KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is proud to announce SSG Jonathan Dozier Memorial Post 2894 in Chesapeake, Virginia, has been selected to receive the 2023 VFW Fred C. Hall Memorial Outstanding Post Special Project Award, a prestigious award that recognizes VFW Posts for notable and exceptional community service projects.

In early 2020, U.S. Navy Petty Officer Victoria Bullard and her husband, Christopher Edmonds, who was also on active-duty service in the Navy, purchased a home with the seller agreeing to make necessary repairs prior to the couple’s return from their respective overseas tours. Victoria was dismayed when she returned from deployment to discover the seller had not completed any of the work, leaving her family with a home nearly uninhabitable. With Christopher still deployed, Victoria faced the sole responsibility of moving into a home that needed major repairs, and she didn’t know where to turn.

When members of VFW Post 2894 heard Victoria’s story, they stepped in without hesitation. From repairing a large hole in the kitchen floor and replacing flooring throughout the home, to renovating the kitchen and repairing the backyard deck, together with the community and local groups like The Home Depot, I Sell 757 and Habitat for Humanity, Post members didn’t stop working until the Bullard’s house became a safe home.

VFW National Commander Tim Borland will present VFW Post 2894 Commander Jose Vasquez with the 2023 VFW Fred C. Hall Memorial Outstanding Post Special Project Award on Wednesday, July 26, during the 124th VFW National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

Watching his aging World War II veteran father neglect his cane because it made him appear “vulnerable” in public, VFW Life member Tom Ashmore set off on a journey that led him to Cane-Fu.

With an extensive martial arts background dating back to formal training in judo at 14 years old, Ashmore, 78, contacted Grand Master Mark Shuey, a U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee who created the American Cane System.

The system, developed for seniors and people older than 40 in all physical conditions, appealed to Ashmore. He believed that using a cane for exercise and self-defense could get his father to appreciate his own.

“I started training with Grand Master Shuey a decade ago and worked my way up, going through all the different belts,” said Ashmore, a Purple Heart recipient who deployed in 1966 with the 2nd Bn., 4th Marines to Vietnam. “Then as I got more involved in teaching my father, I figured I’d help others like me. It became a hobby of love more than anything else.”

A Life member of VFW Post 4639 in Williamsburg, Virginia, and a retired police officer, Ashmore and his wife created Cane Loyalty, a free program that has since taught Cane-Fu to more than 2,000 veterans in and around Virginia.

He describes Cane-Fu as an “innovative” way for veterans to stay active and practice self-defense tactics.

“Sadly, physical attacks on seniors and the disabled have increased about 70 percent in the last few years,” said Ashmore, whose martial arts background includes learning under several masters while deployed to Japan, as well as mastering Arnis, the national martial arts of the Philippines that uses stick, knife and open hand fighting.

“We went with Cane Loyalty because if you are loyal to your cane, it will be loyal to you,” Ashmore added. “It’s like taking care of your weapon in combat. When you need it, it is there.”

Ashmore’s Cane Loyalty program offers seminars with hands-on training, providing each veteran with a free hardwood cane manufactured by Cane Masters in Florida. While open to traveling for seminars, most of Ashmore’s classes are held at the War Memorial Cultural Arts & Community Center in his hometown of Powhatan, Virginia.

“I’ve been traveling around Virginia, but as I get older, I have traveled less,” Ashmore said. “I do classes at VFW Posts and Purple Heart chapters around the area now. No veteran has ever paid for a class, either.”

For his efforts in teaching Cane-Fu to veterans, Ashmore has received much recognition over the years. Last year, the Vietnam veteran was honored with a permanent mural and Quilt of Honor at the VA hospital in Richmond, Virginia, as well as an award from the Richmond chapter of The Military Order of the Purple Heart for his continuous work in teaching veterans that a cane is more than a crutch.

