart set on running your own barber shop,
garage, filling station, store, shop or other business when you get back home
can get the same support as the farmer as long as you can prove that you

have the necessary ability and experience, and that the conditions under
which you propose to operate present a reasonable likelihood that you
will be successful.
The effect of the guarantee loan provision will be to make available to you—the
World War II veteran—a much larger loan than the average citizen . Thus you will
be compensated to some extent for the time lost by reason of military service in acquiring
your own capital for the purchase or betterment of a home, farm or business .


2 August, 1944 7

Government Backs Education, Training

Those of you whose education, vocational training or apprenticeship was
interrupted by having to go into the Army may have felt that by the time
it's all over it will be too late in life to bother about such things . Perhaps
you had the idea that you'd better forget it, that you wouldn't be able to
afford to go back, and had better get yourself any sort of a job and get
going . -
The new GI Bill of Rights, however, provides generous offers whereby
.you can continue your education and training with the government footing
the bill, and in some cases fit yourself for a new occupation.
The government will pay up to $500 a year for tuition, fees and books
at any recognized private or public secondary school, technical, business
or vocational school or college . It further offers to pay a subsistence
allowance of $50 per month plus $25 for dependents . If you should be
going to school on a part-time basis or working for pay on an apprenticeship
arrangement, a lesser subsistence allowance would have to be determined
by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.
This offer for completing education or training begun before entering the
service is limited to those who were under 25 years old when they volunteered
or were inducted, as those over this age are presumed to have completed
their education.

However, provision is made for all eligible veterans, regardless of their

age when entering the service, to take refresher or re-training courses for
'not more than a year. Such courses would be of value to professional men
desiring to be brought up to date on technique developed during their
absence and to ` veterans returning to industries where new methods of
doing their type of work have been developed during their time in the
Army. This offer may also be of help to those of you who have learned
the rudiments of a new trade while serving in the Army or Navy and would
like to continue it in civilian life rather than go back to what you were
doing. A lot of soldiers may not have found a home in the Army, but they
may have found a new type of work they like and with additional training
feel they could capitalize on it in civilian life.
Ninety days' service with an honorable discharge will make a veteran
eligible for a year's schooling or training . However, in the case of those
who were under 25 when they entered the service, and would need longer
, than a year to complete their education, there is a provision for extra
schooling based on the length of service after September i 6, 1940, the date
 ARMY TALKS

when the Selective Service Act became law. The maximum amount of
schooling that can be provided under the act is four years . Part-time is
acceptable in all cases . ,+
It is required that you enroll not later than two years after your discharge
or the termination of war, whichever is later, and it is stipulated that no
such education or schooling will be afforded beyond seven years after the
end of the war.
Those of you who came in under the Army specialized training program
or the Navy college training program, which course was a continuation
of your civilian education and which was pursued to completion, will have
this time deducted from such schooling time allowed to veterans.
It is provided that veterans shall elect their own course and institution
of learning and that the school need not be located in the state where they
reside . State apprenticeship agencies will be utilized under the program
and the law also applies to schools and training programs conducted by
industrial establishments.

Unemployment Pay Covers All Groups

Veterans finding themselves unemployed during the two-year period
following their discharge or the end of war—whichever is later—will be
entitled to unemployment compensation of $2o per week . The maximum
number of weeks for which allowances can he drawn is 52.
To qualify, you must have served 90 days or, if less, to have been dis-
charged by reason of a service-incurred disability. You are entitled to
compensation up to 52 weeks on the basis of four weeks for each month
of active service, except in the case of the qualifying go days the law allows
eight weeks of compensation for each month of service.
Unemployment benefits are available as well to the veteran who has had
less than a full week's work or whose wages from partial employment
amount to less than $2o plus $3 . In order to draw
the allowance, both the completely unemployed and the
partially employed veteran must show that they are
registered with and continue to register with a public
employment office and that they are able to work and
are available for suitable work . If the applicant is
unable to meet these conditions because of illness, he
will still be eligible.
Those of you who will be in business for yourself after
the war can also benefit from this section of the GI
Bill of Rights if you run into lean weeks . Let's say you're a painter or
paper-hanger and that jobs become scarce due to hard times in your
town . Perhaps you get a month when your net earnings fall to $75 .
In such cases, if you are eligible under terms of the act, you are entitled
to be paid an allowance of $25.
This part of the act covers those who are " self-employed for profit in
an independent establishment, trade, business, profession, or other vocation .''


