When the Department of New York VFW published a posting for an assistant Department service officer, Navy veteran Maddie Fletcher considered applying for the job. But she decided the hour-and-a-half commute was too much.

A few months later, Fletcher attended a VFW conference where the Department announced it was still looking to fill the role. She reconsidered and spoke with Department personnel to see if it would be a good fit. Shortly after, Fletcher was called in for an interview, offered the job and accepted.

Since starting a few months ago, Fletcher splits her time between a VFW office in Albany and another in New York City. She uses the drive time to clear her mind before and after each day.

Fletcher’s main responsibility is to help individuals secure benefits. But she wants veterans to know that whatever they are going through – even if it is not related to benefits – her office is there to help.

“One of the first cases I got was a veteran in the city. His car battery had died, so he was getting tickets and couldn’t get to his job,” she explained.

Around the same time, the veteran and his wife were forced out of their apartment because of a rat and bedbug infestation, and the couple had to sleep in their car.

“The veteran called me one morning while having a breakdown and talked about taking drastic measures,” Fletcher said. “It broke my heart, and I knew I needed to do something.”

Fletcher was able to provide immediate assistance. With her help, the couple got something to eat and put gas in their car.

“After that, everything just kind of did a 180,” she said.

The veteran got his vehicle to the shop, and with help from Fletcher and others, including New York District 1 Commander Luke Magliaro Jr., got a new car battery. After that, he was able to go back to work and find placement in a shelter. The case stands out to Fletcher because it proves that small actions can have a major impact.

“Sometimes, it’s just talking to somebody,” she said. “Anytime I start a conversation with a veteran, I ask them if their benefits are OK or if they know anyone looking for help. That’s generally how I’ve pulled things in – just talking to people.” Since that early case, Fletcher has had other victories. But that does not mean the job is easy.

“The most challenging thing is not being able to do everything, but there’s only so much you can do,” she said.

Despite feeling frustrated when things do not work out, Fletcher knows this is the role for her.

“I’m in a position now where I feel like I can actually do something to help people,” she explained. “There was a time when I didn’t have anything and I needed help. I feel like in a way, I’m paying it forward. It’s like it’s what I’m supposed to be doing – it just feels right.”

Learn more about the VFW’s National Veterans Service (NVS) program.

For as long as there has been a VFW presence in Madison, West Virginia, the Christmas spirit has remained within reach of all in and around the community.

Without missing a beat in more than 70 years, members of VFW Post 5578 and its Auxiliary members in Madison have annually prepared and distributed baskets of food to residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, as well as those suffering from food insecurity.

Embodying the community’s togetherness, Post Commander and life member Curtis Mayhorn credits local businesses and residents for providing donations to help VFW bring Christmas to those less fortunate.

“This community has always stepped up when there is a need,” Mayhorn said. “I can’t say enough about the people in this county and how they take care of one another.”

Chartered in 1946 by Conscio C. Smarr, among others, Post 5578 began its Christmas Basket Program in 1951. The inspiration for the program came while Smarr was deployed to France, where he noticed a VFW Post distributing food baskets to those in need during World War II.

Smarr decided to bring the idea for the program back to West Virginia. The original food baskets in Madison contained an assortment of flour, corn meal, salt, canned food, ham, bread, potatoes, peanut butter, jelly, milk, sugar and other seasonal items. The Post issued a sign-up sheet in mid-October each year, and recipients could collect the baskets in early December at the Post, which today sits beside the Madison Civic Center.

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world in 2020, Mayhorn and Post 5578 were determined to keep the program active.

“We always had a local Boy Scout group in here filling the baskets while we loaded,” Mayhorn said. “The parents of the scouts always helped, too. It was a real community thing. I did not want to expose all those people to the coronavirus, so we started doing the food cards instead.”

