Eligibility

The fundamental difference between our Organization and other veteran organizations, and one in which we take great pride, is our eligibility qualifications. There are three requisites for membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States:

1. Citizenship
2. Honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States
3. Service entitling the applicant to the award of a recognized campaign medal or as set forth in the Congressional Charter and / or By-Laws.
    

For a listing of recognized campaign medals, click on Campaign Medals.

Checking Eligibility

Checking eligibility is comparatively simple. Assuming that a person is a United States citizen and has an honorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces, it only remains to be proven that the person served outside the continental limits of the U.S. and has earned a campaign or service medal recognized by the VFW as meeting the campaign medal requisite for VFW Membership. (The only exception is for service in Korea after June 30, 1949, until present.)

Discharges issued during and immediately after the close of World War II have a section on the back listing the medals and decorations which have been earned. Persons discharged later received a DD-214, "Report of Separation" form, which has a space showing medals and decorations. Lost separation documents can be replaced by completing and submitting Standard Form 180, "Request Pertaining to Military Records."
Get your Military Service Records
Military Medical Records
Military Medals and / or Awards
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)(FAQ)

Go to our Links page and Click on any of the VFW / Government Sites

Visit one of the listed sites and request your military service records, military medical records and any military medals and / or awards that you are entitled to. Download the form and complete all the questions. Do not leave any lines blank if possible.

All forms are in PDF format. You will use Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print these files.

Mail the form to the address listed on the form and be prepared to wait. This work is done by hand and has taken as long as one year. The sooner your request is mailed the sooner your information will be retrieved and received by you.

You may fill out a membership application in person at our location. An annual membership costs $25.00 and includes a year's subscription to the VFW Magazine, official publication of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Lifetime memberships are priced as follows:

 

Please Contact any Member of our Post if you have any Questions.

Membership Statistics