For older news headlines, please search the archive.
When Navy veteran Madison Fletcher became the first female commander of VFW Post 5444 in Dover Plains, New York, last year, a door of opportunity opened for her closest ally. In navigating a male-dominated world for many years alone, Fletcher now stands head-and-shoulders with her mother, Melanie Ryder, who became Auxiliary president this year to s...
VFW Post 6753 life members Gerald Gaye and his wife, Helen, in Knoxville, Pennsylvania, started an annual benefit for shelter animals in 2014 that each October brings together a community of veterans and civilians for a noble cause. The Gayes host dozens of local animal lovers each year, relying on volunteerism from Post members and Auxiliary to he...
Last May, VFW Post 3619 in Deridder, Louisiana, joined others around the country for the first-ever VFW National Day of Service. But Post members were stepping up for their community long before that. For National Day of Service, the Post hosted a Youth Summer Safety Fair where kids received ID kits and personal first aid kits. Young attendees also...
The ring of a bell at VFW Post 10087 in Beverly Hills, Florida, by an elderly veteran in May led to a grand-scale, 119-hour volunteer mission by six Post members to improve his living conditions. When the 74-year-old veteran sought help from the Post in finding a local handyman for minor domestic repairs around his trailer, its members assessed the...
While it is hard to gauge the extent family relationships are intertwined with VFW memberships, it is clear, after talking with members of VFW Posts from New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, California and as far away as American Samoa, that VFW “family ties” often become VFW “force multipliers.” Here is a look at some of thos...
Unraveling with the gospel of those touched by its power, a ranch hidden amidst the rolling pastures of Seguin in southern Texas has become a sanctuary for veterans. Though few outside of the local veterans’ community in and around San Antonio have heard of it, Lazy U Ranch has become a safe haven for legions of active-duty troops, chaplains ...
Members of VFW Post 4938 in Edmond, Oklahoma, are always available to help fellow veterans — and anyone else in need — no matter the task at hand. “Our dedicated veterans continue to support a variety of VFW programs and their local community,” said Junior Vice Commander Bradly Blume. For the inaugural VFW National Day of Se...
For many veterans, equine therapy has been a way to cope with symptoms of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. Those veterans form a special bond and relief from working with horses that possibly no other animal can provide. At New Freedom Farm, located in Buchanan, Virginia, organizers take it a step further by saving horses that ar...
Despite becoming the first female Department commander of West Virginia in June, Dr. Corrina Boggess dwells little on the historic accomplishment, focusing rather on the tasks at hand. A former deputy chief of staff for the Army Reserve in Washington, D.C., who retired in 2009 as a colonel after 28 years in the service, Boggess’ leadership wi...
A Sunflower State VFW Post in March hosted a benefit dinner for a resident who needed help with medical bills. Chris Dearinger, a Basehor, Kansas, resident, was “stricken” by COVID-19 in September 2021, according to VFW Post 11499 Commander David Babin. The Army veteran said that even though Dearinger has medical insurance, the Basehor ...
t
o
p