Archives

Mar 24 2023

'It's Been a Long Time Coming'

Cheers rang out through the Baltimore/Washington International Airport last May as an Allegiant Airlines flight out of Orlando, Florida, deplaned more than 150 women – 109 of whom were veterans. They were headed to the nation’s capital as guests of Villages Honor Flight in the “Sunshine State.” Honor Flight is a national net...

Mar 23 2023

'It Was an Honor and a Privilege'

The unspoken bond between veterans brought an 18-year-old Purple Heart and its adjoined certificate into the hands of Russ Martin on a late morning last June. A Vietnam veteran who often wears his 25th Infantry Division hat with pride, Martin was on his way home when he decided to stop by a local pawn shop in his hometown of Shelton, Connecticut, i...

Mar 22 2023

'We Were Able to Share the Experiences We Had'

Almost five decades after the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ended, students at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, are learning about the complexities of the Vietnam War. Many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have taken the course, with some realizing that the Vietnam War has many similarities to the war that took place in southe...

Mar 22 2023

'A Memory that Will Be With Me My Entire Life'

NATHAN GRISSOM Service: Army | Rank: Specialist | Unit: 233rd MP Company |Location: Baghdad | Dates in Iraq:April 2003-2004 | VFW affiliation:Post 4598, Greenup, Illinois “My most vivid memory of Iraq was seeing the pure gratitude of a few Iraqis who were searching through a trash dump for food and items to sell. We pulled through while patro...

Mar 21 2023

VFW Delegation Returns to Southeast Asia

BANGKOK — Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Commander-in-Chief Tim Borland and a VFW delegation arrived in Thailand for the first leg of their three-country diplomatic and fact-finding mission to Southeast Asia, the first of its kind since 2019. “I am so proud to be a part of this very honorable mission back to Southeast Asia,” Borla...

Mar 21 2023

20 Years Later: Recalling the US Invasion of Iraq

The Iraq War began on March 19, 2003, when U.S. planes and warships based in the Persian Gulf hit targets within Iraq with a barrage of Tomahawk missiles. The next day, the ground phase of the war started when the first of some 160,000 U.S. troops entered Iraq. The invasion was swift and successful. During the first week, Marines encountered heavy ...

Mar 20 2023

The Father of Bridge Day

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce in West Virginia posthumously honored a Korean War veteran on July 16, 2022, for his maiden, 876-foot parachute leap more than four decades ago. The memorial, which immortalizes the story of Army veteran Burton Ervin’s groundbreaking jump off a then-new New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, West Virg...

Mar 17 2023

Mounted Guard Honors Veterans

Toni Johnson has been riding horses since she was a young girl. Today, she rides Napoleon, a Morgan quarter horse with the Arizona VFW Rangers Mounted Color Guard. Established in 2008 by four Vietnam War veterans from VFW Post 10254 in Tucson, Arizona, the group’s mission is fourfold. It promotes veterans, the nation’s flags, patriotism...

Mar 17 2023

'Together We Are Stronger'

In a tightknit community like that of Bennington, Vermont, whispers of heartache tend to grow into a rallying cry strong enough to summon all residents from downtown to its outskirts. When these whispers about 2-year-old Finley Scanlon spread across town in early spring of 2022, it prompted VFW Post 1332 members to lead a fundraising eff ort alongs...

Mar 16 2023

'It's Rejuvenating'

Keagan Miller’s selfless devotion to others began more than two decades ago at the Marine Corps Reserve Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. As a Marine Corps reservist with MP Co. C, 4th Law Enforcement Bn., in 2000, Miller met Vietnam veteran John Bankowitz, who served as unit commander of the Dayton Young Marines, a n...