Despite inclement weather and frigid temperatures, more than 100 veterans attended the first-ever VFW Department of Missouri’s District 5 “Veterans Helping Veterans.”

Held on the manicured lawn of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 28, the event was hosted by District 5 to help connect local veterans with the VFW and other veterans service organizations in attendance.

District 5 Commander Liz Jordan spearheaded the project after many encounters with veterans who expressed their lack of knowledge in the resources available at the VFW and elsewhere.

“I got tired of hearing veterans come up to me and say they did not know where there was help or that we could do anything like this [event],” Jordan said. “There are so many fabulous organizations out there. We are the first and the oldest, so let us take the lead and work with these other organizations to help our fellow veterans.”

Jordan spent months coordinating with several veterans groups and organizations to set up booths to provide local veterans with information on what they do. Among those in attendance were the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), Heroes on the Water, Wounded Warrior Family Support, Veterans Community Project and the VA.

“There were unfortunately about 20 groups that backed out due to the freezing cold,” Jordan said of the event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “But overall, the event did what we expected it to do.”

The VFW also provided its own resources in the form of booths with service officers willing to help any and all veterans who attended the event.

“Commander Jordan did an amazing job coordinating with several veterans organizations and the Posts within her District to give local veterans PACT Act information, as well as helping them file VA claims,” said Ed Stefanak, a national eligibility coordinator with VFW’s national Membership Department.

Stefanak, who represented the national VFW headquarters in Kansas City, joined Jordan in making the rounds throughout the event, helping spread the gospel of the VFW.

“Events like these allow us to tell non-members what we do on Capitol Hill to expand benefits for veterans,” Stefanak said. “It helps us share that all veterans, regardless of being eligible or not for the VFW, can have our veterans service officers help them file VA claims without paying a dime. It is our way of letting them know they have a friend here in the VFW.”

Jordan added that despite the weather having an effect on the turnout, the event provided a blueprint for future events. She is adamant about her District joining forces with more and more veterans groups and service organizations to provide help to veterans based on their individual needs.

“We as the VFW do a lot of stuff for veterans, but sometimes what they need is something more personal, which working with other veterans organizations allows us to direct them to. Something that maybe we cannot do,” Jordan said. “So, we can work with and partner with other organizations to host events and turn veterans in the right direction.”

The District 5 commander already has plans for 2024, which include growing upon “Veterans Helping Veterans.” She is working on hosting two job fairs and the second “Veterans Helping Veterans” event, though the dates are tentative as of the publishing of this article.

“We are hoping to partner with more groups to build a community of joining in to help our fellow veterans,” Jordan said. “We are still serving, so let us show them what that really means.”

This article is featured in the February 2024 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

Four VFW Posts on Long Island, New York, were selected this year to receive grants from the Suffolk County Grant Program. The grants are funded through the Suffolk County Veterans Marathon & Half Marathon, which just celebrated its eighth year.

Lindenhurst Post 7279, Rocky Point Post 6249, Sayville Post 433 and Huntington Station Post 1469 each received a grant for the work the members do in the community.

In Rocky Point, for example, Post members consistently give back to the community in a variety of ways. For instance, they support the Long Island State Veterans Home and provide a hand up to families who need it and make frequent visits to the area schools.

Most recently, the Post celebrated the grand opening of its Suffolk County WWII and Military History Museum. Located in the former Rocky Point train depot across the street from the VFW Post, the museum aims to tell the stories of Long Island war veterans.

VFW Post 6249 Commander Joe Cognitore said the museum helps fulfill the Post’s mission of educating youth by introducing them to the wartime experiences of their local veterans.

According to then-Suffolk County Veterans Services Director Tom Ronayne, more than $1 million has been raised over eight years and has directly benefited veterans’ groups on Long Island.

“We have raised $1.1 million since this all started,” said Ronayne, a Navy veteran and Life member of VFW Post 1469. “Every nickel has gone back to the veterans’ community, and we have done this with zero cost to the government.”

Ronayne said that organizations such as VFW Posts submit grant applications that are then reviewed by a committee. He noted that grants cannot be used to fund capital improvements. Instead, the committee selects those groups looking to better their communities by, for example, working on youth programs or hosting ward parties in hospitals and nursing homes or organizing coat drives.