What ensued was specific food deliveries to those confined in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Other residents suffering from food insecurity received food cards worth $100 each, redeemable at Kroger, a local grocery store in Madison. In 2021 alone, Post 5578, with help from the community, provided more than 300 food cards worth some $30,000, according to Mayhorn.

“It actually seemed to work better this way for us and for those who sign up to receive them,” Mayhorn said. “There is a good chance that we’ll keep doing it this way moving forward.”

Post 5578 and its Auxiliary also operate a Christmas Toy Program for children in Madison that coincides with those families applying for food cards.

“Our applications have information to fill out the ages of boys and girls and the number of each,” said Post 5578 Quartermaster Johnny Saunders. “I say that about 150 kids each year receive gifts.”

Paying it forward to the younger generations, added Mayhorn, is the surest way to continue a tradition of unity within the community of Madison.

“We don’t want these things to be forgotten in the future,” Mayhorn said. “We need our younger members to carry it forward.”

The food cards and toys this year will be distributed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Post 5578 on Dec. 6, 7 and 8.

This article is featured in the 2022 November/December issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

Veterans living at Brickmont Assisted Living in Woodstock, Georgia, have a “Veterans Resource Reading Area” thanks to members of VFW Post 12002 in nearby Alpharetta.

Past Post Chaplain Dennis Parmer said that when he established the reading area in June, he did it so that VFW would be represented each day at the facility.

“We wanted to do something to keep us in their minds,” Parmer said. “And also, that they know we are always thinking about them.”

Post members save past issues of VFW and American Legion magazines, which are then put in an area at Brickmont designated as VFW Post 12002 Veterans Resource Reading Area. Incidentally, the
Alpharetta Post is home to VFW Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief Al Lipphardt.

Parmer, a retired Army first sergeant, said he often goes to the home in his military uniform to talk with the veterans about how the military has changed since those vets served.

“They love having the conversations about how things used to be,” Parmer said. “We talk about soldiers getting tattoos, female soldiers wearing fingernail polish and new military vehicles.”

Parmer said the stacks of magazines are available to veterans 24 hours a day and provide articles on topics they may not find in other publications.

“We have had a great response to this,” said Parmer, who served in 2003 with the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul, Iraq, in addition to numerous other overseas deployments during his 27-year Army career. “To make this more personal, I put their names and former ranks on a board in the resource area. Our veterans do not want to be forgotten.”

According to Parmer, Brickmont Activities Director Evette O’Neal said the veterans “are very excited” when they hear that Parmer is coming for a visit.

“We hope this is an area that Brickmont veterans can enjoy for many years,” Parmer said.

This article is featured in the 2022 November/December issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.

They gathered on an afternoon stitched in gray, serenaded by a brass band playing on the manicured lawn of the American Legion Pavilion at the local VA hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Several dozen veterans, many confined to wheelchairs, welcomed a new trolley draped in the proverbial red, white and blue of their beloved nation on June 23, a $129,000 donation by VFW Post 1105 members in nearby Watertown, Massachusetts.

“We saw a need,” Post 1105 Commander Derek Mayerhofer said. “We had the means to help, and the veterans deserved it.”

Alongside members of Post 1105, Mayerhofer unveiled the custom-made trolley, enhanced with a chairlift and large removable windows, as a gift to residents and staff of the Bedford VA hospital to use for campus navigation.

Mayerhofer then joined Director of VA Bedford Healthcare Joan Clifford in the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a prelude to the much-anticipated inaugural ride for many patients of the hospital around its campus.

“We had the old trolley for over 25 years,” Clifford said. “The VFW volunteered to purchase this for us when ours kept breaking down. This trolley ended up costing about $129,000, so not a small
amount that they donated to us.”

In early 2021, the members of Post 1105, 13 miles southeast of Bedford, sold their longtime building to an Alexandria-based real estate company in Virginia for a large sum. With the newly arrived influx of cash, Post members soon began voting on ways to help veterans in and around their community with the proceeds.

