VFW Day
September 29
As an ASVAB, I choose to present various American military holidays, observances, and anniversaries in my blog posts. Today, September 29 is VFW Day. It is National Veterans of Foreign Wars Day. This day celebrates one of the largest and most established organization of war veterans in the United States. The VFW has its origin in 1899. Veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to protect the rights and benefits of their service. At this time in history, many of the veterans arrived home from the wars wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans’ pension for them. Veterans joined together and formed chapters in Ohio, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The movement kept growing. Now the VFW has over 1.5 million members. The VFW played a key role in founding the Veterans Administration. The mission of the VFW is to foster fellowship among United States veterans of overseas conflicts. It is a nonprofit veterans’ service organization made up of eligible veterans and military service members. Members of the VFW come from active, guard, and reserve forces. The VFW has the core values of putting the interest of its members first, promoting patriotism, honoring military service, serving the community, ensuring the care of veterans and their families, and respecting the diversity of veteran opinions.