With more than 1.5 million residents, Suffolk County has more veterans than all of New York state’s 62 counties. For that reason, Ronayne said the county works very hard to deliver the “highest level of service possible” to veterans and active-duty troops, as well as National Guard and Reserve troops.

Ronayne added that former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone made veterans a priority during his tenure. Bellone, an Army veteran, finished his 12-year term as county executive on Dec. 31.

“Suffolk County is home to the largest population of veterans in New York state, and as such, we feel a strong obligation to provide them with the best services and support possible when they return home,” Bellone said. “That is exactly what the Suffolk County Marathon is all about – raising money for local veterans’ services. I am extremely proud that we were able to surpass our goal of raising $1 million to support our nation’s heroes.”

Ronayne said that in addition to VFW Posts, the Veterans Yoga Project and Warrior Ranch are among the groups supported by the marathon’s competitive grant program.

“The race entirely pays for itself in addition to providing significant financial support to the community,” Ronayne said.

‘A POWERFUL LEGACY’
The marathon grew out of the Veterans Race Series, which consists of nine other races that are “military or veteran centric” in Suffolk County.

“Each race serves as an opportunity to provide information and awareness of both the services and resources available to veterans in Suffolk County,” Ronayne said. “We have experienced significant growth in the participant numbers as the race series has expanded.”

On the marathon weekend, which is typically in October, a Family Fun Run and Freedom Fest also takes place. Veterans’ employment counselors, the local VA, food merchants and live musicians turn out to make the Freedom Fest a success, according to Ronayne.

“The marathon also features the Road of Remembrance,” Ronayne said. “It is one mile of the race where we have photos of each of Suffolk County’s KIAs. It is a solemn mile. There is no cheering or hydration stations.”

One of the races in the series is the Lt. Michael Murphy Run Around the Lake. Murphy was born and raised on Long Island, where he served as a lifeguard at Lake Ronkonkoma. After graduating from Penn State University, he joined the Navy SEALs.

In June 2005, Murphy was killed in a firefight along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border during Operation Red Wings. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Ronayne said over the years, the marathons and the race series have engaged the community in a new way, while also supporting veterans.

“I love that this is such a powerful legacy issue,” Ronayne said. “It preserves the memory of these men we have lost. Wouldn’t it be awesome if some folks reading this would replicate this model?”

This article is featured in the 2024 February issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.

With the weight of his son on his shoulders, Mathius Carter walked down to the hockey rink inside a crowded Allstate Arena for the Chicago Wolves’ opening ceremony on Military Appreciation Night in March 2022.

The Wolves’ staff had told him it was a spectacle, selling his 5-year-old son on the idea of a great time.

When the loud and sporadic sounds of fireworks began, like gun blasts that crackled and fizzled, Carter felt it coming on. He braced himself, the weight of his son on his shoulders.

“It was the worst panic attack I had had in years,” said Carter, an Army veteran who deployed with the 32nd Signal Bn., 3rd Inf. Div. to Iraq in 2003. “I sensed it could be triggering, but my son asked me to stay. I am a father first, so I gutted it out and paid the price.”

After the pyrotechnics display, Carter walked back with his son to a booth his employer had set up at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. As an outreach coordinator for Road Home Program at Rush, a Chicago-based mental health clinic for veterans, Carter often felt the need to hide his own inner battles to help others.

“That night was different,” said Carter, the commander of VFW Post 12014 in Crystal Lake, Illinois, as well as a senior vice commander for the Department of Illinois’ District 5. “One of my co-workers manning the booth with me asked if I was all right, and I remember telling her I was definitely not OK. It was hard for me to admit because how am I supposed to help people if I myself need help?”

The Iraq War veteran, who suffered two traumatic brain injuries after a mortar attack on his truck in 2003, had started his quest to help veterans in 2020 as a case manager at Veterans Path to Hope, a nonprofit in Crystal Lake.

“It was there that I began to realize the long-term cost of war,” said Carter, who left the service in 2005. “When three veterans in my caseload and a good friend from Iraq all committed suicide, I realized that I, too, was not OK mentally.”

Contemplating his own demise toward the end of 2021, Carter sought help in a hurry, and the only place that provided the timely relief was Road Home.

“I reached out for help and found a lifeline with the Road Home Program,” Carter said. “They got me out of a dark place, so when a job opportunity opened up there, I signed on as an outreach coordinator.”

Then two weeks later, Carter suffered the panic attack at the Chicago Wolves’ hockey game.

