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Are you interested in getting books by VFW Publications into your schools and libraries, but aren't sure where to start? Use the experience of Dave Newman, a member of Post 647 in Danville, Va.
The Korean War vet found great educational value in Battles of the Korean War.* He and the other members of an informal group of Korea vets in his area agreed that the book should be used as a teaching tool.
"We had great success with this," Newman said. "We didn't stop until we got a book in every school around here."
They started by contacting the superintendent of the school system in Danville, who agreed to accept books for each of the district's school libraries. Then they approached the city librarian, who also was pleased to receive the book.
After that, they contacted schools and libraries throughout their county--eventually branching out to neighboring counties--including public schools, private schools, local colleges and even Virginia Tech and Virginia Military Institute.
They didn't always know people at these institutions, Newman said. For local schools, they contacted the superintendent or assistant superintendent. For libraries and colleges, they contacted the head librarian. Always they stressed the importance of the book from a teaching standpoint, and not once did someone turn them down.
Newman says they have received letters and phone calls from many of the recipients thanking them for the book--especially librarians, who read the book themselves and wrote to express how much they liked it.
The biggest challenge for Newman and his fellow vets was coming up with the money to purchase the books. His Post donated $300, and he solicited donations from other community groups, such as the Elks.
The group also tried to generate as much publicity as possible. They alerted the local newspaper, which published an article on their efforts with photos of the city librarian and a school official accepting their copies of the book. The vets even got the project mentioned on their local TV station.
In all, Newman purchased 167 copies of Battles of the Korean War, on behalf of his fellow Korea vets and for donation to schools and libraries.
"Based on our own experience, we knew this stuff wasn't being taught," he said. "We feel it's a pretty bad disservice to the 36,576 young men who gave their lives. We're not going to forget them, and through our efforts with this book, we're going to make sure this neighborhood doesn't forget them."
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