Today
In search of Veterans
Local VFW and American Legion chapters experience success, failure while trying to reverse membership losses
|
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Feeds
Local News
Article RatingImages
Jack Hoefling salutes the flag while it passes during a Boiling Springs Memorial Day celebration. (Matthew Harris, file/Special to The Sentinel)
Dave Bowermaster sits in his office and finishes up his paperwork for the week at the American Legion Post 101 in Carlisle. (Jason Malmont/The Sentinel)
Dave Bowermaster fights a new war with a jukebox, disc jockey and open pool tables.
The Carlisle man is in the trenches in a battle to win over youth.
All over the country, World War II and Korean War veterans are steadily dying off — casualties of old age and sickness.
The survivors, now in their 70s and 80s, are less active and no longer want to go out to visit a social club canteen or dining room.
So as their numbers dwindle, disappearing, too, is the traditional membership base of local American Legion and VFW posts, prompting a change in tactics to recruit new members.
American Legion Post 101 in Carlisle has gone from a peak membership of 1,644 in the post-World War II years to about 495 members currently.
“We’ve been holding fairly steady for the last five to six years,” said Bowermaster, a Vietnam veteran and current post commander.
Several months ago, Post 101 placed a newspaper ad inviting all active-duty and recently discharged veterans of the War on Terror to join its ranks.
“We offered them a free one-year membership,” he said. “We didn’t have a large influx... maybe two to three in a good month.”
While some young veterans have joined the club, the majority of young people coming to Post 101 are non-veterans who join as social members.
“We have open pool tables all day Wednesday,” Bowermaster said. “We get a huge crowd.” But fewer young people serve in the military, he said.
Recruiting tool
Legion Post 674 in Mt. Holly Springs also uses entertainment geared to young veterans and their families in its recruitment strategy.
“People come here to have fun and for the good food,” said August Ginter, post commander and a Vietnam War veteran. “We’ve had increases in our membership.”
Post 674 has seen growth from 418 members in 2007 to 451 members in 2008, according to statistics on the state American Legion Web site.
Posts 101 and 674 try to recruit into the Sons of the American Legion young people who have a parent or grandparent who served in the military.
“We have 19 active members overseas,” Ginter said. “The majority have young families.”
The post auxiliary is making arrangements to have family members send care packages to Legion members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, Post 674 hosts an annual Christmas party where gifts are given to the children and grandchildren of Legion members.
Legion Post 109 in Mechanicsburg has tapped into the younger crowd by organizing a dart league, pool tournaments and Texas Hold ’Em poker nights, said post commander Jim Comrey, 45, a Grenada and Gulf War vet.
Vietnam veteran Reuben Nace is commander of VFW Post 477 in Carlisle. While other VFW posts in Cumberland County have posted losses in membership over the prior year, Post 477 has posted a gain, to 726 from 711.
He attributes this to a strong recruitment drive in which post members knock on doors and send letters to eligible veterans using a list provided by the VFW state headquarters.
Nace added that Post 477 has as a member an active-duty lieutenant colonel who helps recruit new members from the U.S. Army War College student body and staff.
An expansion in recent years to the post canteen and dining room has helped to recruit and retain VFW members, Nace said, adding, “We got a lot of younger people coming in. It’s a good mix.”
‘Out of gas’
John Brenner, adjutant for the state VFW, confirmed that many posts across Pennsylvania have declined from peak levels due to an aging membership core. A few have even closed.
“We’ve had posts run out of gas and turn their charters in,” Brenner said.
Director of Communication Dave Sandman added that, as with other organizations, veterans groups are having a harder time finding good volunteers nowadays due to time constraints.
“We’re seeing some positive signs,” Sandman said. “Our fastest growing group are veterans 40 and under. Vietnam veterans have stepped forward, holding the majority of leadership positions.”
There was a time when Vietnam veterans had difficulty fitting in with the older World War II and Korean War generation.
In a Nov. 9, 2003, interview with The Sentinel, John Connolly, former Cumberland County director of veteran affairs, said that as a young man, he returned home to Boston in late 1968 following his first tour of duty in Vietnam. The reception he received at his local VFW post was not very inviting.
“The post was dominated by World War II and Korean War veterans and the majority of them did not see Vietnam veterans as real veterans,” Connolly said.
Now posts are trying to make them feel more welcome.
Still, the VFW has a challenge trying to recruit new members from an ever-shrinking pool of eligible veterans, Sandman said. The reason: The VFW accepts only veterans who have a campaign ribbon or hazardous duty pay from an overseas deployment.
Kit Watson, state adjutant for the American Legion, also reports declining membership statewide, especially among Philadelphia posts located in former residential neighborhoods that have been “gobbled up” by commercial development.
Watson explained how other parts of the state have seen tremendous growth, including the start of some new posts. One example is the American Legion post in Lickdale, Lebanon County, which draws much of its membership from nearby Fort Indiantown Gap.
Generations ago, the posts were the only social outlet for young veterans, Watson said. Today, the Legion has to compete more for the young veterans’ time because many potential recruits are older and have family obligations.
Watson added that in the computer age culture of America, people tend to stay home more and are less likely to go out and join clubs.
Diverse programs
The Legion tries to compensate for this by offering a continuum of programs geared toward helping veterans of all ages.
“We are there for the veterans and their families,” Watson said. “If they join the Legion ... that is all well and good. Most of our clientele are not members.”
For example, the Legion has an army of volunteers whose mission is to help families of deployed soldiers cope with everyday household problems as they emerge. This way soldiers overseas can stay focused and upbeat by not having to worry about issues on the home front.
The Legion also has programs in place to help friends and families recognize the warning signs of potential problems in discharged servicemen so veterans can get the help they are entitled to, Watson said.
Currently, there are 220,000 Legion members statewide, Watson said. He added that about 34 percent of Legion members nationwide are veterans of the Persian Gulf War or the current War on Terror.
To draw younger members, VFW posts provide guidance to discharged veterans seeking benefits, monetary grants to military families struggling financially and outreach programs to troops currently in the field, Sandman said.
“We are more than just a social hall,” he said.
VFW members routinely participate in send-off and welcome-home ceremonies for troops deploying and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Brenner added. Part of the goal is to introduce them to services the VFW can provide.