“We sold our building in Watertown for $1.2 million, so when we found out they were doing a fundraiser for a new trolley, member Dominic Ricci made a motion to donate $10,000,” Post Quartermaster Ed Aucoin said. “Then I said, ‘Wait a minute, why don’t we donate the whole amount?’ “

In keeping up with the VFW motto ‘No One Does More for Veterans,’ Aucoin and Post 1105 reached out to the VA hospital’s personnel and surprised them with a sizeable donation after their more than two-year fundraising campaign.

“This is life-changing for our patients,” said Laurel Holland, a VA Voluntary Service Chief at the Bedford VA healthcare system. “They have been through the pandemic for two years with loads of restrictions and no fun. Then suddenly, this joy comes in. Not only are they going to have a great time, but they will be able to ride around the campus on this gorgeous trolley hanging out the window,
honking and waving like the celebrities they are. People will give them so much love.”

The patients sported smiles while being wheeled by hospital staff onto the trolley, sitting with their heads poking out of the windows as it rolled off in motion to a soundtrack of old songs being played by the brass band.

For one of the many Post 1105 members in attendance, their smiles were worth more than any six-figure check could cash.

“I was filled with a sense of honor that our VFW Post was able to assist fellow veterans in such a meaningful way in their hour of need,” said George MacMasters, a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. “I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for the veterans to be locked down in the hospital for two years due to COVID, and how liberated they must feel now riding around the hospital campus in a new trolley enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.”

Post 1105 members, who now rent the Pvt. Charles J. Shutt Marine Corps League building for VFW gatherings in Watertown, invested part of the money from the sale of their former Post home.

They now use the interest from this investment to fund several other veterans’ programs throughout the area.

“We invested the money with a financial advisor and have been using the interest to fund and sponsor training of service dogs, horse therapy programs for veterans with PTSD, as well as purchasing the trolley for the hospital,” MacMasters said. “We are now in the process of buying a van for a veterans’ program that works with returning veterans.”

This article is featured in the 2022 November/December issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

David Vieira, Senior Vice Commander of VFW Post 149 in Danbury, Connecticut, describes his Post as “very active,” with a long list of accomplishments to back that up.

It has hosted BBQ fundraisers for youth sports, participated in flag-placing days at cemeteries, hosted blood drives, sponsored a little league baseball team, prepared meals for community groups and more.

“We do it because even when we hang up our uniform, our commitment to service and this great country doesn’t end,” explained Vieira.

Most recently, the Post undertook a new challenge, which will have a long-lasting impact on the community, especially veterans. A couple of years ago, some members came up with the idea to build Connecticut’s first memorial in honor of Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans.

What began as a dream sketched on a napkin is becoming a reality. A rendering has been created and fundraising efforts are underway. The Post even teamed with Stone Creek Brewery in neighboring Branford, Connecticut, which created a specialty beer for the occasion. A portion of AO Lager sales will go toward construction.

No matter the activity, Vieira and his fellow Post members have one, over-arching mission.

“It’s our duty to help fellow veterans in need and to build and maintain relationships,” he said. “We want to be there for each other and the residents of our city and state.”

The VFW is proud to recognize VFW Post 149 and its members who are #StillServing.

When Hurricane Ian ravaged parts of Florida in late September, VFW’s Department of Florida relied on its Emergency Response and Recovery team to channel adequate disaster relief in a hurry.

With extensive experience since being formed in 2018 by Don Pearsall following Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm that ripped through the Caribbean and parts of Florida, the Emergency Response and Recovery team began preparations as soon as Ian made landfall.

“What we did was deploy our team right away,” said Pearsall, director of the Emergency Response Team, as well as coordinator for VFW’s Southern Conference Disaster Management board. “We have seven field coordinators in charge of Districts across the state, and we heard from those in areas near Sarasota and Ft. Myers to see what the community needed.”

