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FIGHTING FOR OLD GLORY -- Another VFW Post
struggles to stay afloat.
SHIP SHAPE: Bill Horton, commander
of VFW Post 3173 in Anaheim, gets the bar at the post's Sycamore
Street building ready for an upcoming event. (photo: JOSHUA SUDOCK,
FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER) |
Story here...
http://www.ocregister.com/
ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1558615.php
Story below:
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Fighting for old glory
Anaheim's VFW Post 3173 and other local
veterans groups look for ways to offset their declining membership.
By ERIK ORTIZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANAHEIM – The "VFW" sign out front has lost its luster, in need of a new
coat of paint.
Time, say members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3173, has worn
their decades-old building on Sycamore Street.
And time has also worn out their membership.
While there were once about 800 veterans belonging to the post 10 years
ago, now there are about 400, with no more than 40 active.
VFW State Commander John P. Wolfe visited the post Friday for a special
dinner and shared his views on how veterans organizations must bolster
their ranks in light of attrition and a lack of renewed interest in such
groups throughout the country.
"There's a little difficulty (recruiting) younger veterans just getting
out," Wolfe said Monday. "They want to get back to their wives and
families. But it seems like the Vietnam veterans are coming back into
the fold."
The VFW's national membership has fallen to about 1.8 million from a
high of 2.2 million in the early 1990s, according to Joe Davis,
spokesman for the national VFW.
VFW and American Legion posts have had to change perceptions of their
organizations to gain new interest.
"People think it's a bunch of old fogies telling war stories," said Ann
Horton, a member of Post 3173's Ladies Auxiliary.
But post members are active in community service. They visit the VA Long
Beach Healthcare System to talk with the injured and raise money for
causes that support the troops overseas.
At American Legion Post 72 in Anaheim, commander Gary Anderson said
membership has been healthy, with the group passing out its bimonthly
newsletter and visiting the Anaheim Veterans Health Clinic as part of
its outreach.
Members of American Legion Post 132 in Orange visit Camp Pendleton as
part of an effort to find new members, post commander John Whiteriver
said.
Loss of members at VFW Post 3173 has also affected finances, which have
struggled even more recently because of the group's limited success in
renting out its hall to the public.
Longtime member Art Peck, a paratrooper in the Korean War, said
recharging the ranks is a necessity to ensure that the post thrives. But
how?
"That," he said, "is something we'd all give a fortune to find out."
Contact the writer: 714-704-3782 or
eortiz@ocregister.com
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Larry Scott
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