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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GI Bill Author Deserves Medal
WASHINGTON (July 8, 2004) - The U.S. House of Representatives has joined the 2.7 million-member American Legion in calling for President George W. Bush to "posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery."
Colmery, a World War I veteran and American Legion past national commander, is widely recognized as the author of the original GI Bill. The Kansas lawyer's penciled outline of the GI Bill is contained in a glass display case at American Legion National Headquarters at Indianapolis. Since June 17, 2002, a plaque dedicated to Colmery's work has marked the suite, Room 570 of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where the World War I veteran on Dec. 15, 1943, penned his remarkable vision. Rep. Jim Ryun of Kansas took the lead on a "sense of Congress" resolution that the House approved on Tuesday.
"Millions of GIs bought homes, started businesses and attended college on the original GI Bill, thusly creating a middle class and raising expectations for future generations of Americans," American Legion National Commander John Brieden said. "In addition to boosting today's Montgomery GI Bill to the educational buying power of its prototype, awarding the Medal of Freedom to its author, Mr. Colmery, is a long-overdue gesture. My thanks to all members of the House who voted in favor of recognizing the efforts of Mr. Colmery."
In an op-ed commemorating the 60th anniversary of the GI Bill's signing, June 22, Brieden chronicled the impact of the legislation: "The suburb was born. The shopping center followed. Roads had to be built to connect communities. The engine of economic growth churned. Dreams came true. Men and women of a variety of backgrounds, who served their nation honorably in the U.S. armed forces, made something of themselves. Their accomplishments raised expectations for their children and for future generations... And the GI Bill worked! The noble impulse of Colmery and his American Legion comrades poured '...the pursuit of Happiness' out of the history books and into the aspirations of our finest citizens. The vision of Past National Commander Colmery, as he is known within The American Legion, changed America. He deserves the Medal of Freedom."
President Truman established the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1945 to recognize notable service during war, and in 1963 President Kennedy reinstated the medal to honor the achievement of civilians during peacetime.
The bill is House Concurrent Resolution 257.
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