“The cane can become your personal gym so you can get stronger to live longer,” Ashmore said. “You can use your cane to enhance your balance, increase your flexibility and defend yourself and others if needed. Learning these movements also builds confidence, and it can alleviate depression by giving them something to focus on.”

Through Cane Loyalty, Ashmore has recently developed new training programs for veterans who are wheelchair bound, as well as programs dedicated to caregivers and those missing a hand or arm.

“Caregivers also benefit greatly from the strength building and flexibility training as well as the defense option,” Ashmore said. “The caregiver and the veteran can practice together for added camaraderie.”

This article is featured in the June/July 2023 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

VFW has made great strides this year in membership. At press time, the organization was on track to hit 102 percent in membership.

VFW’s Membership Department offers congratulations to everyone helping to make this possible.

To keep this trend going, VFW Membership Associate Director of Post Development and Revitalization Corey Hunt urges Posts that may be struggling to work on revitalization efforts.

“A Post with good community ties will be a successful Post,” Hunt said. “Events held at the Post whether big or small is healthy for the membership of the Post.”

Hunt added that each Post revitalization story is unique. Perhaps it is a Post that made changes to its home to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act ordinances or a Post that offered up its
property to serve as a community garden.

It could be the act of gathering food trucks in the Post parking lot, thereby drawing the community to the Post.

“We do a lot of things at Posts throughout the year that count as revitalization,” Hunt said. “It doesn’t necessarily take a large, impactful effort, but small efforts combined.”

Hunt encouraged Posts with Auxiliaries to work closely with them for greater impact.

“Even small endeavors by Auxiliaries can make a difference in the revitalization of Posts,” Hunt said. “It is no secret that Posts with strong Auxiliaries do well. Most of those are All-American Posts.”

As an added incentive, Departments that charter a new Post or have a struggling Post that is revitalized will receive an award.

That award is a $250 VFW Store credit given to the Department to be used for new Post materials. Additionally, the Membership Department sends new Posts a New Post Charter Kit from the VFW Store. Hunt noted that this award is subject to change each program year.

“Ultimately, revitalization efforts are ongoing and keep Posts from defaulting,” Hunt said. “If it is not happening, the Posts would not be able to exist.”

This article is featured in the June/July 2023 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.

Members of VFW Post 10380 Green Township, Ohio, held their ninth annual “Cars and Courage” car show on April 29 to raise funds for their veterans’ programs.

The car show, a blend of more than 85 vintage and exotic cars lined across the parking lot of the Diamond Oaks Career Campus in Cincinnati, Ohio, helped the Post raise more than $1,200 towards their goal this year.

“It was also a great way to increase our presence in the community,” Post 10380 Vice Commander Edward Murphy said.

Hosting more than 500 car enthusiasts between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on a Saturday, members of Post 10338 charged car show participants $20, collecting the rest of profits from food and drinks. All spectators had free access to the show, as in years past.

The car show in April is among many slated fundraisers and community hosted by Post 10380 throughout the year. Some of these most popular events include a Fourth of July fireworks display, a Kids Fest in August, Veterans and Memorial Day parades, as well as an annual golf tournament.

On Aug. 27, the Post also will celebrate its 35th anniversary with the community.

It had been 15 years since Michael Polsley rode a motorcycle, feeling the rush of wind hiss as he traveled fast and steady down an open road.

A Vietnam War veteran, Polsley’s favorite pastime had been stripped from him by the utterance of a name given to symptoms he was beginning to experience in his later years, that of Parkinson’s Disease.

The thrill of one last ride prompted Polsley’s son-in-law, Iraq War veteran Jerry Robinson, to reach out to Virginia VFW Riders Chairman Rob Pedersen on Nov. 26 in hopes of borrowing a sidecar that could be mounted on a motorcycle.

“Jerry Robinson wanted to give his father-in-law a special gift by taking him on a motorcycle ride,” said James Cooper, the VFW Post 637 commander in Hopewell, Virginia. “He spoke to Rob about how his father-in-law rode motorcycles all his life before his condition kept him off a bike for 15 years.”

