Known for the Friday fish fry, corner bar and dedication to veterans, the country’s American Legions and VFWs, longtime national touchstones, are navigating how to thrive as their memberships shift.
Although more than 12,000 American Legion posts and nearly 6,000 worldwide locations of the Veterans of Foreign Wars still exist, membership in these service organizations is dropping as veterans grow older or die.
With roots tracing back to the Spanish-American war, VFW reported a decline of one million members between 1992 and 2019. Joe Bartley, state adjutant-quartermaster for the State of Illinois VFW, said there are 35,045 VFW members across 260 posts in Illinois. And though the largest post has more than 600 members, yearly membership has increased only twice in Illinois since 2015.
The American Legion, chartered in 1919, has lost more than 700,000 members in the last decade, according to Fox News.
And in Forest Park, American Legion Post 414 soon may contribute to that number. The post is closing and will host its last honor guard service on Memorial Day.
Representatives from Post 414 did not respond for comment by publication.
While it’s the end of an era for Forest Park veterans, other American Legions and VFWs said they are nevertheless focused on growing membership and staying involved in the community. The future, representatives said, is with younger members, who they recruit at events for veterans and by continuing efforts to get to know those who fought in recent wars.
“Every post does what they’re doing a little differently,” Bartley said. “The posts that are able to get the younger veterans in, where they’re most successful is where they’re building their post programs around family.”
Caring for veterans and the community
Service organizations for veterans, like American Legions and VFWs, are ingrained in their communities.
“A lot of people don’t know what the American Legion does,” said Balvina Ranney, an auxiliary officer and historian at American Legion Post 96 in Cicero, which she said opened about 100 years ago. “We do things to assist veterans, their families and also be part of the community.”
Post 96, for example, supports little league baseball teams and football teams, offers rehabilitation services for veterans and participates in honor guards, funeral services and parades.
“We look after our vets as primary, and then our community is secondary,” said Gregory Walker, commander of American Legion Post 838 in Maywood, which he said has existed for about 50 years. “But we serve a big purpose in the community.”
These community offerings include a coat drive in October, hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for veterans and a toy giveaway around Christmas time. During the back-to-school season, Post 838 holds a drive to fill as many as 200 backpacks with school supplies. At least twice a year, they host a free all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast.
Post 838 also helps sponsor high school juniors to go to Boys State, which involves teaching participants about their responsibilities, government and the military.
“We are teaching them how to become good whatever you want to be,” Walker said of Boys State. “It’s something to get them focused on the next chapter in their lives.”
Post 96 helps sponsor Girls State, where high school juniors learn about the political process, government structure and the path to becoming a state representative or senator.
Money for these services often comes from veterans and community members. Walker said Post 838 makes 90% of its revenue from “the canteen,” or its bar.
And while membership to American Legions and VFWs might be decreasing, affecting the number of members who visit canteens, Bartley said many VFW posts are focusing more on fundraising efforts — especially since dinners and raffles are often held in the same building as the canteen.
Changing demographics
Around the time of World War II, the American Legion in Cicero had over 400 members, Ranney said. Membership is now fewer than 100 people.
As veterans of World War II and the Korean War die, an increasing number of veterans at Cicero’s Post 96 served in Vietnam, or are children of those who did, Ranney said. She estimated that about 75% of Post 96’s members are in their 40s, 50s or 60s.
“Our unit is not a very young unit. We’re very grateful that we have senior members guiding us,” Ranney said.
But as members of veterans service organizations age, many become less involved.
“Some of these people are at the point in their time when they just want to sit back in the recliner and enjoy life,” Bartley said.
In 2008, the North Riverside VFW — with about 600 members from absorbing former posts in Cicero, Lyons, Melrose Park and Westchester — merged into Berwyn’s, which had nearly 400 members at the time.
“They’ve got a lot of members, but no one wanted to run for office or do the work required to keep the post open,” Jack Meshek, the Illinois VFW’s District 4 commander, previously told the Landmark about the North Riverside VFW.
“Membership is dropping to a point where they can’t even fill the offices in their post,” Bartley said of VFWs that merge with other VFWs. “That’s why it’s so important to get the young people in there.”
At 57, Walker said he’s the second youngest member of Maywood’s American Legion.
“So, we constantly are recruiting to get younger members,” Walker said. He said he often talks and plays cards with younger veterans associated with the Veterans Affairs Chicago office.
But younger veterans aren’t the only newer cohort for these service organizations.
“One of the fastest growing demographics for VFW membership is the female veteran,” Bartley said.
As more women join the armed forces, service organizations have shifted to address their needs. For example, Bartley said the Illinois VFW is lobbying for the VA to offer more programs for women and female doctors.
And hope isn’t lost for the younger or female veterans who were a part of Forest Park’s American Legion.
After learning about Post 414’s closure, Walker said he would visit to encourage its members to join another location, since he doesn’t see an organization taking over Post 414’s role in the community.
“The closest thing I could probably say would possibly be the park district,” Walker said. “But it wouldn’t cater to the veterans.”
While several organizations support veterans, many are based in Chicago and lack suburban locations, like Chicago Veterans, The Mission Continues and The Wounded Warrior Project. While the Veterans Assistance Commission of Cook County provides social services and emergency financial assistance to veterans, organizations like this often don’t highlight community events to the same extent that American Legions and VFWs do.
“We’re here to serve the community and to show that what makes a community is being part of it, helping and being there for each other and for good people that are doing good causes,” Ranney said.
“It’s a matter of what the members are interested in, what the community is interested in, and finding something that works together,” Bartley said.
