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In 1944, as Hawaii's soldiers were returning from battles in Europe and the Pacific, Congress was laying the groundwork for a Democratic political revolution that ultimately led to statehood for the islands.

The GI Bill of Rights -- which subsidized college expenses for returning GIs -- had a profound effect on Hawaii, where native Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Korean immigrants would march from college to the voting booth, then to seats in the territorial Legislature and other elective jobs.

Many of those ex-GIs were the force behind Hawaii's long drive for statehood, which finally came to the islands in 1959.

It had been resisted by big business, but others believed it would enhance the rights of all people.

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