VFW Post 10904 in Manchester, Tennessee, hosted its annual Vietnam-era Veterans Honors Dinner on March 28. Now in its seventh year, the dinner's purpose is to recognize Vietnam veterans and to treat them as they should have been treated when they returned home from Vietnam. The Vietnam-era veterans in attendance were told: -"Thank you for your service;" -"Your cause was just;" and -"Welcome home." The gathering was held at Manchester's Coffee County Veterans Building, which is shared by the VFW, DAV and American Legion. More than 100 guests were present. Lloyd Smith, a local musician performed ..read more

A VFW Post in the Land of 10,000 Lakes held a special ceremony to commemorate Vietnam War veterans for National Vietnam War Veterans Day in March. As reported in Virginia, Minnesota's Mesabi Tribune, emotions ran high at VFW Post 4456 in Gilbert, Minnesota, during a moving tribute for the area's Vietnam War veterans. Attendees were amazed by the display of respect shown to Vietnam War veterans in attendance and the war's KIAs from the region. "The whole thing was something I'll never forget," said VFW Post 4456 Auxiliary member Candace Barshaw, according to the Mesabi Tribune. "The emotion was ..read more

Held under the flapping shade of the U.S. flag, VFW Post 3137 members in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, hosted a community gathering for their semi-annual retirement of old and tattered flags on April 6. Against a picturesque view of the shimmering Atlantic Ocean, the ceremony opened with remarks from Post 3137 Commander Bo Stallings, followed by an invocation from Post Chaplain Carol Truslow. The ceremony also included the National Anthem by Post member Joe Houdek, which preceded the Pledge of Allegiance and the raising of the U.S. flag during the playing of To The Colors. More than 100 flags ..read more

A VFW Post in San Diego accepted help from its community when it needed a new refrigerator after the Post's had broken. When the original stopped, volunteers at the Post were in the process of cooking hundreds of meals for displaced flood victims. During an interview with CBS 8 in April, volunteers told the news station that the Post's main industrial refrigerator stopped working and that they were accepting donations for a new one. After the story aired, VFW Post 7420 Commander Livy Lazaro told CBS 8 that "everyone just started calling and blowing up our phone." CBS 8 reported that the Post r ..read more

On March 18, VFW Post 637 Operations Manager and VFW Auxiliary Department of Virginia Guard Cara Buckley led a ceremony paying tribute to 12 fallen female war heroes at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, which has more than 12,000 names on its wall. The ceremony hosted several dignitaries, which included VFW Department of Virginia Commander Gary Adams, as well as Virginia's Auxiliary President Victoria Butler and National VFW Auxiliary President Carla Martinez, who each gave remarks laden with heartfelt gratitude in honor and respect of the 12 female fallen war heroes. "These remarkable wo ..read more

Over the past five years, a VFW District in Virginia has made it its mission to support a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a haven for veterans with PTSD and their families. Virginia's District 11, based in the heart of the commonwealth, has donated a total of $215,000 to the Boulder Crest Foundation, a nonprofit organization that offers programs free of charge to veterans who deployed to war zones from any generation or conflict. The latest donation took place in November, when members of District 11 presented $42,000 to the foundation. Alexander Thymmons, commander of Virginia's ..read more

More than a year after the Bataan Death March's last remaining World War II survivor passed away, the city he called home for more than 56 years renamed its municipal airport after him. Led by VFW Post 6271 in Benson, Arizona, more than 300 attendees gathered outside of the newly named Benson Municipal Airport/Paul Kerchum Field to honor the memory of Benson's own American hero on Jan. 27. In a ceremony that included 14 members of the Kerchum family, as well as dignitaries from across the Grand Canyon State and the VFW Department of Arizona, many spoke of the larger-than-life Kerchum, who died ..read more

When VFW Post 3343 Commander Brian Moore sat down to calculate how much his Post and its Auxiliary had donated in 2023, the figure sent him back to the calculator. Between January and December of last year, the Post in Clyde, Ohio, donated $158,799 out of its charitable checking account to several organizations, schools, local government and programs geared toward making its community a better place. "I subtracted and added everything several times to make sure the numbers were right," said Moore, an Air Force veteran who served in South Korea in 1988. "We are a very active Post always looking ..read more

Around the world, more of VFW's nearly 5,800 local Posts are offering yoga programs to help veterans and community members experience improvement in their physical and mental health. The VA reports on its website that yoga is one of the "evidence-based complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches" offered as part of a veteran's medical benefits package when deemed "clinically necessary" by his or her care team. "Based on literature review, these approaches were found to be safe and have sufficient evidence of benefit to be recommended as appropriate components of care for the veteran ..read more

Through the VFW's National Military Assistance Program (MAP), members of VFW Post 8273 in Frisco, Texas, helped feed more than 2,500 active-duty troops and their families on March 3. The Post co-sponsored a "Family Day" event in honor of the 301st Fighter Wing at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, supplying 11 pallets filled with a variety of drinks, snacks and desserts. "We were thrilled with the turnout," Post 8273 Commander Shenna Lawless said. "The opportunity to support the 301st Fighter Wing's Family Day was provided by 1st Sgt. Kenny McMillen, a life member o ..read more