Empathizing with the inquiry, Pedersen contacted the president of the riders group at Post 637, Michael Losoya, who sought help from Cooper in finding a sidecar to accommodate Polsley.

After a few days, Losoya and Cooper landed help from VFW Post 637 Chaplain and fellow rider Sharon Sculthorpe, who has often volunteered to use her trike to give hospice patients in Hopewell rides around town.

“I had heard they were having trouble finding a sidecar, so I told them I had a trike and if they could get him onto my bike then I could take him on this ride,” Sculthorpe said. “I had been giving rides to people at hospices in order to grant them wishes of one last ride.”

Without knowing what had been set in motion by his son-in-law, Polsley, thinking he was going to see a motorcycle show at Post 637 on Dec. 11, was surprised when he arrived at noon to a motorcade of more than 25 riders waiting to join him on a memorable ride.

“He was so excited and humbled by the surprise his family had set up,” Sculthorpe said. “We strapped him in with padded pool noodles and he seemed very ready to go despite it being as cold as it was.”

Setting out from Post 637 on a motorcycle for the first time in more than 15 years, Polsley held onto Sculthorpe as the pair rode about 40 miles in temperatures grazing the low 20s.

They strolled down backroads and highways around Prince George County, Virginia, passing through the scenic countryside and busy intersections alike.

“We stopped one time along the way to give him a break because he gets tired easily with his disease, but he kept saying, ‘Let’s go, I want to keep riding,'” Sculthorpe said. “He was really enjoying all the bikes around him, too. We had riders from the VFW, American Legion and Patriot Guard. They all wanted to show their gratitude for his service, which goes to show you that nobody has bigger hearts than bikers.”

Following the 40-mile trek that ended back at the Post, Polsley was presented a Vietnam War veteran’s pin and certificate by Post 637 Quartermaster Lee Dixon during a small ceremony.

With his family and grandkids present, Polsley accepted the honor and thanked all those who helped make his wish a reality.

For the Post 637 members and VFW Riders in attendance, the joy in a fellow veteran’s eyes despite his circumstances was a reassurance of an ethos Sculthorpe added they all follow.

“For us veterans, we live with the ‘others before self ‘ motto, and if we could do something like this to make someone else’s wish come true, we’re going to do it,” Sculthorpe said. “It was an honor and a privilege to do this for him.”

This article is featured in the June/July 2023 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

Irene Hosking was 24 years old when she joined the Army Nurse Corps more than 80 years ago. Her brother – two years her junior – survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. That pivotal moment provided the impetus for Hosking’s enlistment on May 15, 1942.

She met her husband, Louis W.A. Hosking, while based at Fort Custer, Michigan (now Fort McCoy). They would eventually have one son, Howard.

Growing up in Hurley, Wisconsin, Hosking attended Milwaukee Wisconsin School of Nursing, where she graduated as a registered nurse on Feb. 8, 1940.

As an Army nurse in 1942, Hosking found herself in Australia caring for the wounded. She clearly remembers tending to those with severe amputations. One was a baseball player who lost his pitching arm. Another GI had 17 wounds.

“[I can recall] how they were able to endure the pain of getting their dressings done,” Hosking said. “Those are the things I remember the most. I am very, very happy that I was a registered nurse. I was able to help them.”

After returning home, Hosking tried to join a VFW Post, but at that time, women were not allowed membership in the organization. In 1984, she joined VFW Post 4005 in Corunna, Michigan, and became Post commander in 1995.

Hosking also was the first female commander of Michigan’s Shiawassee VFW County Council. She has held a multitude of other positions within VFW since then. In 1996, Hosking became a member of the Post Auxiliary.

At 105, Hosking regularly attends Post meetings as a Life member as well as VFW County Council meetings. Her daughter-in-law, Cathy, said Hosking tries to also attend state meetings when those are held close to home.

