Cold War Veterans Blog

VFW state commander proud to represent all veterans

By Arline A. Fleming/Special to the Independent







SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Stephen O. Stewart, state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, crisply rattles off the number of Rhode Islanders listed as VFW members.

“Six thousand.”

Just as quickly, he lists local posts remaining in the state.

“Thirty-seven.”

As the recently named state commander of VFW, Stewart is leader to all 500 dozen Ocean State members, which means that apart from visiting his own South Kingstown Post No. 916 on a regular basis, he visits the other 36 groups as well.

VFW members, said this South Kingstown resident, come together as a team to make certain veterans’ entitlements aren’t weakened.

“One person going to a congressman or senator isn’t going to make a big difference. If two or three go, they might hear better,” he said.

The organization was established in 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War organized to secure rights and benefits for returning soldiers.

Numbers might be down from the approximately 2.2 million listed on the VFW Web site, as veterans die and interest in service organizations wanes as fast as 401(k)s. Attracting younger veterans to donate precious free time is as challenging to this group as it is to other organizations, such as the Grange.

But Stewart won’t allow his enthusiasm for the VFW to be altered by diminished numbers or misguided assumptions about their mission. “We don’t sit around and tell war stories,” he said, his crisp commander cap sitting proudly atop his 62 year-old head.

“We have to change that mindset.”

If it’s a rough winter night, but he made a commitment to visit a post in the northern part of the state, Stewart still makes the visit.

“Weather doesn’t bother me,” said the veteran of Vietnam and South County native who often labors outdoors as an employee of the R.I. Airport Corp. He tells of coming home to change from work clothes into go-to-VFW-meeting clothes with minutes to spare.

“I go to as many meetings as I can possibly get to.” Being state commander, he acknowledges, “can be a lot of work, if you do it right.”

He looks upon his commitment to the VFW in much the same way as he looked upon enlisting back in 1967 when he was a much younger man growing up on South Road in Kingston.

“I felt it was my duty.”

Shoring up VFW membership and activities is his duty now, taking him to a weekly round of ceremonies, conferences and military-related events. It is Stewart’s belief that in keeping the organization strong, veterans’ benefits will stay strong, too.

“I don’t like to use the word benefits. I say entitlement.” Entitlements range from medical insurance to recognizing military service on an honor roll. He doesn’t want any of it to go away. Veterans, he said, have earned these entitlements.

He sees membership as one of his missions as state leader, and has even been known to telephone those considering joining to remind them of meeting time and location.

“As membership goes down, so does the voice. There’s strength in numbers.”

The VFW voice, he says, helped create the GI Bill, fight for compensation for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange and helped create various war memorials.

And yes, the organization is open to women, though admittedly, mostly men attend.

Jack Brearley, 87, a South Kingstown native living in North Kingstown, arranges to find a ride so that he can attend Post meetings on the second Tuesday of each month.

Brearley, said Stewart, is his mentor, and a past commander of the Wakefield post, where he once devoted many hours. His own advancing age limits his activity, but having a South County resident serving as state commander makes Brearley feel proud.

“It’s been a long time since we had a state commander from around here,” he said. “It’s quite an honor. We’re all proud of him.”

“It helps to have someone who looks at how we do things down here,” said Jim Tourgee Jr., a 30-year member of the U.S. Army. Tourgee said the commander position usually goes to VFW members from the bigger cities in Rhode Island.

“This is a big deal. And he’s a good man.”

Stewart looks with admiration at the wall of past post commanders in South Kingstown, soldiers with last names such as Frisella, Toth, Costanza, Champlin.

They came back from Europe and Korea and Vietnam to high school sweethearts and a post hall where they could gather for big fund-raiser breakfasts or small gatherings around coffee on a Tuesday night.

“This building has a lot of heart and soul,” Stewart said. He hopes it lasts at least another seven decades.

“It would be terrible if vets didn’t have a place to go.”

The new state commander sees it as his job to make sure veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan know about post halls, or about chapters without posts, so he is listening to what they hope for from the organization. Some say they are looking for more family-oriented chapter events in addition to a place to conduct business meetings.

Veterans can contact him at the Providence VFW headquarters across from the State House. Call 751-8200. Or they can visit Post 916 on High Street, where there is a fieldstone fireplace, wood floors – and the usual problems any 70-year-old building might have. In order to keep the building up to date, Stewart, who was post commander twice, said they often rent out the space. Dancing lessons are being taught there these days when the building is not in use by the organization, and the dance director has organized a Valentine’s Day fund-raiser dinner at the post to support the cause, Stewart said.

The 6:30 p.m. event is open to the public. For tickets, call 789-0150. The $12 admission will include refreshments.

Will Stewart be there?

“Oh yes.”

But apart from the obvious, attending public functions and marching in parades, if there’s a veteran in need, be it emergency funds or information regarding prescription drug plans, VFW members, with Stewart in the lead, are there to help.

Said Stewart, “I love this job.”