The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a nonprofit Veterans service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military members from the active, guard, and reserve forces.
We trace our roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service. Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension, and they were left to care for themselves.
In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed organizations that would eventually collaborate and become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. The movement quickly gained momentum after chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Today, membership stands at nearly 1.7 million VFW members and its Auxiliary members.
Our voice was instrumental in establishing the Veterans Administration and the national cemetery system's development in the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange and veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome. In 2008, we won a long-fought victory by passing a GI Bill for the 21st Century, giving expanded educational benefits to America's active-duty service members and guard and reserves fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We were the driving force behind the Veterans Access and Accountability Act of 2014 and continually fight for improved VA medical centers services for women veterans.
Besides helping fund the creation of the Vietnam, Korean War, World War II, and Women in Military Service memorials, in 2005, the VFW became the first veterans' organization to contribute to building the new Disabled Veterans for Life Memorial, which opened in November 2010. And in 2015, we became the first supporter of the National Desert Storm War Memorial, which is planned for construction in our nation's capital.
We have many programs and services that support veterans, service members, their families, and communities worldwide.
No One Does More For Veterans.