thedrifter
08-16-08, 06:32 AM
Marines, veterans hail new GI Bill
By Hannah Saitta / For the Hi-Desert Star Saturday, August 16, 2008 12:46 AM PDT
MORONGO BASIN — Local Marines and veterans are applauding a new GI Bill giving money for school and housing to military veterans.
Signed by the president June 30, the bill offers education benefits worth an average of $80,000 — double the value of those in the previous program. It covers the full costs of tuition and books, which are paid directly to the school, and provides a variable stipend for living expenses.
Local Marine Maj. Mark Brown said he believes the new GI Bill is a “great thing, going back to what it was designed for.”
It will help military personnel fit back into mainstream society, he added.
The original GI Bill signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944 helped almost eight million combat veterans afford an education.
It covered tuition, fees and books and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school.
Local veterans also benefited from this first GI Bill. Hal Lowry, a leader in the Veterans of Foreign War post in Yucca Valley, used the money he received from the bill to buy his first home and go to college at the University of Oregon.
He believes the bill was a “great thing for young fellows coming out.” He said the young veterans were “kind of lost” and “they turned to the government and they helped us until we grew up.”
Stewart Durrant, another Morongo Basin veteran, used the GI Bill to get a low-interest rate on his house, covered in part by the GI Bill.
The new GI Bill gives veterans a variable stipend based on the Defense Department’s basic allowance for housing for an E-5, which averages about $1,200 a month. Each year, the veteran will receive $1,000 for books and supplies.
Career service members may also be allowed to transfer unused benefits to their families.
Twentynine Palms Marine Matt Talbot was attracted by that aspect of the bill. “I like the thought of being able to use it and my wife and children being able to use it,” he said.
The bill also eliminates the need for service members to pay $1,200 to buy into the benefit, which they had to do under the earlier Montgomery GI Bill.
Those who have paid into the current GI Bill will not receive a refund but will receive enhanced benefits.
Everyone on active duty will receive the new bill’s benefits at no cost.
Ellie
By Hannah Saitta / For the Hi-Desert Star Saturday, August 16, 2008 12:46 AM PDT
MORONGO BASIN — Local Marines and veterans are applauding a new GI Bill giving money for school and housing to military veterans.
Signed by the president June 30, the bill offers education benefits worth an average of $80,000 — double the value of those in the previous program. It covers the full costs of tuition and books, which are paid directly to the school, and provides a variable stipend for living expenses.
Local Marine Maj. Mark Brown said he believes the new GI Bill is a “great thing, going back to what it was designed for.”
It will help military personnel fit back into mainstream society, he added.
The original GI Bill signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944 helped almost eight million combat veterans afford an education.
It covered tuition, fees and books and gave veterans a living stipend while they were in school.
Local veterans also benefited from this first GI Bill. Hal Lowry, a leader in the Veterans of Foreign War post in Yucca Valley, used the money he received from the bill to buy his first home and go to college at the University of Oregon.
He believes the bill was a “great thing for young fellows coming out.” He said the young veterans were “kind of lost” and “they turned to the government and they helped us until we grew up.”
Stewart Durrant, another Morongo Basin veteran, used the GI Bill to get a low-interest rate on his house, covered in part by the GI Bill.
The new GI Bill gives veterans a variable stipend based on the Defense Department’s basic allowance for housing for an E-5, which averages about $1,200 a month. Each year, the veteran will receive $1,000 for books and supplies.
Career service members may also be allowed to transfer unused benefits to their families.
Twentynine Palms Marine Matt Talbot was attracted by that aspect of the bill. “I like the thought of being able to use it and my wife and children being able to use it,” he said.
The bill also eliminates the need for service members to pay $1,200 to buy into the benefit, which they had to do under the earlier Montgomery GI Bill.
Those who have paid into the current GI Bill will not receive a refund but will receive enhanced benefits.
Everyone on active duty will receive the new bill’s benefits at no cost.
Ellie