‘WE KNEW WHAT WE WANTED TO SAY’
Following the panic attack, Carter scheduled an appointment with his clinician the next day and told him about the episode he had suffered in detail. The clinician listened to him confess he never wanted his son to see him struggle with his emotions.

“I told my therapist I always hid them,” Carter said. “Then my therapist made a face and suggested I needed to figure out an age-appropriate way to teach my son what I was going through.”

Carter took the advice from his clinician and delved into online research on ways to do so. There were no age-appropriate books, according to Carter, that captured his exact mood when going through a PTSD attack.

“When I am going through an episode, I am somewhere else,” Carter said. “I am vacant and quiet and sad, and it is not at all how I am normally. So I had to try and find a way to explain this to my son.”

The epiphany crept in in the form of a children’s book. To do this, Carter’s first resource was his longtime friend, Nick Atchison, a gifted illustrator and Iraq War veteran who served with Carter in the same unit and has five children himself.

“He loved the idea,” Carter said. “We knew what we wanted to say and that is how we wrote and illustrated it. We consider it a tool for Army dads like us to talk about PTSD to little ones who don’t always understand what is going on.”

Carter and Atchison self-published “Instead of Sheep: A Soldier’s Way of Explaining PTSD to his Son” on Nov. 8, 2022, and the book has since garnered 4.9 stars on Amazon, as well as more than 20 positive reviews.

“I have gotten feedback from people I know who have not had a way to have that conversation with their children on what they went through and how they feel,” Carter said. “But we have also received feedback from people who were not in the military and who are not fathers. It has allowed them to see what we go through as well.”

‘I REALIZED I WANTED TO BE HERE’
For Carter, however, the challenges brought on by 2022 had not ended.

On Dec. 28 that year, the Iraq War veteran was once again tested. This time, the feeling that gripped him was not panic but a heart attack.

“I know this might sound strange, but I was in a way glad that I had a heart attack,” Carter said. “Being a man, a veteran and parent, those are all groups of people that care about other people but not always take care of themselves. I realized then that I wanted to be here, wanted more time to continue to do my work in helping other people but also myself.”

Since the heart attack, Carter has doubled down on his health as much as he has on his two commitments to family and veterans.

A recently appointed VFW National Aide-de-Camp, Carter continues to carry his newfound outlook on life with him throughout outreach missions with Road Home, as well as his duties as a VFW officer and published author.

Over the past year, Carter has conducted public readings of “Instead of Sheep: A Soldier’s Way of Explaining PTSD to his Son” at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library in Chicago, as well as the Kohl Children’s Museum in Glenview, Illinois.

The children’s book author and his partner, Atchison, have also begun working on the next iteration of “Instead of Sheep,” which they see as a potential series.

“For our second book, we are aging up the characters to target older kids, between six to 12-year-olds,” Carter said. “We will talk about moral injury and survivor’s guilt and things that might be a little heavier than what we shared in the first book.”

The second iteration of “Instead of Sheep,” according to Carter, is slated to be published later this year. For more information on the book, visit https://insteadofsheep.net.

This article is featured in the 2024 February issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

A VFW in the Rust Belt donated $20,000 to local fire and police departments earlier this year.

VFW Post 3343 in Clyde, Ohio, gave the Clyde Fire and Police departments $10,000 each, which will be used for much-needed equipment for the first responders.

VFW Post 3343 Commander Brian Moore said it is important for the Post to support the department because they are a part of the community.

“It’s just one way for us to give back,” said Moore, an Air Force veteran. “We lost our Post to a fire 13 years ago, so we want to do everything we can to help.”

The Fremont News-Messenger, based in Fremont, Ohio, reported that Clyde Police Chief Monti Campbell said the donations “came at the right time” for a new “recorders management system for the department.” Campbell said the new system will bring them “up to date” and allow the department to be on the same system as neighboring law enforcement agencies.

The Fremont News-Messenger also reported that Clyde Fire Chief Paul Fiser said the donation will be used for purchasing equipment for a fire station in the town. The department also will put funds towards body cameras and protective vests.

Moore said that since Jan. 1, 2023, the Post has donated $158,799 to the community. Included in the amount is the Posts donation of $10,000 to the Big Nut Scholarship fund for those who attend Ohio State University.

“We are very embedded in our community,” said Moore, who served in South Korea in 1988. “I believe we are what a VFW Post needs to be.”

