Returning Vietnam veterans had every reason to expect that the government would take care of their readjustment needs in the same way it had done for veterans of both World War II and Korea. But the Vietnam generation soon discovered that their G.I. Bills fell well short of what many of them believed they had earned. Mark Boulton’s groundbreaking study provides the first analysis of the legislative debates surrounding the education benefits offered under the Vietnam-era G.I. Bills. Specifically, the book explores why legislators from both ends of the political spectrum failed to provide Vietnam veterans the same generous compensation offered to veterans of previous wars.
Failing Our Veterans should be essential reading to scholars of the Vietnam War, political history, or of social policy. Contemporary lawmakers should heed its historical lessons on how we ought to treat our returning veterans. Indeed, veterans wishing to fully understand their own homecoming experience will find great interest in the book’s conclusions.

"Failing Our Veteransis a significant contribution to our understanding of Vietnam-era veterans benefits specifically and veterans policies generally. Boulton highlights how leaders, even well-meaning ones, have far too often sacrificed veterans benefits to other political or ideological goals.As a new generation of veterans returns home to America from war, contemporary lawmakers would be wise to heed the cautionary history presented inFailing Our Veteransand avoid making the same mistakes." - Journal of America's Military Past

"Failing Our Veterans is an outstanding legislative history of the G.I. Bill and its evolution during and after World War II. Boulton traces a clear and understandable path through a complex array of personalities and organizations involved in the public policy debate that comprised postwar veterans policy." - American Historical Review

"This book fills an important niche, helping explain the difficulties encountered by those never labeled 'the Greatest Generation'." - Choice

"Failing Our Veterans is highly recommended for scholars of modern American history and anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of veterans affairs." - Canadian Military History

"The book is well organized and presents convincing and compelling analysis of an extremely important issue." - Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"[] Failing Our Veterans makes a valuable contribution to knowledge about the Vietnam veterans experience particularly useful for researchers who specialize in Vietnam veterans, education policy and veterans readjustment providing a context for an understanding of the relevant debates about educational benefits, and showing their connectedness to the broader history of their times." - The Journal of the Historical Association

"InFailing Our VeteransMark Boulton, an assistant professor of history at Westminster College in Missouri, provides a detailed examination of the legislative history of the Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 and subsequent bills passed between 1967 and 1974 to explain why many veteran needs were not fulfilled.Failing Our Veteransably illustrates fundamental issues remain unresolved." - The Journal of American History