Backed by the VFW Department of Florida’s disaster relief fund, and given the go-ahead by both Commander Ronald Mills and Adjutant Eugene Perrino after receiving reports on the damages, Pearsall and his 15-man Emergency Response Team deployed within 15 minutes.

Pearsall split the team into two trailers filled with supplies and food destined for Sarasota and Ft. Myers Beach, respectively, hoping to set up control points at each location in a matter of hours.

“We rolled in the day after the storm, and it was heartbreaking to see,” said Pearsall, a life member of the Department of Florida who deployed to Ft. Myers Beach himself. “

Supplied by the Department of Florida, the Emergency Response Team distributed more than 1,800 cases of water, 900 MRE meals, a trailer-full of canned foods and hundreds of other cleaning supplies that included 800 gallons of bleach.

From aiding firefighters and first responders to veterans and residents in dire need of a hand up, Pearsall acknowledged that supplies and basic human necessities would not unburden them of the heartache unfolding.

But among the rubble and destruction left behind, the example set by local veterans made his chest swell.

“I felt very sorry for the people down there because losing their homes and everything else is just demoralizing,” Pearsall said. “But seeing our local volunteer VFW members there cope with losing everything they had, while still showing up every day to help, is something that I can’t explain except to say that it made me proud to be a VFW member.

A Post in the Hoosier State on Sept. 17 observed its centennial anniversary. The date marked 100 years of service to veterans and the community.

At a celebration ceremony in Valparaiso, Indiana, members of VFW Post 988 hosted residents of their community to commemorate the Post’s milestone. Members of the Post took the opportunity to collect food for a local food pantry, recruit members and bring free music to the town of more than 34,000 residents.

Joe Garrison, commander of VFW Post 988, said the Post was founded in 1922 by veterans of World War I. He explained that the Post was given a temporary charter since it did not have a brick-and-mortar location.

Garrison, a former soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division, said that without the support of the community, the Post wouldn’t be here today.

“Support from the community goes back to the beginning,” said Garrison, who left the Army in 1996 as a staff sergeant. “For years, we didn’t have a property, so members would meet in schools and libraries in town. This support went on for years.”

As World War II and the Korean War veterans came home and joined Post 988, Garrison added, they raised enough funding to purchase land at 705 Roosevelt Rd. By 1967, the Post was given a permanent charter.

VFW Post 988, Garrison said, is mostly made up of Vietnam and Persian Gulf war veterans. Garrison, a veteran of operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Just Cause, said that he and the Posts members are proud of VFW’s rich history in Valparaiso.

Garrison also credits the Post’s Auxiliary for its success.

“I think our Post and Auxiliary functions like a well-oiled machine,” Garrison said. “We help each other, and by working together we get a lot more done.”

A VFW Post in the Peach State is making a 12-week-long combat trauma course free of charge for veterans and their families.

VFW Post 5376 in Calhoun, Georgia’s, Post Commander Johnathan Brown – a staff sergeant of the Georgia National Guard’s 1st Sqdn., 108th Cav, 48th Inf. BCT – said that only a handful of people have signed up for the program but is confident more will join. Brown, currently an active guard reserve soldier, added that the classes, which had its first session on Oct. 6, allow for new participants up to the third week.

“Each week will have a video presentation that goes with the workbooks and then there will be group discussion and sharing,” said Brown, who served in Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019. “The last night will be a graduation that is just for fellowship. There are additional materials through the week that make up a mid-week check-in. There will also occasionally be homework in the books.”

Brown said there has been “a growing need” for a combat trauma course in the Calhoun area.

“Our service officer, Randy Boatner; chaplain, Sean Hudson; and I have fielded several calls for assistance during our tenure,” Brown said. “We have been referred to for assistance from the local organizations we work closely with, such as the Family Resource Center, Child Advocacy Center, Police Department, Sheriff’s Department and local churches.”

Brown added that Randy Boatner, a retired Army captain, received the VFW Department of Georgia’s Service Officer of the Year for 2021-2022 for his efforts.

