Veterans of Foreign Wars Increase, membership goes down

Veterans groups look for new ways to survive

By Holly Zachariah - The Columbus Dispatch via AP
Posted : Sunday Jan 20, 2008 9:51:59 EST

FOREST, Ohio — He was the only customer in the club Thursday, this Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War.

It was just after 4 p.m., and Larry Hannum nursed a bottle of Budweiser. A game show played on the big-screen television, but the sound was turned down. Hannum made a little small talk with the bartender, but mostly he just sat in the swiveling bar chair and relaxed.

The McVitty Memorial VFW Post 1182 in this Hardin County village was supposed to have closed two weeks ago. In a move increasingly common for veterans organizations across the state, trustees had voted to shutter the hall.

Long gone were the days of packed Friday night fish fries, pancake breakfasts and dances with live bands. The VFW’s glory days had passed.

Membership was down to 103 (the old veterans are dying, and new ones aren’t joining), meetings often had no quorum, and the bar was hemorrhaging money.

But members of the women’s auxiliary volunteered to work free and keep the canteen open four nights a week. So with $83.07 in the post’s bank account, they took over. They have their eye on recruiting new members. They’ve planned a corn hole tournament, a Valentine’s Day dance and suppers every Friday night. They want to buy a dart board and maybe even take the Red Sovine CD off the jukebox.

The post is worth saving, they say.

“We need to get people out of the mindset that a VFW is a place where old men go to sit and drink,” said Teresa Howard, auxiliary president. “We need to change with the times and start having activities that will bring in younger people and their families.”

Last year in Ohio, five VFW posts closed. Two more have done so this year. Others are on the brink of disaster. VFW Post 870 in Richwood in Union County laid off its paid staff and gave up its gaming license, which allowed it to use instant tear-away tickets and drawings to raise money for charity.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_fadingvetgroups_080120/

Why one earth can't the VFW see the reason for this happening? It's the same reason Vietnam veterans didn't flock to them. It's the same reason all organizations have not seen a surge in membership. They don't show they care.

I've been in a lot of these "posts" in my years and none of them seem to be interested in serving the veterans more than a drink at the bar. There are enormous problems the veterans face everyday and none of them are being addressed by any of the organizations.

Every time I see a politician appearing before a group of veterans I know it may well be the only time any of the commanders come into contact with any of the elected with the power to reduce the backlog of claims for the wounded, ensure the medical care and compensation for incomes lost because of the wounds they received in service and they certainly have not become involved in the homeless veterans issues on a grand scale. Opening a bar, pouring drinks and having a party here and there does little to address their problems.

The need has never been greater with two occupations producing 7 wounded for 1 killed. More and more are surviving horrific wounds. TBI wounds a huge percentage of them and PTSD claims a lot more. What is the VFW doing for them? What about the claims tied up in the system, not only holding up the income they are entitled to as a wounded veteran but also causing them and their families address stress?

As the need increased across the nation, from large cities able to deal a bit better with the returning wounded, the veterans and especially the National Guardsmen and Reservists, rural areas with VFW posts have not stepped up to fill the gap. All VFW posts should be active in trying to help the veterans with claims, support programs and outreach efforts as well as use their influence with the elected who only remember them when there is an election coming.

These wounds, these veterans, need everything we can do for them because the government never got out of neutral when they needed to be into overdrive. It's up to the posts to step up and take care of them and push for the government to do their jobs.

A recent interview with Senator Tester said that the VA increase, the largest in the history of the VA, will still be $12 billion short of the need. What has the VFW done about this? What has the VFW done about homeless veterans? The only posts doing anything substantial are the only posts who have grown their membership and they deserved it. The others will fail because they are not filling the need.

I have several videos on PTSD, free for anyone to use, download and run. Several organizations have contacted me about using them and they are taking an active role in actually serving the veterans who served this nation.

If you are a commander of a VFW post please feel free to use my videos. That's what they are there for. You can inform the community what PTSD is and help inform the veterans as well. You can establish support groups that are desperately needed. If you are a post commander in the Orlando Florida area, I will be happy to come with the videos and speak about this problem at any time. I can also advise you of the best way to reach out to the veterans waiting for you to fill the need instead of the glass. Other posts have made changes to the way they serve the veterans and you can too.