Vietnam veteran Tony Blount remembers when he and his late wife, Amy, went through hard times when they were younger. The couple – both of whom were 100 percent disabled veterans – had to utilize food banks to make ends meet.

When the duo had the opportunity to give back, they formed West Plains Angels out of Cheney, Washington, to help other veterans, schools, food banks and other groups.

“We just wanted to give back,” said Blount, junior vice commander of VFW Post 11326 in Cheney. “We were finally in a position to give back, so we did.”

Earlier this year, Blount started a mobile pet pantry. He travels to the various food banks in surrounding communities on food distribution days to give out pet supplies to those with furry companions at home.

With the help of his fellow VFW members donating their time to distribute pet food among other items, Blount has donated 2,500 pounds of pet food and nearly $2,000 in leashes and harnesses. He gives pets toys, too.

“This pet pantry has been deeply well-received,” Blount said. “So many of the people going out to these pantries cannot afford to buy pet food. But oftentimes, their pets are their only source of companionship. I find it curious that the more we gift and give, the more we receive.”

Blount said he is not much into computers or tweeting or texting. Instead, his focus is to “compound the good,” which just happens to be the motto of West Plains Angels.

“My wife of 50 years died two years ago,” Blount said. “I do this in memory of my most beloved wife, Amy. The day I met her at Travis Air Force Base, she wrote in her diary, ‘Today I met the boy I am going to marry.'”

VFW Post 11326 Commander Rick Mattausch describes Blount as “dynamic.” Mattausch and his wife have both volunteered their time at the mobile pet pantry.

“Tony is kind of a saint, really,” Mattausch said. “He’s always working to help the people of the community.”

The Post gives Blount Buddy Poppies, which he distributes when giving away pet supplies. Mattausch said he’s pretty sure Blount has distributed more Poppies than anyone else in their VFW District. He also accepts donations on behalf of the VFW.

“The work he is doing is important,” Mattausch said. “He is helping people who are having a hard time making ends meet and preventing them from having to give away their pets. It is not often you meet someone like Tony.”

This article is featured in the January 2024 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.

Tillie Bobby and her family spent 80 years piecing together the vague details around her uncle’s death during World War II, clinging to a citation that simply stated he was killed at sea. But in 2022, while browsing the Find a Grave database online, Bobby and her husband, Roger, of Port Sanilac, Michigan, discovered a link between Tillie’s uncle’s death and the British troopship HMT Rohna.

“We got married 53 years ago, and I had just thought her uncle, Ralph, died at sea by having his plane shot down or something,” said Roger, a VFW Post 8872 commander in their hometown of Port Sanilac. “Finding out that he was on the HMT Rohna led us to finding The Rohna Survivors Memorial Association and learning about the cause of his death.”

Pvt. Ralph Sitter was born on July 7, 1909, in Strasburg, North Dakota, and later moved to Washington state for work before joining the Army Air Force. He was among the 793 Air Corps 853rd Engineer Aviation Battalion servicemen aboard the Rohna on Nov. 26, 1943, when a German aircraft sank the vessel off the coast of Algeria in the Mediterranean Sea.

At the time, the U.S. War Department had withheld details from the public due to the then-new radio-guided bombs used in the attack, according to details the Bobbys found on the Rohna Survivors Memorial Association website. Believed to be the largest loss of Army servicemen at sea in a single attack, it killed 1,015 of the 2,000 Army Air Corps servicemen aboard that day.

When Congress publicly recognized the sinking of the Rohna in October 2000, the families of the deceased had been kept in the dark for decades and even the survivors, who had been held to secrecy, struggled to prove the event had taken place.

“Little is known about the Rohna in the public consciousness as a result, and it is something that does not get talked about or taught in schools,” Roger said. “It was such a huge loss of American lives, and the fact is that the families did not know what happened for more than 50 years. Some family members went to the grave not knowing what happened to their loved ones.”

To do right by her uncle after discovering the details of his death, the Bobbys requested an official VA-issued marker in June 2022. But since Sitter had had a stone on a family plot in a Strasburg cemetery, the VA denied the request that August.

“The regulations are that if the deceased died before 1990 and there is a marker of some sort, the VA would deny it,” Roger said. “So we just went ahead and had our own marker made to look like the VA-issued marker, with the same dimensions, and added ‘HMT Rohna casualty.'”

