VFW Press Releases

1. VFW Day of Service Sets New Record with Nearly 2,700 Events

   KANSAS CITY, Mo. -The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) announced today that its fifth annual VFW Day of Service reached a new milestone this May, with 2,693 events taking place in 13 countries and territories around the world.

   The worldwide effort mobilized VFW and VFW Auxiliary members, veterans, military families and community supporters to address local needs and demonstrate the continued impact of veterans beyond their military service.

   Projects ranged from construction, landscaping and road cleanups to veteran gravesite and memorial preservation, food and hygiene kit drives, veteran resource fairs, blood drives, habitat restoration and more.

   San Antonio VFW Post 1533 partnered with Scouting America Troop 307 to support a local crisis center. Together, volunteers sorted 550 pounds of donated clothing, prepared 763 sandwiches, and assembled 600 snack bags for individuals and families in need. VFW Day of Service Committee Chair Suzzie Thomas said volunteers contributed more than 100 hours of service and found the experience deeply rewarding.

   "Supporting organizations that provide food, clothing and other essential services is one of the most meaningful ways we can strengthen our community," Thomas said. "Veterans understand the importance of answering the call to serve. By working alongside our community partners, we can help ensure that individuals and families facing difficult times receive the care, dignity and support they deserve.

   VFW Day of Service began in 2022 as an outgrowth of the organization's Still Serving campaign that highlights the ongoing dedication of veterans and service members who continue to uplift and improve their communities after their military service has ended. This year's VFW Day of Service was sponsored by Humana, USAA, CenterWell and loanDepot.

   "For the fifth year in a row, our members and veterans around the world showed up for their neighbors, strengthened their communities and continued the legacy of service that defines who we are," said VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore. "VFW Day of Service is a powerful reminder that for our members, service does not end when the uniform comes off. The record participation in 2026 reflects not only the momentum of this initiative, but the enduring commitment of veterans to lead by example."

   The VFW is inviting all veterans across America and around the world to join in the 2027 VFW Day of Service to show that veterans never stop serving.

   To register a 2027 event, get resources, find an event to join or see how other veterans around the country are making a difference, visit at VFWDayofService.org.

2. VFW Celebrates 250 Years of Freedom and Democracy

   KANSAS CITY, Mo. -This Independence Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) calls upon all Americans to pause and reflect on the profound origins and ongoing significance of our nation as we celebrate a historic 250 years of freedom and democracy.

   Two and a half centuries ago, courageous acts of defiance and revolution birthed a nation founded on the radical ideals of liberty and freedom. This annual observance is more than just a milestone: It is a powerful reminder of the inherent rights of our citizens and the enduring principles that continue to define our American spirit and way of life.

   The signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, was a courageous stand against oppression and tyranny, engraving the belief of our unalienable right to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" into the very fabric of which our nation was built.

   VFW members have personally upheld these very ideas on battlefields around the globe, and this Independence Day, the VFW urges Americans to celebrate by engaging actively in our democracy and supporting the brave men and women who continue to stand in harm's way to protect our way of life, thus ensuring that the sacrifices of the past continue to guarantee the liberties and freedoms of the future.

   Happy 250th birthday, America.

3. VFW Defends Longstanding Tradition of Political Satire While Opposing Cuts to Veterans' Earned Benefits

   WASHINGTON -The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) today reaffirmed its opposition to Section 108 of the proposed Take Care of America's Veterans Act and defended its longstanding tradition of using political satire to advocate for veterans.

   "For more than 125 years, the VFW has been a fearless advocate for veterans, speaking plainly when elected officials propose policies that threaten the benefits generations of service members have earned through sacrifice," said VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore. "Our opposition to Section 108 reflects that longstanding commitment. Veterans' benefits are not funding sources or bargaining chips for Congress while they scrounge to score political points."

   While the VFW supports many of the bill's underlying goals, it strongly opposes Section 108 because it would reduce future veterans' disability compensation to pay for other veterans' programs. Disability compensation is not a government spending program to be trimmed when convenient. It is earned compensation for injuries and illnesses incurred through military service. Veterans should never be asked to finance new initiatives with benefits they earned through their sacrifice.

   The VFW also opposes using projected reductions in Title 38 disability compensation to finance separate Title 10 military retirement obligations. The organization continues to support passage of a clean and complete Major Richard Star Act, but believes Congress should fulfill that obligation without reducing earned disability benefits for current or future veterans.

   Since its introduction in the fall of 2025, the firing squad illustration has become a recognizable symbol of the VFW's ongoing Honor The Contract campaign. It is political satire that depicts bureaucrats and their pundits figuratively taking aim at veterans by proposing cuts to their earned disability benefits in order to save money or fund other initiatives. Despite House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mike Bost's unprecedented and unacceptable accusations in a recent statement, the image is not a depiction of violence. It is a symbolic representation of the consequences veterans face when Congress targets the benefits they earned through their service. It is also protected First Amendment speech. Political cartoons, symbolism, satire and hyperbole have been part of American public discourse since the founding of our Nation. They remain among the most recognized forms of protected political expression because they communicate ideas through symbolism rather than literal depiction. Americans are free to disagree with the VFW's message, but disagreement with protected political expression does not transform satire into violence. Even Chairman Bost at one time agreed with this premise:

   "Free speech is foundational to democracy and the American way of life. That's why servicemembers and veterans have fought and died for it for 245 years," said Bost on October 13, 2021, during opening remarks of a committee hearing on violent extremism. "Free speech must be protected. I will oppose any effort to restrict it. It is every veteran's right to have an opinion - even one I find radical."