Brown said the trauma course is a first for the Post and the town of Calhoun. Post 5376 will provide dinner and childcare for attendees.

“Our community has committed resources to the course,” Brown said. “Once we have a final count and know the cost, several small businesses are going to contribute to the cost. Whatever is left will be covered by the Post in some fashion, most likely through a donation drive.”

With an abundance of new treatments for PTSD these days, members of VFW Post 2811 in Gainesville, Florida, planted their own with help from a local gardening group this year.

Though gardening therapy has cast ripples in the treatment for PTSD, Post 2811 Surgeon General Avery Owen and former Post 2811 Quartermaster Paul Deis faced a predicament when they first set out to get members of the Post involved in January.

“We were sitting in Deis’ office and discussing gardening therapy and how community gardens were not necessarily a good fit for veterans who carry the burden of PTSD,” said Owen, who retired from the Florida Army National guard after more than 30 years in the service.

Owen, who served 24 years on active duty and retired as a master sergeant with the 3rd Bn, 20th Special Forces Group of the Florida Army National Guard, preferred a tailor-made garden for veterans, welcoming of all the aspects a Post provides to those seeking camaraderie.

“The idea of a teaching garden was what we wanted,” Owen said. “It demonstrated various methods, and it served as a living static display that could be used as a focal point for veterans to meet and share more than just gardening tips.”

Through word of mouth, Owen and Deis received a phone call later in the month that provided the opportunity they had been looking forward to seizing.

“It was Judith [Bellaire] from a local homesteading group called Grow Gainesville,” Owen said. “She was looking for a place for their monthly meetings as they had lost a past meeting place due to COVID.”

In a quid pro quo, Owen and Deis agreed to host Grow Gainesville, a local group of avid gardeners dedicated to food production, in return for their help in creating a teaching garden for veterans.

Members of Post 2811 and Grow Gainesville have since worked in symbiosis.

Following the construction of the teaching garden at Post 2811 in early February, the eight-month collaboration has led to veterans learning an array of methods for growing vegetables. Some of these methods include lessons in foot gardening, herb spiral, a keyhole garden, as well as several types of container gardening techniques.

“Our mission is to reacquaint ourselves with the skills involved in growing some of your own food,” said Tom Wootton of Grow Gainesville.

With most of the supplies and equipment also being donated by VFW and Grow Gainesville members, the group’s work at what is called a “victory garden” also is a longstanding tradition rooted in the unity between civilians and military soldiers.

The “victory gardens,” or home vegetable gardens, sprouted out of necessity during World War I and II, an effort by the National War Garden Commission to promote growing one’s own crops to free up crops for troops fighting in a foreign land.

At the Post 2811 teaching garden, veterans and Grow Gainesville members also have installed large insect and pollinator beds at each end of the garden, as well as began planting a wide variety of vegetables and fruits.

Though the results are still growing from their roots, the therapeutic effects of gardening and a safe space for camaraderie amongst both factions is exactly what Owen and Deis had planned.

“Gainesville is a college town and sometimes the military is not viewed in a positive light,” Owen said. “The meetings have had the positive effect of us meeting on common ground, finding those shared interests, and breaking down stereotypes on both sides. This is also a goal of the teaching garden, that integration back into society.”

Owen also added that the teaching garden’s positive impact has stirred others into action. Since being created, the Post has had several guests appear to take in the environment and help add to it.

“The teaching garden is newly constructed, but interest is quickly building,” Owen said. “Local recreational therapists from the Department of Veteran Affairs are interested and have even helped in the construction. The potential of this project is fantastic and hopefully will serve as a template for other VFW Posts.”

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 veterans across the world as the newly appointed VFW National Ambassador in January 2022.

Far from a traditional retirement with extended periods hunkering down in his residence in Lakewood, Washington, Troxell spends about 20 days on the road each month in support of veterans.