The Bobbys then orchestrated a VFW-style funeral ceremony to honor Sitter and others who perished aboard the Rohna on Nov. 26, 1943. They traveled from Port Sanilac to Strasburg and held the ceremony on July 1 at the Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Strasburg, where Tillie’s parents and grandparents also are buried.

The ceremony was conducted by an honor guard from the North Dakota National Guard, and more than 70 guests attended the event, which included VFW Posts in North Dakota whose members sat among Tillie’s family to honor Sitter and others who lost their lives on the Rohna.

“My wife is the youngest of 16 children, and her mother was Ralph’s sister,” Roger said. “Aside from the nice ceremony we were able to give him, the real closure was that it answered a lot of questions about Uncle Ralph for my wife and her siblings. They got to uncover what the citation really meant when it said, ‘killed at sea.'”

This article is featured in the January 2024 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

Members of VFW Post 10380 in Green Township, Ohio, partnered with Wreaths Across America to lay 500 wreaths in a ceremony at their local Bridgetown Cemetery on Dec. 16.

Led by location coordinator Bill Ostermeyer, Post 10380 welcomed more than 70 guests to their ceremony at Bridgetown Cemetery, where they laid 500 wreaths on the graves of local veterans from a slew of wars and conflicts dating as far back as the Civil War.

“The VFW believes in honoring all those who have served before us, and that is something we at Post 10380 take pride in doing,” Ostermeyer said. “I would add, as a member of the VFW Honor Guard, that we participate in funerals where you realize a lot of these graves have not been visited in 100 or more years, so it is nice to do things like this.”

Ostermeyer added his Post partnered with Wreaths Across America following a touching ceremony he and his wife attended at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, renowned for being the third largest cemetery in the country.

“It was hosted by Daughters of America, and I remember thinking ‘this is something we should be doing for our local cemetery,'” Ostermeyer said.

Ostermeyer assumed the role of location coordinator and worked closely with Wreaths Across America, joining Post members in honoring 250 veteran graves at a section of Bridgetown Cemetery in December 2022.

“We purchased 250 wreaths our first year because we were unsure how many veterans were buried there,” Ostermeyer said. “But when we went out before the ceremony and identified the veterans’ graves, we found out we were way short.”

Motivated to honor all veterans at Bridgetown Cemetery last year, Ostermeyer purchased 500 wreaths for the ceremony on Dec. 16.

Last year, the Post also welcomed a volunteer fourth-grade class from nearby St. Aloysius Gonzaga School two days before the ceremony to help them identify the graves of veterans at Bridgetown Cemetery in accordance with VFW’s longtime beliefs.

“Remember, honor and teaching are things the VFW aspires to do,” Ostermeyer said. “What better way to do that than this. Many of the kids even took notes on the headstones they found, and some helped us clean those headstones.”

On the day of the ceremony, Ostermeyer surprised the guests by hosting several Gold Star family members whom he tasked with the honor of placing one of the eight ceremonial wreaths that represent each branch of service.

“Placing the ceremonial wreaths is important to me,” Ostermeyer said. “We had the family of Marine Sgt. David Kreuter of Cincinnati, who was killed in Iraq, do us the honor of placing the wreath for the Marine Corps this year. I think having that element adds to the ceremony.”

For December 2024, Ostermeyer and Post 10380 have already placed an order for 650 wreaths, hoping to lay one by all the veterans graves at Bridgetown Cemetery.

For the past nine years, VFW Post 311’s emphasis on higher education has led to more than $30,000 in scholarships awarded to high school seniors with family ties to veterans in Richton Park, Illinois.

What began in August 2014 with three $1,000 scholarships, the Benjamin O. Davis Post 311 Commander’s Scholarship program has since awarded up to six $1,000 scholarships a year to more than 30 recipients.

“It’s our way of giving back to the descendants of veterans and helping our future leaders,” VFW Post 311 Commander Aretha Spurlock said. “We want to show the community and our young adults that we are still here serving in a positive way. Maybe this inspires them to go on and join the military, or maybe it leads them to support veterans in some capacity.”

The applicants each year are screened by the Post’s scholarship committee, which includes past and current educators and professionals, to ensure they meet the primary requirements to compete. They are then judged on academic transcripts, community involvement and letters of recommendation from high school and community leaders.

