AMVETS

Truly AMVETS was born in the midst of war, for it was in August 1943, with victory still two years away, that a new organization, later to be known as American Veterans of World War II, had its beginning. Overseas the tide of battle was turning. The Allies had swept through North Africa and Sicily. In the Pacific, fighting raged in New Guinea. Thousands of Americans had made the supreme sacrifice. Thousands more were being mustered out of uniform with battle wounds and medical discharges. These men who fought in history's greatest war found it natural to seek each other's company. They were united by similar experiences-in jungles, in the Arctic, in deserts, in mountains, at sea, and in the skies. Thus, out of such comradeship, AMVETS came to be.

Two independent veterans clubs in Washington, D.C., one formed on the campus of George Washington University, the other among veterans employed by the federal government - joined together to sponsor a serviceman's party. By September 1944 other such veterans clubs organized throughout America-in California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas. On Nov. 11, 1944, Veterans Day, an article entitled "12,000,000 in Search of a Leader" appeared in Collier's magazine. This story, written by Walter Davenport, introduced the clubs and outlined their mutual aims: 1) to promote world peace, 2) to preserve the American way of life and 3) to help the veteran help himself.

In December, 18 leaders, representing these nine groups, met in Kansas City, Mo. There, on Dec. 9, 1944, a national organization was formed known as the American Veterans of World War II - or AMVETS, as newspaper headline writers took to calling it. The White Clover, meaning "Remember Me," was chosen as the official flower of AMVETS. Found not only in America but throughout the world, it symbolizes the states from which U.S. Armed Forces were drawn and the worldwide battlefields on which they fought.

In October 1945, two months after the end of World War II, the first national convention was convened in Chicago. The next year AMVETS petitioned Congress for a federal charter. In the words of the Senate judiciary Committee, the organization being 1. organized along sound lines and for worthy purposes ... having demonstrated its strength and stability, is entitled to the standing and dignity which a national charter will afford." On July 23, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the AMVETS charter.

When war broke out in Korea in 1950 and again during the Vietnam crisis in 1966, AMVETS requested Congress to amend the charter so that those serving in the Armed Forces would be eligible for membership. On Sept. 14, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill redefining the eligibility dates for AMVET membership - "Any person who served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America or any American citizen who served in the armed forces of an allied nation of the United- States on or after Sept. 16, 1940, and on or before the date of cessation of hostilities as determined by the government of the United States is eligible for regular membership in AMVETS, provided such service when terminated by discharge or release from active duty be by honorable discharge or separation." On May 7, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Proclamation 4373, terminating the Vietnam era and the cessation of hostilities; the next day the Armed Forces became a peacetime service.

AMVETS

HISTORY ..... AMVETS TODAY ..... AMVETS IN ACTION ..... MEMBERSHIP

AMVETS TODAY

FOR NEARLY 10 years AMVETS DID NOT Accept into membership servicemen and women who served after May 7, 1975. Then, on May 31, 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed Public Law 98-304, which amended AMVETS' congressional charter to open the organization's membership to those who served honorably and actively after May 7, 1975. Today, in recognition of the sacrifices made by all veterans and service personnel, membership in AMVETS is open to anyone who is currently serving, or who has honorably served, in the Armed Forces of the United States-to include National Guard and Reserve components-at anytime after Sept. 15, 1940.

AMVETS National Headquarters, located in scenic Lanham, Md., houses the quartermaster, programs, membership, legislative, service, public relations and accounting offices, together with the executive offices of the national organization, the AMVETS National Service Foundation and the AMVETS National Auxiliary.

Hourly from the headquarters a carillon chimes and at specific times musical classics resound through the area. The first AMVETS carillon was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery and presented on behalf of AMVETS to the people of the United States by President Truman with the immortal words: 'As these bells ring ... honored dead rest ... freedom lives." Since then, AMVETS has dedicated carillons in scores of national cemeteries and at historic sites in this country and overseas. Among them is the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pa.

In 1954, the first AMVETS Silver Helmet Award - a replica of the World War II GI helmet was presented to Gen. George Marshall for his "enormous contributions to the United States in war and in peace." In recent years, Silver Helmet Awards have been presented to deserving individuals from all walks of life in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments in such fields as Americanism, defense, rehabilitation, congressional service and peace.

AMVETS is truly a family organization. Wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and granddaughters of AMVETS are eligible for membership in the AMVETS Auxiliary, while sons and daughters between 7 and 17 years of age may join junior AMVETS. The fun-and honor group of AMVETS is known as the Sad Sacks, while its counterpart in the Auxiliary is the Sackettes. All male descendants, adopted sons, grandsons, and stepsons of members of AMVETS and deceased members, or servicemen who died and who would have been eligible for membership in AMVETS (providing the applicant is not eligible for membership in the parent organization), and who is at least 18 years of age may join the Sons of AMVETS. Each subsidiary organization, including the National Service Foundation, is governed by its own constitution and elects its own officers; however, all activities are geared to further the aims and purposes of the parent organization, AMVETS.

AMVETS

HISTORY ..... AMVETS TODAY ..... AMVETS IN ACTION ..... MEMBERSHIP

AMVETS IN ACTION

THE AMVET Post, IN ITS OWN COMMUNITY ANYWHERE in the nation, is the basic unit of the AMVETS organization. Posts vary In size from the newly chartered, with a minimum of 10 members, to some with more than 2,000 members. Each post conducts its local programs and participates in AMVETS - related state and the National organization activities.

For more than 50 years, the "green hats" of AMVETS have served the veteran, the community and the nation through their extensive programs, including, but not limited to, active participation in the Department of Veterans Affairs Volunteer Services program (VAVS) to assist hospitalized veterans, Special Olympics, patriotic observances, Americanism programs, ROTC awards, Scouting, blood and organ donor programs, Freedoms Foundation and drug and alcohol abuse education.

On the national level, AMVETS awards scholarships each year to the children of veterans as well as those veterans who have exhausted all aid from the federal government. The AMVETS National Service Foundation also donates thousands of dollars annually for post "matching funds" to help outfit VA medical centers with needed therapeutic and recreational equipment.

A network of trained national service officers across the country provides free expert advice to veterans and veterans' dependents. Annually these officers handle thousands of claims and obtain various benefits for the deserving veterans. These Include hospitalization, disability compensation and educational benefits.

AMVETS keeps a watchful eye on all Capitol Hill legislation and aggressively pursues every congressional bill that is likely to affect veterans-to ensure there is no erosion of their entitlements. Veterans health care, POW/MIA accountability, services for homeless veterans, national defense and foreign relations are all issues of importance to AMVETS.

AMVETS

HISTORY ..... AMVETS TODAY ..... AMVETS IN ACTION ..... MEMBERSHIP

AMVETS DADE-BROWARD MEM-POST #11
15299 N.E. 12th AVENUE
NO. MIAMI BEACH, FL 33162-5844
305-947-2339 - Fix: 305-949-5992

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