Cold War Veterans Blog

Veteran group membership dwindling

Veteran group membership dwindling

This Article states a sad fact , My own VFW post 53 closed its doors Jan. 1st.
it had been opened following the Spanish-American War.

US World News

RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 21 U.S. veterans' organizations are seeing their ranks rapidly thin as World War II veterans die and younger soldiers decline membership.In the American Legion, for example, World War II and Korean war vets make up about half of all members, but World War II veterans are dying at a rate of about 1,000 per day, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported Sunday. That demographic reality has forced many groups to scale down their activities, sell off assets, or face shutting down altogether.Younger veterans may reject the groups because their activities, like polka dances, do not interest them, the newspaper said. The trend could also reflect the overall societal trend away from civic organizations, bowling leagues and other group activities.And there is also a divide between older soldiers, many of whom were drafted, and younger soldiers who enlisted voluntarily and think of their military service as a career.

Copyright 2008 by UPI