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7/17/2009 - Reprinted with permission. Checkpoint July/August 2009 — When Staff Sgt. Laura Eng returns from Iraq, she plans to join her father and grandfather—as a VFW member. In an e-mail to her family, Laura wrote: “Tell Grandpa he has to stay strong and healthy so when I come home, he can take me to join the VFW.” Laura’s grandfather, Gordon J. Jones, served in the Japanese occupation after WWII and the Korean War. A VFW life member, he is a past national aide-de-camp, District ...

6/8/2011 - By Bob Kerr Providence Journal It’s like the tent, the Providence tent, the one where the Marines from the 6th Motor Transit Battalion would gather when they weren’t out driving along the treacherous roads of Iraq. “We just want to get everybody back in the tent,” said Tim Galuza. Galuza and his friend Garry Crum once went 45 days without a real shower, which is the kind of thing that friends who go to war together can talk about and most other people can’t. Now, with tw...

8/5/2025 - This is my story: a soldier story, a female story. Like private sector female CEO’s, female officers will find silver linings inside all the sacrifices they make as they find their way to the top. Storytelling is a great way to share these reminders. Young females in the Army do not need a lot of advice, just reminders of what those before them have done so they can find strength in it. My story has a few things I did right – with help along the way. I was serving as th...

8/5/2025 - Why I Volunteered for Submarine Duty Since my recent move to Washington, D.C., I have found that, more and more, I am approached in uniform due to the gold dolphins on my chest. Some are curious, many supportive, and others are confused. They seek clarification on why a woman might want to join the submarine service. To quote a majority: “What on Earth made you want to do THAT?” While I could simplify the answer to their satisfaction, the answer is more complicated and ...

8/5/2025 - Without our nation’s veterans, America wouldn't be the great nation it is today. Our youth deserve to learn about our rich history, traditions and the role of our veterans in creating and shaping America. Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars selects elementary, middle, and high school teachers to participate in the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher program. Please review the new rules and eligibility requirements and download the 2025 entry form...

8/5/2025 - June/July USS Harry S. Truman: Facing Off Against ISIS 'Sending ISIS to Hell': American Volunteers Wage a Lonely War Preserving the Legacy of the Vietnam War Ambushed at Srok Dong May An Enduring Memorial Tradition: Waterloo, N.Y. Celebrates 150 Years of Memorial Day Project Ensures Final Dignity for Veterans: The Missing in America Project Behind the Ink: Visual Expressions of Memories Hockey Proves Therapeutic for Veterans April Snowball Express Gives Comfort to Gold...

8/5/2025 - VFW magazine is the official publication of the Veterans of Foreign Wars with a circulation of 1.3 million. VFW magazine has been the voice of the overseas war veteran for more than a century. In November 1904, the first issue of the magazine's predecessor publication appeared for members of a fledgling organization called the American Veterans of Foreign Service. Though only a handful of Americans were aware of it even back then, the nation was engaged in a war with ...

11/3/2014 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – November in America traditionally is a month of thankfulness, and the Defense Department chose this month to recognize those who support the nation’s armed forces but who don’t wear the uniform: military families. Barbara Thompson directs the department’s Office of Family Policy, Children and Youth, and Special Needs. She recently spoke with DoD News about Military Family Month and why it matters. “In November, we take the time to draw atten...

12/19/2014 - The VFW extends a heartfelt season’s greetings to all of our nation’s veterans, service members and their families, as well as to all who support them. As we gather with family and friends over the coming weeks to celebrate the holidays and ring in a new year, we are reminded that the sanctity of our traditions and our freedom to exercise them have been afforded to us only by those who have spent these same holidays in harm’s way, far away from home. While we celebr...

6/5/2014 - This article appears in the June/July issue of VFW magazine While the veterans who fought on Normandy’s beaches are aging, they are most certainly not forgotten. French organizations, VFW members and museums diligently uphold the honor of the troops who served during D-Day and beyond while actively engaging younger generations to carry these stories to the future. STORY AND PHOTO BY KELLY GIBSON Conditions along the English Channel on June 6, 1944, were not id...