ROCKINGHAM — Two connected veterans organizations in Richmond County are looking to add more names to their rosters this weekend.
VFW Post 4203 and its Auxiliary chapter are holding a joint membership drive from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the post.
Post Commander Eddie Dean said Thursday that the organization has around 135 members, even after losing a few each year.
Retaining 100% of the previous year’s membership is one of the challenges for the post receiving All-State honors again, which it has won every year for the past decade.
Following membership drives last year in March and October, the post was able to obtain All-American honors, as one of the top 25 posts in the nation, for the first time since being chartered, according to Dean.
He’s hoping the post will make All-American again this year.
“One hundred percent membership is the key to everything,” Dean said.
Another thing that contributed to its All-American status was community involvement.
“It’s not just a bar for old men,” Dean said. “We do a lot of things for the community.”
The VFW works with other veterans organizations in the county to put on annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day services. Several VFW members are also involved with AMVETS, which provides military honors at funerals of deceased veterans.
For several years, the Auxiliary has been sending care packages to deployed units and local individual servicemen and women. The supplies are purchased with funds raised from various activities, including the annual Rockin’ for Veterans concert which began in 2016.
The Auxiliary also organizes a Veterans Day parade in Richmond County.
In addition to veteran-related events, the VFW also participates in BackPack Pals and hosts, along with the Auxiliary, several holiday-themed parties for children throughout the year.
They also started a “Fun Day” last August and are planning to do another in June.
According to the parent organization’s website, there are three requirements to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars:
- Be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national
- Have an honorable discharge from a branch of the armed forces
- Earn a campaign medal or badge, serve in Korea from June 30, 1949 to present, or earn hostile fire or imminent danger pay eligibility
To join the Auxiliary, potential members must be at least 16 years old and be a direct relative — husband, wife, widow(er), father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother or sister — of anyone eligible for membership in the VFW.
As with past membership drives, the event will also double as reunion for the units Dean served in during his 40 years in the National Guard: the 196th Cavalry, which was activated from 1972-78; the 881st Engineering Company, deactivated in 2001 and made the 105th Engineer Battalion and subsequently deactivated in Rockingham and made the 881st Engineering Construction Company.
Dean said many of his former comrades meet the criteria to join the VFW and he generally is able to recruit a few new members from the reunions.
Any veterans with overseas service who want to join are encouraged to fill out an application at the post, 106 Old River Road, Rockingham.
