Tom Ricks raises the question of the impact of the GI Bill of WWII on the country. His comments are brief but interesting. For example, the incidence of PTSD was quite minimal compared to our 21st century wars. True, the phenomenon was not named until after the war. And, yes, I was a kid at the time, but the percentage of veterans who went berserk post-war was far smaller then that of today.
The GI Bill was quite generous; you could pay for an education, get mortgage, or draw $20 a week for a year. Some who benefited: Norman Mailer, Joseph Heller, Elmore Leonard, Rod Serling, Robert Duvall, and Robert Rauschenberg.
Coincidentally, we did not lionize the 'warriors' as we seem to do today. Was that because we all - young and old, rich and poor, college students and high school dropouts - fought in the war?
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