2 August, 1944 9

A veteran is disqualified for unemployment compensation if : I . he quits

his job voluntarily without good cause . 2 . he is fired for misconduct ;
3 . he fails to apply for work to which he is referred by a public employment
office ; 4 . he does not attend without good cause free training courses
provided for a particular job ; 5 . his unemployment is due to a work
stoppage caused by a labor dispute, unless he can show that he has had
no part in the dispute.

If an ex-serviceman refuses to take a job left vacant because of a strike,

or any kind of labor dispute he will not be disqualified for compensation
on the grounds that he has declined available employment . Also a veteran,
will not be prejudiced because of refusal to take a job in which hours, wages
and working conditions are below the standard of the locality . (Standards
and conditions prescribed by the unemployment compensation laws of the
states will determine the issue and, if the state has no such laws, the Admin-
istrator of Veterans ' Affairs will decide .)

Placement Service To Help Veterans

The ex-serviceman who has no job to return to or finds himself out of
work some time after going back to civilian life can expect the government's
help in searching for employment . Under the GI Bill of Rights Uncle
Sam commits himself to the policy of providing the " maximum of job
opportunity " for unemployed veterans.
The act sets up a Veterans Placement Service Board consisting of the
Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as chairman, the Director of the National
Selective Service System and the Administrator of the Federal Security
Agency, which is now responsible for administering the United States
Employment Service.
The policies of the Veterans Placement Service Board will be carried
out in cooperation with the U .S . Employment Service, which will assign
to each state a veterans' unemployment representative . This appointee
must himself be a war veteran and a resident of the state for two years
and will be attached to the staff of the public employment service of the
state.
This system is designed to throw jobs your way if you're an unemployed
veteran by : I . supervising veteran registration in local employment
offices ; 2 . directly placing veterans in employment ; 3 . maintaining
current information on available jobs in public works, industry and business ;


'10 ARMY TALKS

4 . making regular contacts with employers to promote interest in employing

veterans and in keeping them advised on employment possibilities for
veterans.

Disabled Are Well Protected By Law

The GI Bill of Rights contains two highly important passages designed
to protect the rights of the disabled veteran in regard to claiming disability
benefits, for which the Government had already made generous provisions.
One is that " no person shall be discharged or released from active
service on account of disability until or unless he has executed a claim for
compensation, pension or hospitalization, to be filed with the Veterans'
Administration or has signed a statement that he has had explained to him
the right to file such claim."
Another is that " no person in the armed forces shall be required to
sign a statement of any nature relating to the origin, incurrence, or aggrava-
tion of any- disease or injury he may have, and-any such statement against
his own interest signed at any time shall be null and void and of no force
and effect ."
Well worth insuring are those benefits granted by the U .S . Government
to those of you who during this war receive wounds and injuries or suffer
illnesses which may result in your being unable to resume your former
place in civilian life at least until you've had further care and perhaps
vocational training to overcome a physical handicap.
These benefits, which mean security for the disabled veteran and his dependents
and perhaps a fresh start in life, are the primary concern of the American people.
They include hospitalization in Veterans' Administration Hospitals ; disability
compensation or pension ; vocational training and preferred status over other veterans
when seeking Federal Government employment . In addition, the disabled veteran
is entitled to benefts allowed the able-bodied veterans under the GI Bill of Rights
in accordance with the regular rules of eligibili y.

Of particular interest to hundreds of disabled veterans should be

the Government's program of education and training for " overcoming
vocational handicaps resulting from service disabilities of a to percent
or more degree." While taking the training, a veteran will receive $8o
monthly, if single, and $go monthly, if married, with $5 additional for each
child . If he has dependent parents, he gets an additional allowance of


2 August, 1944 lY

$10 each for them . Any veteran entitled to tlisability compensation in

excess of these allowances also will be paid the full amount of such com-
pensation.
The GI Bill of Rights, besides safeguarding the disabled veterans '
rights to benefits provided in previous laws, makes further provision for
veterans' hospital facilities . It authorizes the transfer from the War and
Navy departments of such hospitals as may be required by the Veterans'
Administration when no longer needed for the armed forces, and grants
$500,000,000 for the construction of' additional veterans ' hospitals.

