Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of U.S. war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or airspace. The organization was established twice separately, once by James C. Putnam on September 29, 1899, in Columbus, Ohio. The VFW is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The organization was congressionally chartered in 1936 under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. History The VFW resulted from the amalgamation of several societies formed immediately following the Spanish–American War. In 1899, little groups of veterans returning from campaigning in Cuba and the Philippine Islands, founded local societies upon a spirit of comradeship known only to those who faced the dangers of that war side by side. Similar experiences and a common language drew them together. The American Veterans of Foreign Service (predecessor to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States) was established in Columbus, Ohio, September 29, 1899, by Spanish‑American War veteran James C. Putnam. The Colorado Society, Army of the Philippines, was organized in Denver, Colorado, on December 12, 1899 by General Irving Hale of Denver, Colorado. Shortly thereafter, a society known as the Foreign Service Veterans was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October 1901. The Ohio based group and the Pittsburgh based group held a join convention in 1905, where the two groups merged. Merging the final two groups was talked about as early as 1908 but wasn't accomplished until 1913. In August of 1913 an encampment was held in Denver and they merged their interests and identities in a national organization now known as the VFW. Purpose