John Wayne Troxell’s devotion to veterans did not end in retirement after a 38-year Army career culminating with the role of senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC) from 2015 to 2019. The 58-year-old followed such distinction with a familiar second act, flocking to active-duty troops, wounded warriors and…

VFW Post 6753 life members Gerald Gaye and his wife, Helen, in Knoxville, Pennsylvania, started an annual benefit for shelter animals in 2014 that each October brings together a community of veterans and civilians for a noble cause. The Gayes host dozens of local animal lovers each year, relying on volunteerism from Post members and…

When Navy veteran Madison Fletcher became the first female commander of VFW Post 5444 in Dover Plains, New York, last year, a door of opportunity opened for her closest ally. In navigating a male-dominated world for many years alone, Fletcher now stands head-and-shoulders with her mother, Melanie Ryder, who became Auxiliary president this year to…

Members of VFW Post 10380 in Green Township, Ohio, once again headed out to the Harvest Home Fair earlier this month to spread the good news about VFW. Held in Cheviot, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb, the fair took place Sept. 8-11. According to member Bob Abrams, “hundreds of people” stopped at the VFW booth. He…

The ring of a bell at VFW Post 10087 in Beverly Hills, Florida, by an elderly veteran in May led to a grand-scale, 119-hour volunteer mission by six Post members to improve his living conditions. When the 74-year-old veteran sought help from the Post in finding a local handyman for minor domestic repairs around his…

Last May, VFW Post 3619 in Deridder, Louisiana, joined others around the country for the first-ever VFW National Day of Service. But Post members were stepping up for their community long before that. For National Day of Service, the Post hosted a Youth Summer Safety Fair where kids received ID kits and personal first aid…