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3/9/2026 - I served as an accounting & finance officer from Dec. 31, 1968, to July 19, 1978, and was Captain when released from active duty. My assignments were at Davis-Monthan AFB; Kimpo AB, South Korea where we all observed a curfew from midnight to 4 a.m. so infiltrators from North Korea could be apprehended; Grissom AFB; Kirtland AFB and Elmendorf AFB. My most interesting jobs were converting U.S. currency to/from Military Payment Certificates for all arriving/departing U.S. ...

3/9/2026 - Ever since I was 8 years old, I wanted to be a Marine. On my 18th birthday, I went into the local recruiting station and tried to enlist in the Marine Corps. They took one look at me, laughed, and sent me away. At 4’11-3/4” I was too short. Heartbroken, I forgot about military service and went on with my life, getting married at age 19 and starting a career in administration. Besides, the attitude of the time among the general population was that a woman who enlisted in ...

3/30/2017 - Since the birth of our nation, many veterans have gone on to greatness in a variety of fields. From U.S. presidents to well-known authors, athletes and actors, WWI is no exception. Here is a look at some of those famous vets from the “Great War.” Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) b. Lamar, Mo. 33rd President Ranked No. 7 (a “near great”) among U.S. presidents, Harry Truman (1945-1953) brought the war in the Pacific to a swift end in 1945. He also launched the Truman Doctri...

3/3/2017 - A WWII fighter pilot’s family has seen their father’s journey come full circle, with an assist from VFW. VFW Commander-in-Chief Brian Duffy presented Jules Hymel’s children with their father’s ring in a December ceremony at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Post 8862 in Vicenza, Italy, and Post 3750 in Luling, La., were involved in aligning the events that led up to the transfer of the ring. LeDaine Hymel and Nelwyn Hymel Lorio, Jules Hymel’s children...

1/13/2017 - After record flooding killed 23 people and destroyed many small towns in West Virginia last June, VFW members united to provide assistance and seek aid of their own. The June 2016 floods in West Virginia were what the National Weather Service called an “exceptional meteorological event”—one that happens once every 1,000 years. The floods experienced throughout central and southern West Virginia were caused by a “derecho,” or a long line of rapidly moving thunderstorms, l...

1/6/2017 - This article was originally featured in the January 2017 issue of VFW magazine. Carol Bakke knows what veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder are going through. She’s been there. An Iraq War veteran, Bakke served from 2010 to 2011 with the 778th transportation company with the Army National Guard as a heavy equipment transporter. An explosively formed projectile hit her team on July 18, 2011. When she returned stateside, the dreams and nightmares started — dr...

11/13/2017 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated 35 years ago on Nov. 13, 1982. Since then, more than 100 million people have visited the iconic structure, according to Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The National Parks Service noted that nearly 5.6 million people visited in 2016, making it the nation’s second-most popular memorial or monument. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was the top attraction with nearly 8 million visitors last year...

11/9/2017 - VFW Post 968 in Raymond, Wash., is one of 22 Posts nationwide that could receive up to $2,000 in matching grant funds to help restore World War I memorials. Post 968 Adjutant Gordon Aleshire said the Post decided to restore the monument, in part, because of the 100 Cities/100 Memorials program. “This community embraces the honoring of their servicemen and women so it’s important to get [the monument] back in a respectable condition,” said Aleshire, who served in Vietnam ...

2/23/2017 - On the second floor of the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Mo., music is being made weekly. With the sound of a metronome clicking in the background, three veterans slowly strum their guitars while their instructor patiently calls out instructions. Iraq vet Chris Longdon plays alongside Vietnam veteran Kelly Johnson at the Guitars for Vets Columbia, Mo., chapter. “Let’s move up to the fifth position,...

9/8/2017 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. – September 11, 2001, is a day Americans will never forget, and this Monday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., will pause to remember and reflect on a day that began just like any other, but ended with 2,977 Americans tragically losing their lives in an attack that forever changed our nation. The terrorist attacks 16 years ago vividly demonstrated that freedom comes at a cost, but even out of the twisted steel and rubble, we stand tall to saf...