“I didn’t want to retire and become an agitator that complained about the state of things,” said Troxell, a life member of VFW Post 10281 in Vine Grove, Kentucky. “I wanted to be an enabler, giving back to an institution that gave so much to me. I wanted to help other veterans and their families.”

A commodity in high demand, Troxell’s infectious personality, wisdom and motivational skills keep him on the go – barring how fast the plane or car can keep up with his relentless motor.

Troxell spends most days visiting active-duty units, military installations and veteran-based organizations for events in which he serves as the guest of honor. At each destination, he bestows tailored speeches focused on leadership, readiness and his obsession with health and fitness.

“If you love what you do, the travel doesn’t matter,” Troxell said. “When you’re driven by purpose and giving back, I look at it as a compliment that people want me to come out and help our fellow veterans.”

FINDING MOTIVATION
In deciphering what endless fuel goes into the tank of a man like Troxell, the cap comes off to reveal remnants of his hometown, the impact older veterans had on him growing up, as well as the VFW.

A native of Davenport, Iowa, Troxell did not have much drive growing up in a middle-class home. Then, he began to notice his peers going off on active duty and coming back changed men.

“I didn’t feel like I had a lot of purpose and motivation throughout my high school years. I wasn’t the smartest kid or excelled in athletics,” Troxell said. “I was just getting by until I noticed guys like me going off to the military and coming back with their chests puffed out, wiser, sharper and with an air of purpose.”

Troxell enlisted in the Army in 1982 as an armored reconnaissance specialist, graduating from One Station Unit training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He would excel in the Army, eventually serving in most leadership roles within the non-commissioned officer corps. That included command senior enlisted leader at the battalion, brigade, regimental, corps, major command, sub-unified command and combatant command levels.

During his 38 years on active-duty, Troxell also deployed in support of Operation Just Cause in Panama, as well as Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf, Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

For almost four decades of excellence, the once unmotivated kid from Iowa became the top enlisted service member within the Department of Defense in December 2015.

Troxell would serve as the SEAC to the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., until 2019.

Following his retirement in April 2020, Troxell had no trouble finding an array of post-retirement options to continue using his skill set as a world-class motivator and speaker.

He created his brand, PME Hard Consulting, a family affair he runs alongside his wife, Sandra, and son, Bryan, to provide leadership and human performance solutions for organizational excellence.

Through his consulting brand, Troxell has served as an advisor and brand ambassador for many veteran-based nonprofits, such as Hiring Our Heroes, Allied Forces Foundation and Our Community Salutes.

HELP FROM THE VFW
But it was the opportunity to don the VFW’s brand that most resonated with Troxell after being asked to join as national ambassador in January.

“It was a real honor to be named national ambassador by one of the truly great organizations for veterans in the world,” Troxell said. “I tell transitioning service members all the time about the VFW service officer that took care of me as I retired. Now to officially represent an organization that helped me to carry the message that truly ‘No One Does More For Veterans’ is such a privilege.”

Though it has been less than a year since being appointed to the position, Troxell, again, moves with haste.

He has since been a presence across training conferences for upcoming VFW commanders, a recurrent guest speaker on VFW’s #StillServing Podcast, as well as a guest speaker at several events held by local Posts across the country.

“My number one purpose is to continue to inspire and encourage our veterans,” Troxell said. “I want to recruit, but I also want our current and older VFW members to get healthier, get our comrades to get busy living and get after wellness and health.”

Troxell’s message resonated during his most recent event in Knoxville, Iowa, in July, where he joined VFW Post 3519 in co-hosting a ‘UFC Fight Night’ event alongside former UFC welterweight and Hall of Famer Pat Miletich.

The event was a sold-out affair that proved a successful recruiting event for the younger veterans as well as a different approach to a weekend event for the older VFW members.

“I’m just getting started,” Troxell said. “Now that we’re getting the boulder rolling, it’ll pick up steam. I’m very excited for the future.”

This article is featured in the 2022 September issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.