Returning Vietnam War veterans had every reason to expect that the government would take care of their readjustment needs in the same way it had done for veterans of both World War II and the Korean War. But the Vietnam generation soon discovered that their G.I. Bills fell well short of what many of them believed they had earned. This groundbreaking study provides the first analysis of the legislative debates surrounding the education benefits offered under the Vietnam-era G.I. Bills. Specifically, the book explores why legislators from both ends of the political spectrum failed to provide Vie ... More

Returning Vietnam War veterans had every reason to expect that the government would take care of their readjustment needs in the same way it had done for veterans of both World War II and the Korean War. But the Vietnam generation soon discovered that their G.I. Bills fell well short of what many of them believed they had earned. This groundbreaking study provides the first analysis of the legislative debates surrounding the education benefits offered under the Vietnam-era G.I. Bills. Specifically, the book explores why legislators from both ends of the political spectrum failed to provide Vietnam veterans the same generous compensation offered to veterans of previous wars. This book should be essential reading to scholars of the Vietnam War, political history, or of social policy. Contemporary lawmakers should heed its historical lessons on how we ought to treat our returning veterans. Indeed, veterans wishing to fully understand their own homecoming experience will find great interest in the book's conclusions.