A VA home loan milestone worth celebrating

The Veterans Affairs Department guaranteed its 20 millionth home loan yesterday, the latest in a program that stretches back to the original World War II GI Bill.

The historical effects of the VA Home Loan program are staggering. It made housing affordable for citizen soldiers returning from war, which in turn led to development of a new middle class and the growth of suburbia -- the latter a mixed blessing.

Sure sounds like government -- not to mention the nation -- ended up with a return far greater than the investment in home loans.

The 20 millionth loan went to help the surviving spouse of an Iraq War Veteran who passed away in 2010 buy a house in Woodbridge, Va., and probably at a better rate than a commercial mortgage.