The VFW is the nation's largest organization of combat veterans with 1.8 million members in the non-profit organization.  It also is the oldest major veterans' service and is an official congressionally chartered organization.

What we do:

Fight for military and veterans rights and benefits, as well as help veterans --free of charge-- file service-connection disability claims.  Through the VFW's National Military Services program, the VFW donates free phone calls to deployed troops and hospitalized veterans via Operation Uplink, provides emergency aid to veterans and their families through Unmet Needs, and hosts troop-support events for military units deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans service organization also offers more than $2 million in youth scholarships and donates more than 30 million hours of volunteer work in local communities.

What we are not:

A place where wartime vets sit around shooting the #$@^,  smoking and drinking beer. Besides, we don't have the time as we are too busy donating our services to the military units we adopt, cleaning up the nation's highways, fighting for the rights of our nation's men and women in uniform, and sponsoring youth scouting and sporting teams.