INDIANAPOLIS - The American Legion has launched an informative new Web site to help veterans and their families understand the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which takes effect Aug. 1, 2009, and how it compares with other federal education benefits for veterans.

The site - http://www.mygibill.org - includes clear explanations of the different GI Bill benefits, news alerts and updates, frequently asked questions, state-by-state benefits and online application opportunities. The site also includes information about The American Legion's historical and ongoing role in the evolution of veterans' education benefits. The site will continue to evolve with new features and updated material every week.

"This new Web site comes in response to quite a bit of confusion from veterans since the passage of the Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 last summer," American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein said. "There are some major differences between the Post 9/11 GI Bill and the Montgomery GI Bill that veterans need to understand. Foremost, they need to understand that they have choices and should review all of the different education benefits to see which one best meets their needs."

Rehbein said The American Legion has a time-honored obligation to play a lead role in providing information and outreach on the GI Bill.

"The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 - the original GI Bill - was the brainchild of American Legion members, most notably Past National Commander Harry Colmery, who drafted it in longhand from a room inside the Mayflower Hotel in Washington," Rehbein said. "He and his fellow Legionnaires worked diligently in Washington and around the nation to get it passed. The rest is history - a half-century of economic prosperity, a 7-to-1 return on investment for the federal government and, really, the creation of the American middle class."

The Legion was actively involved, as well, in the creation of the Post 9/11 GI Bill last spring, which aimed to improve portability of the benefit, especially for members of the National Guard and Reserve, and to make it transferable to spouses and dependents. The American Legion worked closely with the bill's primary author, Sen. James Webb, D-Va., during its creation.

"While there are still some issues to be worked out, the new GI Bill fills in a lot of gaps the Montgomery GI Bill did not cover," Rehbein said. "Likewise, there are some benefits of the Montgomery GI Bill that may outweigh those of the Post 9/11 bill. Veterans need simple, clear answers that are sometimes hard to find in government-run media and documents. That's what we are doing with www.mygibill.org."