Former Staff Sergeant Donna L. Jefferies, 64, lived in constant pain. She lived with limited mobility and dexterity challenges for 44 years after serving in the Air Force and National Guard. “I come from a military family,” Jefferies said. “My father served in the United States Army during World War II. My brother served in…

“I had a career where I left and did everything in the world and then came back here,” Norman Machelor said. “Here” is Lewiston, New York, where Machelor was born 80 years ago and lives now with his wife, Mary. The two met as students at the University of Buffalo and wed before graduation. Machelor…

On May 23, a brand new statue was unveiled just a few steps away from the front doors of VFW Post 9186 in San Antonio, Texas. “The Price of Freedom” is a bronze statue depicting three soldiers – two men, who are embraced shoulder-to-shoulder, carrying one another, and a woman, who is providing close support…

On April 24, 1966, VFW Post 6069 in Lebanon, Ohio, hosted a meeting with 12 members from four other Posts to discuss the formation of a burial detail. After several names were suggested, all members present voted unanimously to adopt the name “VFW Memorial Team.” For the last 60 years, the Southwest Ohio VFW Memorial…

Veteran Richard “Rick” Barela, 72, lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife Barbara. He is a Gold Legacy Life member of the VFW and serves as the adjutant of VFW Post 680. Barela enlisted in the 1970s and spent more than two decades in the Army, achieving the rank of master sergeant. He was inducted…

VFW Life member Yoselin Brice, 53, joined the Air Force in search of opportunity and life experiences. “I wanted to get away from the hectic pace of New York City and my medical research job at Columbia University,” she said. “I was desperately looking for new adventures and to travel the world.” Brice served for…