To celebrate Hosking and her 105th birthday, VFW Post 4005 was to host an open house in her honor on April 22, just two days after her birthday.

Post Commander Fred Blair said Hosking was the Post chaplain for 25 years, stepping down just last year. In April, she conducted the installation of the new Post officers.

Blair said Hosking keeps him in line and lets him know if he makes any mistakes.

“I joke she is nothing but a thorn in my butt … because she is my rose,” Blair said. “I recently gave her half a dozen roses – one for every year she has had to put up with me as Post commander.”

For her big celebration, Hosking requested no gifts, but instead asked for contributions to the Post, the VFW National Home for Children, or other causes.

Hosking shared her secret to longevity: no smoking, no drinking and everything else in moderation.

With 105 years of living under her belt, Hosking has simple, but sage advice when it comes to living the best life: “I always try to be nice to everyone. I treat everyone I meet like I have known them a long time.”

This article is featured in the June/July 2023 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.

During the dog days of summer last year, kindness found its way to several struggling veterans in Chico, California, who had fallen on hard times and ended up homeless.

As if snatched from the pages of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” it all began with an anonymous benefactor who in early July approached VFW Post 1555 members in Chico with a checkbook and questions.

The benefactor, a frequent donor to the Post’s relief fund, wanted to do more, according to Post 1555 Commander Mike Halldorson, who recalled the donor’s urgency to help veterans.

“He did not serve, but he said he had a heart for veterans and wanted to help any who did [serve],” Halldorson said. “The initial donation was for $25,000 and had no restrictions on where it was to be used. The benefactor said he wanted to help any veteran with [items such as] rent, utility bills, food or repair of a vehicle.”

Then the benefactor turned to VFW member Larry Wahl, his contact at Post 1555, and asked what else he could do and what would be most helpful for veterans in Chico.

Given some time to think about the question and craft a plan, Wahl, a former Chico councilman and current Butte County supervisor for District 2, came up with the Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT) from his days in government. Founded in 2013, CHAT is a volunteer program dedicated to aiding different categories of people in need of affordable housing around Chico.

“We presented it to our benefactor, and he signed the check that very day,” Halldorson said of a $600,000 donation. “It’s hard to understand that anyone would give that kind of money if your heart wasn’t in it.”

‘MAKE THIS DREAM HAPPEN’
Post 1555 leadership began working on a proposal for CHAT, accruing information and finding the best possible way to make use of the $600,000.

Despite the nonprofit’s ability to find housing accommodations for displaced civilians, Halldorson and Wahl remained adamant on the donation going strictly to veterans needing a hand up.

They, along with the unnamed benefactor and other Post 1555 members, stipulated that the donation be used for the purchase of two houses, each receiving $300,000, and that only veterans live in these homes.

“We had investigated their program to see if it was a good fit for the Post to make this dream happen,” Halldorson said. “We expressed that the funds were for assisting in the purchase of housing for veterans in need and to facilitate very low rental rates for them.”

With CHAT onboard, their representatives presented Post 1555 leadership with four housing options at various sites in Chico, about 90 miles north of the state’s capital, Sacramento.

“Larry Wahl and I accompanied Bob Trausch, from CHAT, to view three possible houses in both north and south Chico after one of the houses had been removed from the market,” Halldorson said. “We selected the ones that eventually became the two purchased.”

CHAT worked fast, using its database system to identify housing needs among veterans. They identified eight veterans in need of a hand up in and around Chico, splitting them up in groups of four to each of the two properties.

“There’s a process for finding veterans. We’ve got veterans like me working at CHAT, so it’s been part of what we’ve done over the years,” said Trausch, a CHAT co-founder a Marine veteran. “They get to us through local VSOs, word of mouth and Coordinated Entry, which is a 211 number where they answer serious questions and get a rating that then gets passed on to us.”

‘BLESSED AND EXTREMELY GRATEFUL’
Among those first eight veterans chosen was Vernon Carel, an Army veteran.

