Service leads way for revival of Legion, VFW

Members of American Legion Post 16 in Hammond knew that to survive they had to change.

The oldest of 27 American Legion posts in Lake County and one of five in Hammond, its membership was dwindling, down by more than half of what it was two decades ago.

"Our membership was increasingly elderly. It was almost impossible to maintain our building. We looked at the demographics. Many of our members had moved out of Hammond," Post Cmdr. Dan Buksa said.

The post members took their future in their own hands. They put up the building on Calumet Avenue for sale and decided to move the post to Munster, which did not have an American Legion post. They now meet at Munster Town Hall.

"We undertook a mass mailing and marketing campaign," Buksa said, adding members mailed fliers to 9,600 households in Munster telling residents about the move and about the organization.

Buksa said they also increased their involvement in the community, providing a variety of programs to schools and the community.

Already, he said, membership is beginning to rebound.

It is the tale of thousands of American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veteran service organizations across the country. Once dominated by veterans of World War II, membership is declining as the country loses its oldest veterans.

Locally, VFW Post 7660 in Lansing closed its doors in November because of a decline in membership, and Lake Station's VFW Post 9323 cut the days the post is open from seven to three.

The groups, said Billy Johnson, membership director of the American Legion, headquartered in Indianapolis, must "adjust themselves" to the times.

"We have encouraged posts for years to reinvent themselves, to provide a service to the community. They have to adjust to the way they are doing business. Those who have reinvented themselves have tended to do much better. They must be relevant," Johnson said.

Nationally, American Legion membership is about 2.5 million, down from a high of 3 million members. Posts around military bases are doing best, Johnson said, while posts in more rural areas are struggling the most.

The same is true for the VFW. In 1992, its membership was about 2.2 million. Today it is 1.6 million.

"The key term is relevancy," said Joe Davis, VFW Washington office public affairs director. "We have to show these younger veterans who we are and what we do."

Johnson and Davis agree that numbers matter. The larger the membership numbers, the larger the voice the veterans groups have on Capitol Hill.

"Part of our legislative effort is that veterans matter. We have a voice, and those voices can collectively push through legislation," Davis said, adding that while today's younger veterans may not have the discretionary time to get involved in a local post, their membership is important.

"Joining today means a lot," he said. "You can volunteer at another time."

Merrillville VFW Post 1563 also has had its struggles, quartermaster John Bonham said.

Not too many years ago, the post was closed for the most patriotic of holidays -- July Fourth and Memorial Day.

Members saw the problems and decided to make changes.

Bonham said the VFW, along with its ladies auxiliary, men's auxiliary and motorcycle riders association, decided to take action.

"We got involved in the community. You have to give people a reason to become a member," Bonham said, adding that the VFW works to recruit new veterans. They also give them a "home" they will want to come to.

"We modernized the post to make it appeal to people. It is a place they can bring their wife, bring their children," he said.

Post 1563 has been named an all-state post for the past three years and an all-American post for two years for its efforts.

Gary Shaffer, commander of American Legion Post 520 in South Haven, said attitudes also must change within the post to attract new and retain old members.

"You don't want the younger veterans to think its just a place to have drinks and trade war stories," said Shaffer, whose post at one time had more than 600 members and now has about 460.

Members also must embrace the "Legion family," he said, whether the member is that of the Legion itself, the auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion or other group.

"We keep drawing people in, asking people to bring their friends in to give them idea of what we are about. We've become more family oriented and changed our hours," he said, adding they are active in community projects such as building trails so children can safely walk to the community's Little League field.

The work to reinvent themselves, the various post leaders said, is worth the efforts because the service to fellow veterans must remain a priority.

"Once you are in the military and discharged, it doesn't end your obligation," Buksa said. "We should not leave any of our fellow vets behind. The service component of veterans organizations should be looking out for veterans, and there is power in numbers."