Akin to VFW’s national Voice of Democracy contest, Post 311’s scholarship committee also assigns an annual essay theme for participants.

“The students are graduating seniors, and they are asked as a part of their applications to write an essay with the theme being a topic of Americanism or democracy,” VFW Post 311 Quartermaster Arnold Taylor said. “We then review and score their essays and evaluate their personal interviews with the committee.”

As is customary, the 2023 recipients were announced on July 10 during Post 311’s “Commander’s Ball,” where the winners read their respective essays to a crowd of VFW members and guests.

The 2023 winners included local seniors Arthur Levi McFadden III and Myia Williams. McFadden, a graduate of Crete-Monee High School in Crete, Illinois, started this fall at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, while Williams, a Thornwood High School graduate in South Holland, Illinois, is attending Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.

Post 311 members have already begun fundraising for the 2024 Benjamin O. Davis Post 311 Commander’s Scholarship contest, which opens in April to participants.

“The VFW states that the true character of America is measured by her communities and the people who work to improve them,” Spurlock said. “We are a VSO that not only supports veterans, but we support the entire veteran family and dependents. Our goal is to continue to positively show up.”

This article is featured in the January 2024 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Ismael Rodriguez Jr., senior writer for VFW magazine.

Growing up in the small community of Cape May, New Jersey, Gabrielle Masterson had a fascination with outer space. More focused on the arts and less on math and science, Masterson would paint pictures of space and the planets.

“I found space amazing and terrifying at the same time,” Masterson said.

During her junior and senior years of high school, Masterson began taking advanced placement math and science classes.

She had a goal of going to college to study physics after she graduated high school in 2018. Getting there, she knew, was not going to be easy with the cost of college tuition.

Masterson said her guidance counselor spoke to her about multiple awards and scholarships for which she could apply. One of those was the Citizenship Award sponsored by Cape May’s VFW Post 386.

She wrote an essay describing how one day she hoped to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Masterson’s essay was selected, and she earned a $500 award to help her get started at the University of Kentucky.

After a year of studying physics, Masterson changed her major to computer engineering with a double minor in physics and computer science. She had graduate school on her radar after graduation in the spring of 2022.

“Just for fun, I decided to apply to NASA,” Masterson said. “I was hired and started in June.”

Masterson is a CRONUS flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. There, she coordinates communication between the space station and mission control. One of her areas of focus is monitoring video and audio messages.

“Getting out of my comfort zone communication-wise has been the most challenging aspect, but also the most rewarding,” Masterson said. “Growing up, I was a very shy person. Public speaking was the most difficult part of high school for me.”

Masterson said she loves the diversity and hustle and bustle of life in Houston, which is worlds away from her hometown seaside community of less than 3,000 people.

She said she has not and will not forget the kindness of those who helped her fulfill her lifelong goals. To that end, Masterson sent a postcard to the Cape May VFW to thank the members for the award they gave her.

“I knew that college was going to be hard on my own, even with my family helping me as much as they could,” Masterson said. “I worked so hard applying for different scholarships. I was so grateful for each scholarship no matter the amount.”

According to VFW Post 386 Life member Andy Barber, the members were excited to see the postcard from Masterson arrive. Along with a photo provided by her parents, the postcard is framed and hangs inside the Post.

“You would have thought we gave her $1 million,” Barber said. “This postcard is so touching. It is great she reached out after the fact for such a small amount. This girl is such a special person.”

Barber said that the Post has given out up to $12,000 in scholarships to the three schools in the Cape May area. The Veterans Home Association runs the Post canteen, which, Barber added, assists in providing the funds for scholarships.

The Post, which counts 215 members, relies on the schools’ guidance counselors when it comes to naming recipients.

“We have faith in the guidance counselors,” Barber said. “They are familiar with the students’ volunteer and community service work in addition to their grades.”

Barber added that the Post has sent VFW items to Masterson and let her know she is welcome to come to the Post any time she is back home in New Jersey.

“They had a piece in my journey of me getting to where I am,” Masterson said. “I have my dream job, and I will always be grateful to them.”

This article is featured in the January 2024 issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine.

Since the VFW’s inception nearly 125 years ago, its members’ pursuance to help communities ravaged by natural disasters remains undeterred.

Under the VFW mantle, veterans from across the country annually carry out missions to combat the harsh aftermath of floods, wildfires, typhoons or hurricanes ravaging communities.

