American Legion in the context of "Legion Field"

The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the term "G.I. Bill" is still used to refer to programs created to assist American military veterans.

It was largely designed and passed through Congress in 1944 in a bipartisan effort led by the American Legion, which wanted to reward practically all wartime veterans. John H. Stelle, a former Democratic governor of Illinois, served as the Chairman of the Legion's Executive Committee, which drafted and mobilized public opinion to get the G.I. Bill to President Roosevelt's desk on June 22, 1944. Stelle was rewarded for his efforts by the Legion which unanimously elected him its National Commander in 1945. He is commonly referred to as the "Father of the G.I. Bill." Since the First World War the Legion had been in the forefront of lobbying Congress for generous benefits for war veterans. President Roosevelt initially proposed a much smaller program. As historians Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart Blumin point out, FDR did not play a significant role in the contours of the bill. At first, Roosevelt shared with nearly everyone the idea that "satisfactory employment," not educational opportunity, was the key feature of the bill. This changed in the fall of 1944, when Roosevelt's special representative to the European Theatre, Anna M. Rosenberg, returned with her report on the G.I.'s postwar expectations. From her hundreds of interviews with servicemen then fighting in France, it was clear they wanted educational opportunities previously unavailable to them. FDR "lit up," Rosenberg recalled, and subsequent additions to the bill included provisions for higher education.

John Henry Stelle (August 10, 1891 – July 5, 1962) was an American politician who served as the national commander of The American Legion from 1945 to 1946. He previously served as the 29th governor of Illinois (1940–1941), the 34th lieutenant governor of Illinois (1937–1940), and the Treasurer of Illinois (1935–1937). He was also the chairman of the American Legion Executive Committee that, in six short months, drafted what would become known as the G.I. Bill of Rights and be known during the remainder of his life and in the years since as "The Father of the G.I. Bill".

Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs north–south from Miami, Florida, to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. I-75 enters the state from Ohio in the south, north of Toledo, and runs generally northward through Detroit, Flint, and Bay City, crosses the Mackinac Bridge, and ends at the Canadian border in Sault Ste. Marie. The freeway runs for approximately 396 miles (637 km) on both of Michigan's major peninsulas. The landscapes traversed by I-75 include Southern Michigan farmland, northern forests, suburban bedroom communities, and the urban core of Detroit. The freeway also uses three of the state's monumental bridges to cross major bodies of water. There are four auxiliary Interstates in the state related to I-75, as well as nine current or former business routes, with either Business Loop I-75 (BL I-75) or Business Spur I-75 (BS I-75) designations.

The freeway bears several names in addition to the I-75 designation. The southern segment was called the Detroit–Toledo Expressway during planning in the 1950s and 1960s. Through Detroit, I-75 is the Fisher Freeway or the Walter P. Chrysler Freeway, named for pioneers in the auto industry. Sections on either side of the Mackinac Bridge are the G. Mennen Williams Freeway or the Prentiss M. Brown Freeway, named for politicians who helped get the bridge built. Officially, the entire length is the American Legion Memorial Highway, after the organization of the same name. Various sections carry components of the four Great Lakes Circle Tours in the state.