Sixty-five years ago, the government figured out a way to take care of its veterans.

When the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 – the original GI Bill – was signed into law, World War II was still raging, and the nation was still emerging from the Great Depression. The government knew that thousands of veterans would need help to assimilate into civilian life, whenever the war ended.

The bill, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, allowed veterans to go to college with the help of the government.

Today, American service members are beginning to come home from Iraq. But those men and women are returning to a country still reeling from a recession.

While the conditions that surrounded the original GI Bill were much more dramatic, today’s vets will reap better benefits when it comes to their military service.

The Post 9/11 GI Bill became available Aug. 1 to anyone who has served in the military at least 90 days after Sept. 11, 2001. Veterans and government officials say the new GI Bill is better than any previous version.

Under the new bill, the government will pay full tuition at any in-state public college or offer the amount equal to the tuition at the most expensive public college in the state to apply toward tuition at a private university.

Previously, veterans nationwide received the same flat rate to apply toward tuition and fees wherever they attended college.

The new bill also offers veterans a monthly housing allowance and up to $1,000 a year for books. Through a provision of the bill, called the Yellow Ribbon Program, public and private colleges can fund tuition expenses for veterans whose bills might go beyond what the GI Bill covers. Fifty Indiana institutions have enrolled in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

There are thousands of men and women who will take advantage of the Post 9/11 GI Bill nationwide, including the following five men from northeast Indiana. Their ages, military branches and experience vary, but all say they’re excited about this new reward for their service.

Matthew Williamson

“Like most Marines, I wanted to blow stuff up.”

That’s Williamson’s reason for enlisting in the military in 1999, when he was 19. His reserve unit, based in Peru, was activated in February 2003, when it was sent to Kuwait and was one of the first units to cross into Iraq.

Williamson, 30, came home nine months later, stayed in the reserves until 2007, got engaged and worked customer service at Fort Wayne International Airport so his soon-to-be wife could go to school. The South Side High School graduate wasn’t thinking about the GI Bill when he enlisted and wasn’t planning on going to college until his wife suggested it.

“I didn’t like high school,” Williamson said. “I didn’t think I’d ever come back to school, but as I got older, I got a little bit smarter and realized I needed a higher education. I’m just thankful I had (the GI Bill) to help me out.”

Williamson, who’s majoring in computer networking, was using an older version of the GI Bill to attend Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast, but his benefits ran out. When he heard about the new GI Bill, Williamson was excited to apply.

“I think it’s something that no matter where you serve or how long you serve, you should be able to get it,” Williamson said.

Lawrence Simmons

Simmons, 30, enlisted in the Air Force on July 3, 2001, two months before 9/11.

His grandfather had been in the Air Force during the Korean War, and Simmons thought it would be a good idea for him to get some training while serving his country.

Simmons was 22 when he joined and had been taking classes at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and working temporary jobs since graduating from Wayne High School.

Simmons was deployed to Kuwait for three months in 2002 where he worked construction and did repairs on the base and served until July 3, 2005.

Simmons said he thought about the GI Bill when he enlisted, but when he got out of the military, he got a commercial driver’s license and became a truck driver.

This month, Simmons will begin his first semester at Indiana Tech, majoring in criminal justice, courtesy of the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

The benefits he’ll receive from the GI Bill are definitely worth his time in the military, said Simmons, who is especially glad he’ll receive a housing allowance that will enable him to not have to work while going to school.

“It’s something that you earn,” Simmons said. “I know a lot of people go into the military for the benefits, but in the end, I realized that I would do it again even without the benefits. It’s really about serving your country.”

Brandon Crawford

Ten years ago, Brandon Crawford, 32, went through boot camp for the Marines in San Diego and now he’s practicing with the Ball State University football team.

After graduating from South Side High School in 1996, Crawford worked in a couple of factories but decided he didn’t want to do that for the rest of his life.

Crawford enlisted in the Marines in 1999 and was stationed in Cherry Point, N.C., until he was discharged in 2003. Crawford was never deployed.

He enrolled at Ball State in the fall of 2006 under a previous GI Bill and was under the impression his entire education would be paid for. Crawford said he was wrong.

“My understanding was that it would be more,” Crawford said. “I ended up having to take out student loans and everything.”

He graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice but wanted to pursue a master’s degree in the same field.

Crawford applied for the Post 9/11 GI Bill to finance his graduate education.

“I heard about that and thought that sounds like a good deal,” Crawford said. “My impression of it is it’s going to help out a little more.”

Crawford is glad the benefit is available to him. But he wishes veterans could receive more perks and that the government be more clear as to what the GI Bill covers before people enlist in the military.

“I don’t think it’s really clear to people when they actually hear about it. It’s not paying for school, it’s giving you money for school to help you pay for things and the cost of living,” Crawford said. “I think it was a little misleading to me.”

Ryan Stewart

Ryan Stewart, 25, will go to Indiana Tech after three tours in Iraq.

Stewart said he was an Army Airborne Ranger, went to Army sniper school and was a member of the Army Parachute Team. His military service required medical attention, including surgery on his ankle and wrist, and Stewart eventually medically retired from the Army with more than six years of service.

The Knox native attended Boise State University in Idaho and helped coach football. But he wanted to move back to the Hoosier State, and he eventually found a job coaching football at Heritage Junior-Senior High School in Monroeville.

Stewart enrolled in Indiana Tech for the fall semester as a physical education major on the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and the college will contribute money of its own through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Stewart had his tuition at Boise State paid for by an older GI Bill, but he still had to buy books and pay for housing.

The old GI Bill did nothing financially to help a service member who had just returned from Iraq and was trying to get on his feet, said Stewart, who wants to be a physical education teacher and coach.

“The new GI Bill is so much better for people that served their country,” Stewart said. “It’s so much better than the old GI Bill. You can’t even compare the two.”

Alvin Brooks

Joining the military was a family tradition for Alvin Brooks, 22.

His grandma retired from the Army, his uncle retired from the Navy, his brother and dad served in the Marines Corps and his aunt is in the Air Force. So it was natural for Brooks, a South Side graduate, to join the Army Reserves.

He’s a sergeant now and was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008 and returned a year later. Before Brooks enlisted in 2006, he was taking classes at Ivy Tech, but this year he’ll do it with the government paying the bills.

Brooks is married with a child on the way and is a general-studies major with the intention of going into law enforcement.

The plan is to either get an associate degree from Ivy Tech or transfer to IPFW to study criminal justice.

Brooks said his time in the military was worth the benefits the Post 9/11 GI Bill will bring financially.

“(It helps) as far as how the economy has changed in the year I’ve been gone,” Brooks said. “It helps out a lot for students who want to go full time but have to work.”

ksoderlund@jg.net