Where Memorial Day in May honors the nation's war dead, Veterans Day honors living veterans who have served in the wartime and peacetime military.

Those veterans deserve much more than words of praise and parades.

This day has special meaning this year with the passage of the "GI Bill for the 21st Century," which President Bush signed in June. With the nation engaged in two ongoing conflicts, America owes those returning from active duty to civilian life the opportunity to reshape their lives.

No one should underestimate how difficult that adjustment can be. Many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have lost limbs. Others have suffered brain injuries. Many have seen soldiers and civilians die, and they relive war with post-traumatic stress. Others find that the transition from the routine, disciplined life in which the military provides for all needs is a shock that is hard to cope with.

In this time of economic downturn, veterans will have trouble finding jobs. And they will need skills to thrive in the 21st century economy. While 92 percent of enlisted troops have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate, only 2.6 percent have attended college and only 4.2 percent have an associate degree or higher.

Ninety-six percent say that one of the main reasons they joined the military was to get an education. But under the old peacetime GI Bill, fewer than 50 percent were taking advantage of that opportunity.

The original "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944" (known as the GI Bill of Rights), signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt near the end of World War II, provided tuition benefits that sent 8 million veterans to college. Of those 8 million, 450,000 became engineers; 360,000, teachers; 240,000, accountants; 180,000, doctors and nurses; and 150,000, scientists.

Unfortunately, the GI Bill of the 1980s and 1990s was designed for peacetime – not wartime – service. Veterans had to pay $1,200 to enroll in the program. They received no money for books, and benefits covered only half the cost of the average public college education.

The new GI Bill for the 21st Century replaces that outdated system with a WWII-style GI Bill that provides upfront tuition payments directly to the school. Those who have served on active duty for three years or more would qualify for the full educational benefit – the annual cost of a four-year education up to the level of the most expensive in-state public university (up to $7,703 in California), fees and books. The bill also provides a monthly stipend equivalent to local housing costs.

Those who have served between three months and three years of active duty qualify for a sliding-scale benefit.

About 35,000 Californians leave the military every year. But only about 14,000 are taking advantage of GI Bill benefits to go to college.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to change that, and the new GI Bill should help. Two years ago, he launched Troops to College (www.troopstocollege.ca.gov), a program to help active-duty veterans use their benefits to improve their education. His message to California veterans is: "With your military experience and a college degree, your opportunities are boundless."

On this Veterans Day, we can celebrate that those who have been serving since 9/11 will have the same opportunity for a first-class education as those who served during World War II – if they are encouraged and helped to take advantage of it.