Payette — The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the largest American organization of combat veterans, is facing a significant issue that may impact its very future — member numbers are quickly dwindling. Traditionally, the VFW as a whole works on behalf of American veterans by lobbying Congress for better veterans’ health care and benefits. They also donate money, time and services to the various communities they reside in, as well as providing assistance to veterans when needed. Direct community involvement is also a VFW priority, extending beyond the realm of veterans helping fellow veterans. According to the VFW website, the VFW, along with the mens and ladies auxiliaries, donate more than 13 million volunteer hours annually. Now, however, the future of the organization is in question as their numbers continue to dwindle as aging veterans die and fewer are stepping in to fill their shoes. Glenn Nielsen said that VFW Post 63 in Boise, the 12th-largest VFW post in the nation, loses a minimum of 60 members a year to deaths, and fewer veterans, especially the younger ones, are volunteering their time to fill the ranks. This situation is not unique to the area, but is that way nationwide. Nielsen is a longtime member of the VFW and will become Idaho’s VFW state commander on June 5. “The main concern is that we need to get younger vets in,” Nielsen said. “Most vets serving in senior staff positions are all Vietnam era,” Nielsen said. “Members are mainly World War II, Korea and Vietnam.” Throughout the Malheur, Payette and Washington Counties, there are around 6,100 veterans that served in the military during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, according to the USDA Atlas of Rural and Small Town America. Overall, this comprises about 62 percent of veterans throughout the counties. Membership at Payette’s VFW post 2738, there are currently 530 members, however, only about 30 of them are active within the community, Payette resident Denny Croner, Idaho State Judge Advocate and a national VFW recruiter, said. This is due to the fact that many are elderly and can no longer easily make it to meetings and assist in functions, many are deployed overseas and, a large majority, work daily jobs and have other priorities, Croner said. Of the nearly 1.5 million VFW members nationwide, approximately 33 percent of them are 81 or older, according to statistics provided by the VFW. Members younger than 50 make up about 16 percent. Many in leadership believe that the lack of younger members, primarily ones from the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq, is due to the fact that younger veterans tend to have budding careers they need to focus on as well as young families. “Many are also going to school and a lot probably don’t even think about joining until they’re in their 40’s or 50’s,” Nielsen said. Recruiting younger members may not necessarily be the problem, according to some members within the organization, but retention. Croner echoed Nielsen’s comments about the reasons younger members are not prominent within the organization’s ranks. “Retention is what’s difficult,” Croner said. “After that first year of membership, it’s hard to keep them involved because we’re not catering to their specific needs. They do have school, jobs, family.” From individual posts to the national level, the VFW is looking at ways to cater to the younger member needs, VFW leadership said. This includes adjusting meeting times and dates to accommodate a working-person’s schedule, possibly setting a day care in place — using posts auxiliaries — for meetings and functions, and creating a higher social media presence. One other potential issue that those items may not help with, is the large age gap between the older veterans and the younger ones, a VFW post commander said. “A lot of these younger vets don’t want to hang out with us oldies,” Duane Benda, Commander VFW Post 2738 in Payette, said. “But now we’re getting out in the community, doing events that cater more to the younger folks, and it’s now making a difference in attracting some younger member interest.” According to Benda, another issue is the large time-gap between the Vietnam conflict and the more recent Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. That leaves two gaps, mid-1970s to early 1990s and early ‘90s to 2001 where service members typically don’t qualify for the VFW. The overall fear is that the VFW won’t be able to maintain enough membership down the road to be a viable organization, which in turn means veterans will lose a substantial fighting force for their rights. “We continue the fight against Congress for rights that were promised to us, but now a third of those rights are being taken away,” Nielsen said. According to Nielsen, as well as several other members within the VFW leadership, these rights include disability payments, and related claims, payments due for various other reasons, difficulties with educational benefits, such as the relatively new Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, and others. “Plus, we promote patriotism to the younger generations and not to mention all the volunteer hours, many of it spent at VA hospitals and homes.” Essentially, the VFW needs younger members to pass the torch and continue the valuable, and necessary, work that the organization does. “We realize that we’re going fast,” Benda said. “We have to leave this in the hands of someone or it’s gong to fall flat on its face. It’s important that we do something now.” Aside from the vital role of constantly going before Congress to help ensure veterans receive promised benefits, community involvement and other duties, the VFW and its members provide another essential service to the younger vets. “I’m one of the younger Vietnam vets and I’m going to be 62,” Nielsen said. “But when the real young vets come in and talk to the World War II veterans and some of the older folks, they realize that we can sympathize with them. We know what they went through.” Qualifications for the VFW Must be a U.S. Citizen or national with an honorable discharge from the U.S. Military or currently serving. Military service overseas during an operation or conflict and decoration with an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal or campaign medal (or ribbon) A Leave and Earnings Statement showing receipt of hostel fire or imminent danger pay is also acceptable proof for membership eligibility. Interested in joining the VFW? Contact Denny Croner, a VFW national recruiter at (208) 642-9696 or via e-mail at d69croner@aol.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:56:33 +0000
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