Apr 09, 2026
The question became a challenge for Gerald Decker. In May 2024, he was asked by North Carolina State Sen. Bill Rabon why his VFW Post in Leland, North Carolina, had no creative arts program.
As Post 12196 Commander, Decker had represented his Post at Arts Day in Raleigh, North Carolina, about 140 miles north of Leland. There, he met with Rabon while discussing various community assistance programs. Decker returned home determined.
“I didn’t have a good answer for him,” Decker recalled. “But when I returned to Leland, I got to speak to some veterans who illustrated the need for an organization that gives them access to sources of wellness and well-being in addition to the VA.”
Decker, who on Jan. 19, 2020, chartered Post 12196 alongside Don Spaulding, aimed to create a VFW-sponsored arts program for local veterans, which would incorporate aspects of several established and successful programs across the country.
“It actually was not difficult getting the program together. It just took some serious attention to detail,” Decker said. “I worked with retired Marine Col. Eric Terashima and Cammeron Batanides, along with other members of Post 12196. Together, we developed a business plan, finalized the corporate paperwork and, within about three months, were ready to go.”
On Sept. 28, 2024, during a birthday party at the Post to celebrate the VFW’s 125th anniversary, Decker and others announced the launch of the Veterans Creative Arts Program (VCAP) as a certified nonprofit organization.
VCAP employs a variety of art forms, which include creative writing (both in-class and online), music, dance, acting, culinary arts, and art classes, to help veterans and first responders, especially those suffering from PTSD and TBI, cope through the creation of art.
“We encourage expression in a form that works for them,” said Decker, who serves as VCAP director, joining a seven-member board, four of whom are Post officers. “The goal of our art program is to recognize their trauma and get their feelings out. The number one goal of VCAP is to give veterans, first responders and their families access to a source that will help them on a path to recovery.”
At VCAP, the length of classes varies by art form, and all courses and materials come free of charge, according to Decker, who added that the space for these classes is often donated and held throughout Brunswick County and Wilmington, North Carolina.
Still in its infancy today, the program has already seen more than 750 participants.
Part of this success stems from VCAP’s outreach and partnerships with other nonprofits that promote holistic mental health therapies in the communities of Leland, Wilmington, and neighboring towns in Brunswick County. Since its inception, VCAP has promoted its members’ art at local coffee shops and has opened other avenues for writers to share their work.
“This has not only helped spread the word, but it has also given our participants the confidence that they can actually write or draw or cook better than they thought,” Decker said. “It gives them a sense of accomplishment when they see their work is as good as others. In fact, several never-before-seen artists have actually sold some of their work, and our women veterans’ writing group is in negotiations with a national publication to publish some of their work.”
For more information on the VCAP, visit https://www.veteranscreativearts.org.
This article is featured in the 2026 March/April issue of VFW magazine and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., associate editor for VFW magazine.