The National Organization

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

To America and the World,
the letters "VFW" symbolize
Volunteerism and Community Service.

The mission of the Veterans of Foreign Wars is to foster patriotism, to cultivate comradeship, to perpetuate the memory and history of our dead, to assist comrades, to help their widows and orphans, to maintain true allegiance to the Government of the United States of America, to its Constitution and laws, to advocate true patriotism, and to preserve and defend the United States from all her enemies, foreign and Domestic.

The membership of the VFW is comprised of men and women who have served their country honorably in overseas engagements for which a campaign badge or medal has been authorized by the U.S. Government.

The American Veterans of Foreign Service was formed in Columbus Ohio on September 29, 1899. Also in 1899, an organization which called itself "the Colorado Society, Army of the Philippines" was founded. During 1901-1902 in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Altoona, Pa., three other veterans' groups were founded.

These three merged in 1903 and also took the name of the American Veterans of Foreign Service although there was no formal connection between them and the Ohio organization. In 1905, a connection was made when the Ohio and Pennsylvania organizations met in Altoona and drew up an agreement of merger. In time these organizations realized that in order to be more effective, it would be in the best interest to merge into one organization.

In the year 1913 the three organizations agreed to hold their National Convention together in Denver, Colorado. The merger took place and the organization was named Army of the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. This name was formally Changed to Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States at the 1914 National Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Local Organization

V F W Post 2692
199 South Avenue
Mount Holly, NJ 08060
(609) 267-9790

Our Meetings are held on the third Friday of every month 7:30 PM at the VFW Post Located at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and South Avenue next to the hospital parking lot.

Click to View Map for Directions

How We Began

One hot humid Sunday afternoon in August of 1932, eight veterans who had served in various wars or campaigns of our country had been involved in, met in the Relief Fire House on Pine Street to decide if it were possible to have a post of the VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS in our town. It was during the depression and only two of the group were employed, but at the same time all of them felt they had faced bigger problems in foreign lands and waters and decided in favor.

The post was finally instituted on the evening of September 26, 1932 in what was known as R & P Park, then located where now is the municipal parking lot. We started with 26 members and at that time the men were too poor to pay for membership. After floundering around for about a year we found a suitable place to meet at 47 Main Street where we remained until the Veterans of World War II came home and decided they needed a larger building to suit our needs. At that time we only had eight thousand dollars our treasury , but we had a lot of nerve. So with what we had and a loan from the Union National Bank, we had the present building erected in 1947 and dedicated it in January 1948.

So from such a small beginning we finally have grown to be one of the largest and finest posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in the State of New Jersey. We have won many fine trophies now on display in our grill room along with 10 original paintings by Herman Buri.

We owe so much to our Ladies Auxiliary to the post for many monetary contributions over the years. Without the ladies we could never have attained the the heights of success we now enjoy.