Beech Tree News Network

There is a wall in the meeting room of the local VFW that is lined with certificates of appreciation, recognition from groups like the Boys and Girls Club, children’s ball teams and local school systems.  Recognition from the Cancer Society, appreciation for the Ladies Auxiliary’s participation in Operation Uplink (a program in which packages were mailed to service members far from home), an award for outstanding assistance to youth groups; they’re all there.  The awards and certificates hang in a back meeting room, not at the front entrance.  It is very much in line with how the VFW organization operates—behind the scenes.
    Every year, the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary holds or assists in a number of fund raisers for local causes and events.  The members supply food for the Boys and Girls Club golf tournament, held in June.  They sponsor a Texas Hold’Em tournament and a corn hole tournament, with the proceeds going to the Catfish Festival fund, as well as holding an auction that benefits the Cancer Society. Working with educators, the group gives out essay awards to local school children and offers a scholarship each year (in conjunction with the American Legion) in the amount of $600 to a qualifying senior.  (All seniors are eligible to apply for the scholarship; it is not limited to family members or associates of the VFW or Ladies Auxiliary.) 
    If there is a need in the community, VFW members are some of the first to help.  They do everything from assist with bills and provide food for the needy to making sure less-fortunate children have the kind of Christmas every child deserves.  The members and Ladies Auxiliary provided shoes, clothing, toys and food to forty-six children during Christmas of 2012.
    The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States can trace its roots back to 1899, when military service members from the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) returned home to no medical care or veterans’ pensions.  Some of these veterans banded together and formed what would become the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.  Since that time, the VFW has been instrumental in the establishment of the Veterans Administration, the GI bill and the national cemetery system.  They fought and won compensation for Vietnam Vets exposed to Agent Orange and for expanded educational benefits to active-duty service members and members of the Guard and Reserves, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The members contribute more than 8.6 million hours of volunteerism in the community annually.   (www.vfw.org)
    The Butler County chapter of the VFW, Post 5837, was established in 1947.  The physical site at 573 Veterans Way, Morgantown, is the third location for the post.  There are 110 members plus a Ladies Auxiliary.  [The Ladies Auxiliary consists of wives, widows, mothers, foster and stepmothers, grandmothers, daughters, granddaughters, foster and stepdaughters, sisters, half-sisters, foster and stepsisters; not less than sixteen years old.]  Dwight Moore, Mitchell Russ, Jimmy Hampton, Billy Warren and Sharone Nash serve on the board of directors.  (The seat occupied by the late, Jack Knight, is yet to be filled.)

    The VFW is a self-sustaining organization, depending on membership dues to cover expenses.  Although the group is active in helping with community causes, their main focus is helping and honoring veterans.  For the past nine years, a van, supplied by the organization, has transported veterans to the VA hospital in Nashville for medical care.  The transport is an all-volunteer endeavor.  Sharone Nash, Randal Webster, Ron Moore, Melvin Ralph and Kathy Thomason serve as drivers, with Thomason also taking the responsibility of scheduling.
    Honoring those who have served in the military has always been a priority for the local chapter.  On June 15 of this year, a ceremony will be held on the grounds of the Butler County Courthouse honoring Major Andrew Graff Hamilton, an officer of the Civil War.  Early last fall, local author and historian, Roger Givens, approached the veterans group about possible funding for an historical marker honoring the major.  The VFW and Ladies Auxiliary, with the help of Major Hamilton’s great granddaughter, were quick to help fund the project.  Major Hamilton, a Woodbury native, with the 12th Kentucky Union Cavalry, was instrumental in helping 109 federal officers escape from Libby Prison (a Confederate prison located in Richmond, Virginia) in February of 1864.  The marker will be placed on the court house grounds during the ceremony.
    Future projects include the construction of a wall, containing service members’ names.  The organization is in the process of raising funds for the memorial. 
 Story by Cheryl Hughes, Beech Tree News