History
In 1899, a Post began in Denver, Colorado. There are two other Posts which claim to be the first, but the VFW national organization recognizes the Denver Post as being first; it is now officially "VFW Post 1, John S. Stewart Post".
The VFW name was created on September 17, 1914 at a conference at the Schenley Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The new organization was a merger of two prior veterans organizations, both beginning in 1899: the American Veterans of Foreign Service and the National Society of the Army of the Philippines. The former was formed for veterans of the Spanish–American War, while the latter was formed for veterans of the Philippine–American War.
On May 28, 1936, by an act of the United States Congress, the VFW became a government-chartered non-profit organization. As such, it receives no funding from United States tax receipts and is supported by charitable donations.
Read more about this topic: Veterans Of Foreign Wars
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It’s a very delicate surgical operation—to cut out the heart without killing the patient. The history of our country, however, is a very tough old patient, and we’ll do the best we can.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Sorel (Philip Merivale)
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)