Most recently, in early August, when wildfires ravaged portions of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands, VFW members worked together to provide relief. Especially impacted by the fires was Lahaina, once the capital of Hawaii.

VFW Post 3850 on Maui quickly mobilized as a distribution point for community members.

Post 3850 Commander Alton Sanders said the VFW team of volunteers has done everything they know to do to help, including offering a caring shoulder.

Sanders noted one veteran who got in touch with the Post for assistance. The vet had lost his wife in the fire and was still in shock. In planning her funeral, he realized he had nothing to wear to her funeral. Sanders made sure he had what he needed. Most importantly, Sanders said, was just “being there” for the veteran to talk about his wife.

“Some of these stories are mind-blowing,” Sanders said. “It is like a war zone here with no bullets.”

VFW volunteers have partnered with the local Sea Cadets and their parents in picking up 14-15 pallets of supplies, which are delivered to the Post and inventoried.

Then, when people come to the Post home or call, volunteers will know if they have what is needed.

“We are trying to keep this organized because this is going to be a long haul,” Sanders said. “If someone is unable to find a ride to the Post to pick up supplies, one of us delivers to wherever they are staying.”

Being on the opposite side of the island from where the fires spread, Post 3850 was unscathed. However, one of the Post members living in Lahaina lost everything in the fire, according to Sanders.

“Lahaina is the heart of the island,” Sanders said. “It is devastating the way he went up in flames. I have visited 49 of the 50 states, and I have never seen a community come together like Maui has.”

Here is a look back at some disaster relief endeavors performed by VFW members over the past couple of years.

‘NO BOUNDARIES’ WHEN IT COMES TO SERVING
On Dec. 10, 2021, a tornado ripped through multiple towns in Kentucky, killing 57 people and injuring hundreds more. As VFW members do, they quickly organized efforts to help those affected.

A relentless network of VFW Post members in Kentucky answered the call to action, quickly creating fundraising efforts, food and supply storage as well as driving in and out of the areas hit hardest to provide such relief.

VFW Post 1170 in Louisville, Kentucky, organized to gather and transport supplies to Bowling Green, one of the communities in the path of destruction.

“I drove a truck down as Post and Auxiliary members would load the other truck,” then-VFW Post 1170 Commander Calvin Shaak Jr. said. “So I was able to jump into the now full truck and go again.”

Shaak worked closely with then-VFW Post 1298 Commander Glenn Skaggs in Bowling Green.

“Glenn set up his Post as a distribution point, working around the clock to ensure people who needed anything could get it,” Shaak said. “He worked tirelessly, receiving, unloading and coordinating to get added help and storage containers as support was coming in quicker than he could get it out at first. He also worked with local government offices to get supplies to people in need.”

This network of Posts answered the call to action once again when an unfortunate cycle of flash flooding happened between late July and early August 2022.

“We are not only here for veterans, but to serve the community in their time of need,” then-VFW Department of Kentucky Commander Nathan Sesco said at the time. “Commander Ryan Buchanan with VFW Post 6291 helped bring in supplies, and I know Post 5829 Quartermaster Tony Adams and Kentucky State Police trooper Jay Perkins from Post 1178 in Harlan were in the water on boats and rescued more than 20 people in Whitesburg.”

In the days following the December 2021 tornado in Kentucky, the Department of Michigan raised and donated $17,000, as well as two semitrucks and three trailer loads of emergency supplies worth about $500,000.

A few months later, then-Department of Michigan Commander Kevin Conklin attended the Department of Kentucky’s Mid-Winter Conference to present more donations from Michigan Posts, which totaled more than $18,000.

This effort was spearheaded by VFW Post 1138 in Monroe, Michigan, with the backing of Conklin and other Department of Michigan officers who traveled to Kentucky with the supplies.

“It’s all one organization regardless of geography,” Conklin said. “There are no boundaries for a veteran to serve another veteran.”

‘WE TAKE CARE OF OUR NEIGHBORS’
When Hurricane Ida struck the Louisiana coastline in August 2021, causing the most widespread damage to the state since the infamous Hurricane Katrina in 2005, several VFW Posts from across the state provided a local lifeline for many.

In New Orleans, then-VFW Post 8973 Commander Chris Cox prepared for the worst, anticipating his Post would serve as an anchor of hope for fellow Louisianans once the hurricane passed.