   The political illustration is also rooted in the VFW's own history. The use of satirical political cartoons was commonplace in early 20th century magazines, and the VFW regularly published works of illustrators' satire to convey the unjust ways America's veterans were being treated by the government. The current artwork is a modern interpretation of illustrations published in the VFW's Foreign Service magazine in 1933 and again in VFW magazine in 1956. Sadly, what veterans were experiencing decades ago is the same thing occurring today, which is why the illustration in question remains so relevant.

   The VFW has consistently used this imagery in official advocacy before Congress and in public communications. The illustration appeared prominently in the organization's October 2025 response to a series of Washington Post articles that characterized veterans' disability benefits as loopholes to exploit. VFW Washington Office Executive Director Ryan Gallucci presented the historic and modern illustrations during his testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs last October. Whitmore, along with VFW members in attendance, wore buttons displaying the illustration during her testimony before a Joint Congressional Veterans' Affairs committee this past March.

   "The VFW has never apologized for forcefully defending veterans and we are not about to start now," said Whitmore. "Political cartoons have long been part of American public discourse because they communicate difficult truths in memorable ways. When bureaucrats take aim at veterans' earned disability benefits, we will continue to use every tool available to ensure veterans' voices are heard."

   The VFW urges Congress to remove Section 108 from the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, preserve the integrity of the disability rating system and pass veterans' priorities without reducing earned disability compensation. America's obligation to disabled veterans is not negotiable and should never be treated as a source of savings to pay for other legislation.

   The VFW remains committed to working with lawmakers who seek to improve care and benefits for veterans. However, the organization will continue to oppose any proposal that weakens the commitments America has made to those who answered the nation's call.

4. Congress Can't Do Its Own Job, Much Less Determine Veteran Disability Status

   For decades, disability ratings have been based on medical evidence and the real-world impact of a service-connected condition on a veteran's life. Section 108 of the introduced Take Care of America's Veterans Act - House Resolution 9237/Senate Bill 4744, sponsored by senior Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran - would move Congress directly into that process by changing how certain disabilities, including tinnitus and sleep apnea, are evaluated and compensated.

   There are more that 200,000 veterans in the Kansas City metropolitan area, according to Veterans Affairs data, an estimated 65,000 of them disabled. That should concern every veteran and every member of Congress.

   Congress can barely perform its most basic responsibilities. It routinely fails to pass budgets on time, relies on continuing resolutions to keep the government open, struggles to conduct meaningful oversight of the agencies it creates, and has spent decades trying to fix a Veterans Affairs claims system that remains frustratingly complex for many veterans. Yet now, some in Congress apparently believe they should be in the business of deciding how disabled a veteran is.

   If politicians cannot reliably handle the responsibilities already assigned to them, why should veterans trust them to make individualized medical and vocational determinations that require specialized expertise?

   The issue is not whether disability ratings should ever change. They should, when the medical evidence supports it.

   The issue is who should be making those changes and why.

   The ratings changes that members of Congress seek to codify did not originate with those lawmakers. They stem from a 2022 VA rulemaking proposal that generated significant opposition from veterans, advocates and stakeholders who questioned both the medical rationale and the practical consequences of the changes. The VA received more than 2,600 comments during the notice-and-comment process, yet Congress is moving to legislate the proposal before the VA has completed the process Congress itself established for evaluating such changes.

   The Constitution begins with "We the people." Thousands of veterans spoke out because they were told their voices mattered. Congress should not make those voices irrelevant by legislating the outcome before the process has run its course.

   Supporters of Section 108 argue that the proposed changes would modernize the disability compensation system and generate savings to fund other veterans' priorities. But disabled veterans should not be asked to finance veterans legislation.

   Disability ratings are not supposed to be budgetary tools. They are part of the nation's commitment to compensate veterans for injuries incurred in service to their country. When Congress alters ratings to fund other priorities, it transforms what should be an evidence-based medical determination into a political calculation.

   Section 108 raises a fundamental question about the future of the disability system: Should ratings be determined by medical expertise and evidence, or should they become another subject of political compromise whenever Congress needs to offset the cost of a new initiative?

   If Congress succeeds in using future disability compensation as offsets, it would establish a troubling precedent. Future Congresses may increasingly view earned disability compensation as a funding mechanism rather than a solemn obligation owed to those who served.

   Congress has a critical role to play in veterans policy: funding VA, conducting oversight, improving access to care and ensuring veterans receive the benefits they have earned.

   If disability ratings need to change, they should change because the evidence demands it, after a transparent regulatory process has run its course, not because a bill needs a pay-for. Veterans deserve a disability system guided by medicine, science and the actual impact of a condition on their lives, not projected budget savings.

   Disability compensation is part of the nation's commitment to those who served. It should never be treated as a budget offset.

   This OpEd was written by John Muckelbauer, general counsel of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and published in the Kansas City Star on Monday, June 22, 2026, here.

5. VFW Honors 251 Years of Army Service and Sacrifice

   KANSAS CITY, Mo. -The more than 1.3 million members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and its Auxiliary proudly join a grateful nation in saluting and congratulating the United States Army on its 251 years of service and sacrifice to our nation. Since its founding on June 14, 1775, those who serve in the Army have stood strong as the foundation of our nation's defense, embodying the highest standards of courage, resilience and professional excellence.

   From the first battlefields of the Revolutionary War to the complex modern deployments across the globe today, America's soldiers have selflessly answered the call to serve for more than two and a half centuries. Their impact in shaping our nation's history and securing its future cannot be overstated.

   As we mark the Army's birthday, the VFW salutes every soldier, past, present and future, for their commitment and profound sacrifices. The security and freedoms we enjoy at home are built upon their readiness and willingness to stand in harm's way. For this we owe our soldiers and their families our deepest gratitude.

   On behalf of the more than 1.3 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliary, happy 251st birthday, soldiers. "This We'll Defend!"