“I have struggled,” Carel said. “This housing has given me hope and allowed me to get on with my life.”

Like Carel, Darwin Sager, a Marine veteran, had endured his own share of hardships, which included losing his home during the 2018 Camp Fire disaster that remains California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire to date.

“I was living in motels after the Camp Fire, and my wife passed,” Sager said. “With savings exhausted, this gives me a roof over my head that I can afford.”

Out of the eight original veterans selected by CHAT, only one is a woman. For Teresa Preston, a Marine veteran, the opportunity for a fresh start is a blessing.

“I feel privileged,” Preston said. “Blessed and extremely grateful to have such an opportunity.”

Preston and the other seven veterans began moving into one of the two houses in October, some 60 days after the properties had been purchased and refurbished. The swift process was celebrated during a small dedication ceremony on move-in day.

Halldorson, Wahl and Post Sr. Vice Commander Brianna Farrara attended the ceremony, which included the unveiling of installed placards with the VFW’s Maltese Cross and “VFW Post 1555” on them.

“The housed veterans came out for photo ops and thanked us profusely, wanting to know what the VFW was all about,” Halldorson said. “A few did not want their pictures taken, and we honored that as well.”

Trausch, who co-founded CHAT in 2013, attended the dedication and admitted that it was an emotional ceremony.

“It brought tears to my eyes,” Trausch said. “It’s our passion to get people off the street, so it was amazing to see that the VFW was there to help us. A lot of these vets are suffering, and they don’t trust society any longer. It’s up to us to build up that trust and help them heal.”

With the continued support of Post 1555, CHAT is now working on turning the garages of these two properties into bedrooms to house an additional veteran in each, moving the count to 10 housed veterans.

As for the anonymous benefactor, his devotion to veterans is summed up in his last conversation with Halldorson and Wahl.

“With his help, we established the veterans’ assistance committee within the Post for veterans that came to us with requests,” Halldorson said. “He also told us very firmly, ‘Whenever you need more, you just ask.’ Now for me, personally, I hear people say, ‘Thank you for your service,’ all the time, but a lot of times, they don’t know what it entails. I believe he does.”

This article is featured in the 2023 May issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

The idea came to Nathan Moran and his girlfriend, Michelle Decker, while on a date.

The VFW and Auxiliary members of Post 7581 in Wayland, Mich., often had their date nights at VFW or American Legion halls, basking in the company of veterans and family members sharing stories in the spirit of camaraderie.

During this time, about two years ago, the couple noticed a trend through conversations with fellow VFW members about veterans being turned away because of improper paperwork or no knowledge on how to join.

“We would see them get turned away without an answer or guidance on how to attain the information needed,” said Moran, an Afghanistan War veteran who was named the 2022-2023 VFW National Deputy Chief of Staff. “We wanted to make sure nobody else would get turned away without answers. We felt the need to bring awareness, help educate members and document these places as we’ve watched so many close in the last few years.”

The couple began traveling across the country on their own dime to achieve this goal, gathering adventures, picturesque photos, new friends and many a ‘thanks’ from those they’ve helped along the way. Each adventure is documented on their Facebook blog – “Michigan VFW and American Legion Explorer.”

From Copper Harbor in Michigan, about 568 miles north of Wayland, to Savannah, Georgia, and everywhere in between, Moran and Decker have visited more than 170 VFW Posts to date.

“Usually it starts out with an idea of how we want to spend the day, which is usually an antique mall,” Moran said. “From there we look for Posts that we haven’t visited along the route there and back. Most of them are on a whim, as we’ve found multiple posts that didn’t register on Google Maps because nobody has added them.”

At each Post, they begin by taking photos that they offer to upload to the Post’s social media platforms in hopes of creating a larger online presence, but they soon introduce an array of free and voluntary services on behalf of veterans. They speak with members about re-issuing medals for free, helping others file DD-214 documents and even spreading the word on DNA testing for Korean and Vietnam War orphans.

