ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 11, 1996 TAG: 9611110075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
OLD AGE IS catching up with World War II veterans, leaving fewer to meet and fewer to fight for their military benefits.
The casualty list is growing at Vinton's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4522.
More than 200 members have died in the past five years, 11 of them in the last seven weeks. Weak hearts and high blood pressure have replaced shrapnel and bullets as the main causes of death.
As Vinton member Waynard Caldwell counted the losses, fellow World War II veteran Harvey Barker let out a labored sigh.
"Let's don't think too hard," he said.
But the nine men who gathered at the Vinton post last week to talk about membership think about it a lot. They represented a variety of veterans organizations, all facing the same problem.
"With the number of people that's dying, we're having trouble getting enough new members to just stay even," Caldwell said.
There are 22 VFW posts in the region, which includes all of the Roanoke Valley and extends east as far as Lynchburg and west to Radford. The posts represent 3,300 veterans today. They lost a total of 657 members last year.
Nationwide, the VFW has been losing about 20,000 members annually for the past three years. Since there are 2.1 million members in the United States, the losses haven't yet had a dramatic impact on the organization. However, most World War II veterans - who represent half the national membership - are in their 70s.
"Ten years from now, the vast majority of those will no longer be with us," said Steve Van Buskirk, spokesman for the National VFW Headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.
Van Buskirk said there was a surge in Vietnam veterans joining the organization during the Persian Gulf War, but that has tapered off in recent years. In Vinton, however, they've been recruiting with a vengeance, and the number of Vietnam veteran members has more than doubled in two years from 40 to 100.
VFW members said the only effective way to recruit is one-on-one contacts with veterans in the area. It has taken considerable persuasion to recruit Vietnam veterans. Barker, president of the Roanoke Valley Veterans Council, joined the American Legion right out of the military, and later signed up with VFW Post 1264 in Roanoke as well.
"I joined because my daddy made me," he said.
Leon Fields, on the other hand, served in Vietnam but didn't join the VFW until 1995.
"I just didn't want to get involved," he said.
That feeling is still prevalent among Vietnam veterans, he said.
"Maybe they think it's like getting back into the military again," he said, "which it's nothing like the military."
Fields believes more and more Vietnam veterans will join over the next decade for the same reason he did - concern over their benefits.
"As soon as they get a little age on them, they'll start coming more," he said.
Caldwell said concern over benefits isn't unique to Vietnam veterans. He said most VFW members join for the same reason. Even today, Vinton and other VFW posts are recruiting first-time members who fought in World War II and are just now getting involved because they are discovering that their veterans benefits are not what they expected.
"We need to get veterans to join these organizations so that our benefits will not erode any more than they have," Caldwell said. "Otherwise, when it comes the time they need benefits, they're not going to have them."
VFW posts offer education and advice about benefits, but often veterans don't seek that information until it's too late. One of the most common problems veterans face is that they do not apply for disability assistance within a year after they come off active duty. After a year, they must compile a complete personal medical history in order to qualify, and that is sometimes impossible.
VFW posts don't just provide assistance to veterans. Locally, they sponsor children's athletic teams and Scout troops. They raise money for scholarships and donations to fire and rescue organizations. The 226 flags on display today around Roanoke were purchased and erected by local VFW members.
Still, VFWs continue to fight a negative public image that is shared even by veterans who aren't members, said Peter Snelling, the 6th District commander who oversees 22 posts in the region.
"They think we're a bunch of old drunks sitting around a bar boozing it up," he said.
"Most everybody here drinks coffee and eats doughnuts," Caldwell said, wiping some of the glazed icing from one corner of his smile.
They like to joke about their ages, too. Barker entertained the group by claiming to be a Civil War veteran and predicting future romantic adventures once he gets his dentures.
But the age issue is a serious one. At 50, Fields is one of the youngest members in Vinton.
"They feel old people control it," Barker said. "Some of us have a tendency of repeating old war stories. The young ones get a little tired of it."
Efforts to recruit veterans from the most recent war, in the Persian Gulf, have not been successful. In Vinton, the number of Desert Storm members has dropped from 21 to five in the past two years. Snelling said younger veterans just don't have the time to spare from their jobs and families.
Van Buskirk said VFWs are changing their image as they begin efforts to attract younger members. While in the past some members joined so they could have a "night out with the boys," new members want to bring their families along on post activities.
"We're not apprehensive about the way the organization is going," he said. "It's just the facts of life."
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART\Staff. Veterans (from left) Leon Fields, Johnby CNBLove, Robert Cupp, Peter Snelling, Waynard Caldwell, Harvey Barker,
Gaylon Spradlin and Richard Cummings meet at VFW Post 4522 in
Vinton. The post recruits younger veterans to keep strong - a
problem nationwide. color. Graphic: Chart: Veteran's Day Events.
color. KEYWORDS: MGR