My DH grew up in a very poor family who received welfare payments. He joined the Air Force and spent 4 years during the time of the Viet Nam war. He did not go to Viet Nam. However, if the Air Force had decided to send him, he would not have had any choice but to go. The GI Bill helped us to buy a house and it also led to him getting his college degree. It was a long struggle for him to get it, because he also went to college after working his full-time job and being a spouse and father. The GI Bill helped us go from being a poor family to a middle class family. It helped us to break the welfare cycle and to contribute by paying quite a bit of taxes over the years. Society is still paying for two of his family members who became addicted to drugs and are currently in prison. Society is also paying for another family member who became addicted to drugs and then found out she had cancer. Medicaid has paid for a lot of medical bills for her. She has filed for SSI (which is paid for by the taxpayers) and will probably be approved. I am very thankful for the GI Bill and the life that it helped to provide for us.
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