Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10095 members march into their 50th year in 2018.
The Hilliard post officially began with 37 members on Jan. 4, 1968. Members initially met in the former Fuqua Drugstore on U.S. 1, which is now Making Memories Thrift Store. The Fuqua family provided space for the veterans to meet monthly.
Hilliard resident Dana Wine was the first post commander, serving from 1967-69 and again from 1971-72. During his tenure, he welcomed James Hartzog as the post’s first lifetime member Aug. 2, 1971.
“We were organized to serve the veterans and their families and it was an honor to do that,” Wine said.
He held many offices in the district, state and national levels as well. He was named All-American Post Commander in 1994-95 for increasing post membership and community activities within the local group.
The 85-year-old is pleased to see the non-profit group continue into its 50th year.
“That’s a good thing,” Wine said. “The VFW can be great source to the veterans.”
Current Post Quartermaster Eric Lewis reflected on the importance of the group’s formation.
“Most of the guys who started this were World War II veterans and that’s because the Vietnam veterans didn’t get the welcome home that everyone else got,” Lewis said.
The U.S. Navy veteran served in the Persian Gulf from 1993 to 2003.
To qualify as a VFW member, a veteran has to have served on foreign soil or in territorial waters, Smith said.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars organization formed in 1899 and has its national headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.
Membership is open to “all U.S. citizens honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces who have earned an overseas campaign medal,” according to the vfwfl.org website.
Interested parties can check online to learn which medals qualify.
Post Commander David Lewis, Eric’s first cousin, said the local post has always been proactive in assisting veterans.
“They did the same things that we basically do now,” he said. “The VFW motto is, ‘No one does more for veterans.’ And we support veterans that are in other areas of needs, such as providing wheelchair ramps and helping them with financial needs. It was really a grass roots ‘let’s help our community vets.’”
Post 10095 members will host a celebration later in January. Details for the event haven’t been finalized, David Lewis said.
Moving into 2018, the group will continue its efforts to assist veterans, including those who are not VFW members. They often help veterans affected by house fires by providing money for clothes and food. They also help veterans who may show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder or transient veterans who are passing through town.
The post also offers free Wi-Fi to assist comrades.
Twice each year, members donate items to veterans in the Lake City Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Additional service projects include participation in Wreaths Across America and the Boots on the Ground Ride. Members also host Memorial Day ceremonies in Hilliard’s Oakwood Cemetery and Jones Cemetery in Callahan. The group also holds retirement ceremonies for U.S. flags. Residents are urged to drop them by the post for proper disposal.
The building opens daily at 2 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Post members have called the site at 37965 Eastwood Road home since 1988. They purchased the former egg processing plant for $10 from John and Evelyn Guynn.
A canteen serves libations and food.
“Our call the majority of the time is having a safe zone,” David Lewis said. “We are a safe zone. We’re about veterans. Some just want to talk or strike up a conversation with a comrade. They just want a place to go to have a Coke or a beer.”
Canteen volunteer Laurie Despres enjoys assisting veterans.
“We help them in any way that they need,” she said. “Whether they need food, clothes, a ride somewhere, a place to stay. We can advise them to the VA or other veterans’ associations to help them with what they might need.”
Audrey LeFebvre, Am-
anda Pope and Marcia Faircloth are canteen volunteers, too. “You don’t work here for the money; you work here for the heart,” LeFebvre said.
Post members are eager to expand services. A $50,000 building renovation is planned, with new roofing and upgrades to the kitchen and social areas.
“We want to let the community know that we’re here. And we’re here for the veterans,” David Lewis said. “If somebody knows a veteran in need, please call us.”
To learn more about the VFW, conact the post at 845-7139.