A Lenexa-based online university is working to get the nation's highest civilian honor for a Topeka attorney who crafted the GI Bill of Rights. Joseph McGrath, president of Grantham University, wants the late Harry W. Colmery awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for writing the GI Bill of Rights. The bill, signed into law in 1944, has helped millions of veterans and their dependents pursue higher education. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Colmery, a World War One veteran who became the national commander of the American Legion, wrote the first draft of the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights. McGrath and other Grantham University officials have started a grassroots campaign to nominate Colmery for the medal. The campaign includes an informational website, www.AwardforFreedom.com.