VFW, DAV tap Vietnam-era vets as new leaders

VFW, DAV tap Vietnam-era vets as new leaders

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Aug 21, 2008 17:14:19 EDT

Two of the nation’s biggest veterans’ groups have elected Vietnam-era veterans as their new national commanders.

Raymond Dempsey, an Air Force veteran, was selected to head the 1.4 million-member Disabled American Veterans.

Glen Gardner, a Marine Corps veteran, was elected to head the 1.6 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Gardner was elected during VFW’s annual convention held Aug. 16-21 in Orlando, Fla. Dempsey was elected during DAV’s annual convention in Las Vegas one week earlier.

Dempsey, who lives in Des Plaines, Ill., was in the Air Force from 1967 to 1970 and received a medical discharge after suffering a spinal cord injury while serving as a member of a nuclear, biological and chemical team.

Gardner, of Round Rock, Texas, served in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970 and did a tour as an aircraft mechanic with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Group 12 in Chu Lai, Vietnam.

In his Aug. 21 acceptance speech, Gardner said veterans’ service organizations need to do more for younger veterans to remain relevant.

“We cannot hold onto the concepts of another era and expect to survive,” he said. “Young veterans are not looking for a social club. They want to belong to an organization that provides services to active-duty military, veterans and their families.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/military_vfw_dav_082108w/

Glad they opened their eyes. I've been posting about the need to change for a couple of years now.