“Down here in Louisiana, we take care of our neighbors,” said Cox, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant with more than 20 years in the service.

“It’s not about being the hero of the neighborhood. It’s a matter of caring for each other.”

Through word of mouth and Cox’s connections within the community, the Post secured ample donations from residents and restaurants. Among the donations were freezers, refrigerators, food and supplies.

“We were taking whatever we got and turning it into meals,” Cox said. “For anyone passing by, work crews, tired residents cleaning up their damaged homes, we were there. For many, this was the first hot meal they had in days.”

For multiple days, Post members served lunch and dinner, distributing more than 1,800 meals to those in need. The Post also secured more than $25,000 worth of food, fuel, dry goods, baby food and sanitary supplies, which they distributed throughout the areas outside of New Orleans hardest hit by Hurricane Ida.

“Disasters like this are a very familiar environment to veterans,” Cox added. “Lots of us have provided humanitarian relief in the Middle East, Haiti and other places, so we know how to do this.”

Like the efforts in New Orleans, Post 7286 in Covington, Louisiana, opened its doors to locals in need of food, water, electricity and shelter for those needing a place to rest.

“Our doors were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Post 7286 Commander Michael Henry. “We wanted to let our community know that they were not in this fight alone. We got your back.”

In West St. Charles, Louisiana, VFW Post 3750 was severely damaged but was still up and running as a community distribution location. With donated food, Post members also prepared meals for first responders, out-of-town linemen and residents. Louisiana’s District 5 also donated supplies to the Post to aid in relief efforts.

VFW POST SERVES AS EMERGENCY SHELTER
It is through word of mouth and a reputation for serving their community that members of VFW Post 2290 in Manville, New Jersey, were called upon in the wake of severe flooding and fires.

Although Hurricane Ida made landfall near the Gulf of Mexico, the remnants of the hurricane reached Manville, about 40 miles southwest of Newark, New Jersey, where floodwaters led to gas-fed fires and left many areas unreachable.

In desperate need of help, the Manville Off ice of Emergency Management and the Red Cross called on Post 2290 to serve as a distribution
center and later an emergency shelter for those in need of a place to rest.

“Because of the location of the Post, which is above the area that normally floods and the large size of our building, it makes us an ideal distribution center,” said then-Post 2290 Commander Andy Henkel. “More importantly, we follow the motto ‘No One Does More.’ “

Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 5, the Post received an overwhelming amount of donations ranging from clothing, food, and water to infant supplies and cleaning materials. With distribution help from its members, Auxiliary and other local volunteers, the Post provided two meals daily and at one point harbored more than 340 people in need of a place to sleep.

“In the almost 90 years of our existence, we have been fortunate to be in a position to assist those who have suffered major disasters,” Henkel added.

“In our most recent past, I can remember Hurricane Floyd, Irene and Sandy. We were open for various numbers of days and housed and fed comparable numbers of residents. So for us, this is normal, though unfortunate.”

VETERANS ‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’
When an EF-3-rated tornado devastated the Nashville, Tennessee, area and killed at least 25 people in the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, VFW Post 1970 in West Nashville immediately started disaster relief efforts.

“We got the word out to receive donations on social media and by contacting Nashville media outlets,” then-Post 1970 Commander John Lambert said. “We received many donations. Most of them came from people who said they heard about our efforts from the TV and radio stations.”

Lambert said his Post was able to quickly organize because of social media outlets.

“I would say that the best way to communicate information to the public during a disaster is through social media,” he said. “It’s a media source that you can control, and people can spread the word for you. It’s the easiest way to quickly get the word out to a large amount of people.”

Lambert said there were about 25 volunteers from the VFW Department of Tennessee; the Department’s Districts 6 and 7; Post 6022 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and other organizations.

Donnie Nelson, then-commander of Post 6022, said that when he learned about the Nashville tornado, he wanted to help with any VFW-led relief efforts.

“Our mission at VFW is to help veterans, and that is what we strive to do,” Nelson said. “As veterans, it helps us to continue to serve.”

These stories exemplify how time and again VFW members rally against danger to protect, care for and lend a hand to those in need. As recorded in an American Report by the Corporation for National and Community Service, veterans are 25 percent more likely to volunteer, 17 percent more likely to make a monetary donation and 30 percent more likely to participate in local organizations than civilians without military experience. At the VFW, that spirit is alive and well.

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