“Once they find out all the different things we do, the questions come very quickly,” Moran said. “We have a ‘cheat sheet’ we use to email to people with hyperlinks to benefits and resources that can help them. If we find a veteran who is still with us that hasn’t contacted their VSO, we give them contact information for them as well.”

Moran and Decker also take down questions from members about certain subjects they may not have an answer for at the time, penciling their contact info to reach out once they find it. They leave business cards at each Post for those wanting to reach out after the fact, as well as carry a “master list” of all places visited in their travel car, which they update often.

Among the many who have witnessed the impact of Moran and Decker’s volunteerism is Garrett Dickey, commander of VFW Post 2144 in Holland, Michigan, and VFW Department of Michigan’s membership director.

“Their actions bring the VFW Posts they visit into the community and create visibility for those who would not normally be aware of all the good this organization does,” Dickey said. “But above all else, they perform these duties selflessly for the benefit of our brothers and sisters. Michelle and Nathen are true ambassadors to the VFW and its Auxiliary.”

Like Dickey, whose Post members have benefited from Moran and Decker, past Post 2144 commander Michael Martin has seen the impact himself.

“Nate and Michelle bring a huge amount of awareness to people who are not members of any veterans organization, but also to comrades who may only be familiar with their own Post,” Martin added. “Their descriptions of the Posts and the members there motivate others to visit, even to plan trips around visiting the Post themselves.”

Unfortunately, despite their generous nature and devotion to serving veterans, Moran added, not all Posts have welcomed them without scrutiny. There are hurdles along the way.

“Almost all of the places we visit, everyone is extremely welcoming right when we walk through the door,” Moran said. “That is comforting, and makes the visit better than we expected. We have only encountered a few places where the welcome was not received.”

For Moran, the unwelcoming Posts are an example of the limiting factor in continuing to increase VFW membership among the younger generation of veterans.

“All Posts should view anyone coming through the doors as a potential new VFW member,” Moran said. “It takes all of us to keep these Posts open and the legacy continuing. It really all comes down to the canteen hostess and members present. That is the representation and first impression people get, and decide if they would ever visit that establishment again.”

When they’re not traveling across the country to visit VFW Posts, Moran and Decker spend their time cleaning veterans’ gravestones in and around Wayland, as well as educating others on how to clean them and what solutions to use.

“Everything we do, we do for veterans,” Moran said. “This summer we look forward to traveling to a few new states in hopes of meeting new friends, spotlighting some amazing Posts and bringing our followers with us on our adventures.”

Members of a VFW Post in a Kansas City, Missouri, suburb have dedicated their efforts to conducting honors for veterans who have passed away.

Members of VFW Post 10906 in Gladstone, Missouri, have spent more than two decades conducting funeral honors. Joe Lyles, the coordinator of Post 10906’s honor guard, recalled that the Post’s honor guard began in November 1999.

In total, Post 10906 members have conducted such honors in the thousands. Lyles said the Post has participated in an “uncountable” number of funerals.

Lyles, a retired Army veteran who started on active duty in 1954, added that Post members conducted honors at 13 funerals in April 2023 alone. It was an average month for the Post’s honor guard.

“I remember a long time ago when we did 22 in one month,” Lyles said.

Lyles, who served a total of 38 years in the Army and the Army Reserve, said these tributes serve to recognize the service and sacrifice veterans have made during their military service and beyond.

Rendering these final tributes, Lyles said, is not only important to the family and friends attending a veteran’s funeral but also important for those in the Gladstone VFW Post Honor Guard.

“It doesn’t matter who the veteran is,” Lyles said, “even if they served honorably for only one day. We have conducted honors for everyone, from privates to generals.”

Lyles said that the honor guard works alongside the Missouri National Guard to perform honors in the Kansas City area at the funerals of veterans. Families request for a funeral detail, and Lyles said that he and other members of the honor guard will do their best to fulfill the family’s wishes. Lyles also said that the honor guard works with a funeral home in Kansas.