How To Claim Your Rights As Veteran

How are you as a civilian going to know what to do to claim
your rights as a veteran?
Suppose sometime after the war an old battle injury begins to bother
you . Suppose you're out of a job or would like one of those loans you
remembered reading about somewhere in a foxhole . The company
clerk won't be around then to give you an angle or a form to be filled in
triplicate . Remember that under the GI Bill of Rights you will always
have ready access to a Veterans' Administration office.

The GI Bill of Rights has streamlined the U .S . Veterans ' Administra-

tion, given its needs top priority and geared it for the busy days ahead.
It has provided for additional regional offices, sub offices and contact
units throughout the United States.
Also, you'll probably hear a lot more about your rights as a veteran
when the time comes to be discharged . The GI Bill of Rights authorizes
accredited representatives of recognized veterans' organizations to act as
advisors at hospitals and regular installations where troops will be mustered
out.
These are your rights as a veteran of World War II . They afford
you the most extensive and generous benefits ever bestowed on war veterans
in all history. They are our country's way of saying : " Thank
you, Soldier, for what you have clone . " These thanks are built ofguaranties
which every one of us can appreciate . They are thanks which help us
to return to the lives we discontinued with a sense of strength and security
we should not otherwise have had .


12 ARMY TALKS

How to prepare this Army Talk

HIS week's Army Talk deals with a problem facing every GI,
T no matter what his branch of service, what he did before entering
the Army, or what he intends to do after his discharge—readjustment
to civilian life.

The GI Bill of Rights is the Government 's answer. It is essential that

each man in your outfit understands this bill—what it means in dollars
and cents, in opportunities, in security for his home and dependents . The
major benefits due the average veteran re-employment, education and"
vocational training, loans and the right to execute claim for war disability
should be explained so that every man in your group will realize that this
bill is meant for him, the guy who sleeps next to him, and every guy in the
Army.

The bill answers his problem, regardless of whether he is in the Infantry,

Artillery, Air Forces or the SOS. In preparing the discussion, keep in
mind the men in your particular group—if they are mechanics they may
want to know what aid they may receive in setting up their own shops.
If they are former students they may want to know how the Government
will help them to continue their education.'

* *

Be prepared to answer questions along the following lines :

QUESTION : " I worked on a farm for five years before I came

into the Army. Can I get a farm of my own ? "
ANSWER : Yes, the Government will guarantee 50 percent—not
to exceed $2,000-of a loan desired by a veteran for the purchase of a
home, farm or business."
Z August, 1944

QUESTION : " When will I get my bonus and how much ? "

ANSWER : " Overseas bonus will be $300 payable in three monthly

instalments starting the date of discharge ."

QUESTION : "My old company's out of business . What if

I can't find a job by myself ? "

ANSWER : " You will be entitled to unemployment compensation of

$20 a week at the rate of four weeks for each month of active service not
to exceed 52 weeks. The Veterans' Replacement Service Board will
directly place you or promote interest in employing veterans ."

* * *

Note the following points which might otherwise be glossed over :

1. Honorably discharged veterans must apply for re-etnployment within

40 days of date of discharge in order to regain old position.

2. To those veterans enrolled for education, the Government will pay,

in addition to tuition, fees and subsistence allowances, $25 a month for
dependents.

3 . ASTP training will be deducted from civilian education period.

* * *

Each man should understand the program and know how to employ it
so that he makes the transition from soldier to civilian with assurance and
confidence that he can carry on where he left off .


