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10/22/2009 - WASHINGTON — The president signed into law today legislation that will enable the Department of Veterans Affairs to know its health care budget a full year in advance. "This is a huge victory for veterans," said Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., who has been advocating for years with other leading veterans' organizations for a new budgetary process that would fund the VA in a sufficient, timely and predictable mann...

10/23/2009 - In 2002, while training for the U.S. Army in Fort Rucker, Alabama, football enthusiasts Nathan Thompson and his friend Joe Lusk dreamed of traveling the United States in an RV during football season. They would visit each of the thirty one NFL stadiums across America, watching a different matchup at a different venue each Sunday, and even catching a few college games along the way. That dream, however, remained exactly that – a dream. In 2005 both Joe and Nathan deploy...

10/28/2009 - WASHINGTON — The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. recently returned from a 12-day trip to Europe to urge the Russian government to revitalize the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, and to meet with American service members stationed in Italy to discuss how VFW can better serve them and their families. In Moscow, Thomas J. Tradewell Sr. met with members from both houses of the Russian Federation's parliament, as well as the leadershi...

10/7/2009 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Past VFW National Commander James N. Goldsmith passed away at a hospice care center on Saturday, October 3 2009. He was 64. James N. Goldsmith was elected Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 2001. A Vietnam veteran, he joined VFW Post 5666, Flushing, Michigan, in 1967. He was a life member of VFW Post 4139 in Lapeer, Michigan. He served as All-State Post Commander in 1974, and in 1977 he earned recognition as an All-State and All-...

10/8/2009 - The following statement was released on behalf of the Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform, comprised of The American Legion, AMVETS, Blinded Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America: “We applaud the House of Representatives for giving final approval to legislation that will provide sufficient, timely and...

10/13/2009 - WASHINGTON — The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is applauding Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki’s decision to increase by three the number of illnesses that can now be linked to the herbicide defoliant Agent Orange, which was used extensively during the Vietnam War. Today’s addition of hairy cell leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease raises to 15 the total number of “presumed” service-connected illnesses the VA considers linked to Agen...

11/3/2009 - “It won’t happen in my lifetime,” Bob Shearer said as he added his name to the registry of Vietnam veterans diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Shearer was exposed to Agent Orange but never thought service connection to the disease would pass in time. His wife kept pushing though. Bob and Brenda Shearer lived on the small retirement he had from a government job. She owned a little antiques shop. When the ALS started to get really bad, times got hard...

11/5/2009 - This Veterans Day, several retail businesses are raising money for programs, while other businesses are offering various discounts to veterans. VFW received the following notices about Veterans Day specials: Sport Clips nationwide on Veterans Day, November 11, is supporting VFW Operation Uplink™ with "The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year." On that day, Sport Clips will donate a dollar for every haircut given in our 660+ stores. Show your support for troops and vetera...

11/5/2009 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. — National President Jan Tittle and scores of Auxiliary members representing at least 37 Departments made the annual trek to celebrate the Statue of Liberty’s birthday October 28. Originally dedicated in 1886 as a gift from the people of France to the people of America, Lady Liberty has 550,000 friends in the Ladies Auxiliary VFW. To ensure her many future years as one of our finest national icons, they presented her with the organization’s yearly gif...

9/19/2024 - WASHINGTON — I am pleased to hear the news, along with the nearly 7 million other veterans who rely on VA benefits, to include disability compensation and even the GI Bill, that veterans can have peace of mind our benefits will be delivered on time October 1. Today, the Senate passed the House-introduced emergency appropriations bill to cover the VA’s $3 billion-dollar budgetary shortfall. If a spending bill had not passed by the end of the week, the results would have b...