“These veterans gave a part of their life in service and defense of this country,” Lyles said. “We feel that veterans deserve for us to be there for them at their final step because of their devotion to the country.”

A decade ago, while driving in his home state of Oregon, Dick Tobiason, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, realized that none of the highways in the state recognized or honored veterans. He wanted to change that.

Tobiason, a member of VFW Post 4108 in Redmond, Oregon, founded the Bend Heroes Foundation in Bend, Oregon. On June 20, 2017, the Vietnam War veteran’s work paid off when the Oregon legislature and then-Gov. Kate Brown approved H.B. 2100, a law that officially declared Oregon’s 451-mile-long U.S. Highway 20 as the Oregon Medal of Honor Highway. The route stretches between Newport, on the state’s central coast, to the Oregon-Idaho state line.

For Tobiason, this was only the beginning. He wanted all of U.S. Highway 20, the longest highway in the U.S., which spans 3,365 miles from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans, to be named in honor of Medal of Honor veterans. He said it became a reality when Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Nov. 17, 2022 signed a bill that officially named Massachusetts’ U.S. Highway 20 in honor of Medal of Honor recipients. Massachusetts was the 12th and final state to officially dedicate U.S. Highway 20 for veterans who have received the nation’s highest award for valor.

PUTTING HIS EXPERIENCE TO USE
During his time in the Army, Tobiason served as the commanding officer of a forward air patrol unit that supported the 3rd Marine Division during his first tour of Vietnam in 1966 and 1967. On his second tour in 1972 and 1973, he was an advisor to the South Vietnamese government. Later in his career, Tobiason worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a manager for its flight research program in Washington, D.C.

After retiring from NASA, Tobiason then worked as a lobbyist for several airlines from 1985 to 1990. That was where, he said, he learned the “ins and outs” of the legislative process.

Putting that experience to use, Tobiason began contacting veterans groups in the 11 other states east of Oregon that contain portions of Highway 20:

• Idaho, 411 miles
• Montana, 12 miles
• Wyoming, 531 miles
• Nebraska, 432 miles
• Iowa, 302 miles
• Illinois, 234 miles
• Indiana, 156 miles
• Ohio, 260 miles
• Pennsylvania, 45 miles
• New York, 372 miles
• Massachusetts, 153 miles

‘PROUD OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENT’
In the state of New York, the VFW Department of New York, along with the Bend Heroes Foundation, led efforts to pass legislation in the state to rename New York’s section of U.S. Highway 20. Past VFW Department of New York Commander Michael Hoag said he learned about the highway project headed by Tobiason after reading an article in the August 2017 issue of VFW magazine.

“After learning about this, I knew what I wanted to work on during my year as commander,” said Hoag, a Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient. “The Department of New York Headquarters in Albany is only about a mile away from Highway 20.”

In the years leading up to his year as the Department of New York commander (2021-22), Hoag said he began working with Tobiason and VFW Department of New York Legislative Advisor Kirby Haman to work with the state’s government for the project. Hoag said that last year, the New York legislature approved S. 7620-A and A. 9067-A to name the highway. Gov. Kathy Hochul on July 18, 2022, signed the bill into law.

“I am proud of the accomplishment,” said Hoag, who was drafted into the Army in 1966 and served a tour in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968.

HIGHWAY ACROSS AMERICA
Tobiason said he is working to get U.S. Highway 20 renamed to honor Medal of Honor veterans on the national level.

“To achieve that goal, Bend Heroes Foundation has requested Oregon’s Sen. Ron Wyden (D) to sponsor legislation by Congress designating the National Medal of Honor Highway,” Tobiason said. “It would be cosponsored in the House of Representatives by Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly (R).”

Tobiason added that Kelly represents a district that is home to U.S. Highway 20. He added that VFW has given its support to the project.

This article is featured in the 2023 May issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Dave Spiva, associate editor for VFW magazine.