14 ARMY TALKS

If you have in your office, or readily available

The Encyclopedia Britannica
1944 World Almanac
All the World's Aircraft
Lincoln Library of Essential Information
Congressional Directory
Military History of the United States
Webster's International Dictionary
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Files of Fortune and National Geographic Magazine
G-2 Intelligence Bulletins
Access to Archives of the U .S . State, War, Navy and Labor
Departments
Publications of the Office of War Information, Office of Strategic
Services and British Ministry of Information
—This will not be of great interest to you.
But, if your baggage allowance precluded your bringing this material
to this theater, you may be interested in the staff of ARMY TALKS.
This staff has all of these sources and countless others—documentary
and living authorities—at its command in preparing the weekly War
Orientation booklet, ARMY TALKS . The staff uses these to help you
and your unit commander fulfill the mandate in War Department Circular
No . 300, October 20, 1943, and Letter ETO April 30, 1944 ( AG 35 2 / 2
OpGa .) Subject : Education in Military and Current Affairs . These
direct group discussions will be held in all units—consistent with operational
requirements—using one hour weekly of training time.
Hours of search for source material, of research, of writing, of consultation
with official authorities, of careful review and editing go into preparation
of each ARMY TALK . Then comes a period devoted to careful rechecking
of facts and purport, and review for approval . and censorship by other
governmental agencies.
Morale training is a major objective of the Army's training program.
Its mission is to increase the American soldier's military effectiveness.
The weekly War Orientation discussion group meeting is one of the most
potent weapons in this form of training.
Subject matter furnished through ARMY TALKS must be more than
provocative of discussion . It must be factually correct, fair in content
and presentation, and include all salient information . It must meet
security requirements—and certainly must keep within the provisions
of Title 5 of the new Soldier Voting Law.
No unit is required to use a current issue of ARMY TALKS if its com-
mander believes some other subject will engender more constructive dis-
cussion by unit personnel . However, you, as a discussion leader, might
be personally interested in the scope of research, writing, editing and
review that goes into preparation of each weekly issue of this publication.
Printed by Newnes & Pearson Printing Co . . Ltd . . Exmoor Street, N . Kensington. London . W .10.


2 &, 1944 15

University Courses Open Again

IX-DAY courses, open to officers and enlisted per-
sonnel—both men and women—are being offered by
Oxford and Cambridge Universities, to be attended
by personnel of the United Nations . American military
personnel may attend the courses on leave or furlough
status.
Each course will survey a wide range of problems of a
general nature . Outstanding professors of the universities
will lecture, each in his field of specialization . Lectures
are followed by discussion periods, during which each
member of the course is encouraged to freely express his
opinions. In addition to_ this academic portion of the
course, a fine social program is arranged, which includes
tours, teas, and informal parties . The fee for each course
is £3 12s . Od . for officers and £l 12s. Od . for enlisted
personnel . This covers cost of billet and food.
The only remaining course at Cambridge will begin
August 7 . Other courses may be announced at a later
date . Courses will be held every week at Oxford, com-
mencing September 4 . Courses at both universities begin
on Monday and last until the following Saturday.
Members of combat air crews and convalescents in
hospitals may be granted the necessary leave or furlough to
attend a course by the immediate commanding officer or
the hospital commander concerned, respectively . Any
other person whose application is approved by an officer
of the rank of Major General will be given leave or furlough
to attend a course . As soon as leave or furlough has been
approved by the proper authority, application should be
forwarded to the Chief of Special Service, Hq, CZ, ETOUSA.
Instructions will be furnished successful applicants by the
Chief of Special Service.
For further information concerning these courses, consult
your Special Service Officer or the Education Branch of the
Special Service Division, Hq, CZ, ETOUSA (Telephone :
ETOUSA 1122).
I_
 TIP TO UNIT COMMANDERS
ARMY TALKS ON THE AIR
tune in on your American
Forces Network station for
a dramatized presentation
of the ueel : ' d Army Talk.

TIME : Saturday ' 12 August 1941,

at 1430-1500 hours .

PLACE : Any convenient spot

where you have a radio
and a room for your
platoon to listen in
and discuss the subject.

STATION:
American Forces Network.

HE subject matter in this week's ARMY TALKS will appear

T in an illustrated GI digest in the Warweek supplement of
Stars and Stripes for August to, 1944. Purpose : to enable
the soldier to enter the discussion with prior knowledge of the
subject . ARMY TALKS, Warweek and American Forces Network
are striving to make the American soldier in this Theater the
best informed soldier in the world . ARE YOU DOING FOUR
SHARE ?