Saturday, November 26, 2005
The veterans groupis battling a decline in numbers and clout
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
WASHINGTONVILLE -- The new national leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars is fighting to help veterans on all fronts.
Commander James R. Mueller, 64, of O'Fallon, Mo., visited VFW Post 5532 here Friday as part of a three-day, 12-city Ohio tour. He was elected to a one-year term in August.
Mueller said he has two major goals: to reverse the decline in VFW membership and to get members to help someone in the military.
Since taking over, Mueller said he had cut about 10 jobs and made other changes to streamline the national office.
The organization had 2.8 million members after World War II. The membership is down to 1.6 million as hundreds of World War II veterans die each day.
"If we're going to keep this organization alive, we need more members," Mueller said.
He urged members to recruit veterans from recent conflicts who haven't joined.
Mueller said VFW members should also "dedicate this year to someone in the military."
Help for families
The new leader didn't specify what members should do. But later in his talk, he said that members should make sure that the families of those fighting in Iraq and other danger spots get government support and as well as local help.
Mueller said the one thing those fighting abroad don't need to worry about is whether their families are receiving care.
The national VFW also helped victims of Hurricane Katrina by sending $290,000 for aid in Louisiana, $265,000 to Mississippi, and $50,000 each to Texas and Alabama.
Mueller was a sergeant in the Army and drove a tractor-trailer in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. He said he had toured some of Katrina's damage, adding, "The devastation reminded me of Vietnam in some ways."
On the national scene, Mueller said he will soon meet with President Bush in Washington to discuss veterans affairs.
Mueller added that if he says what's on his mind, "I'll probably get thrown out on my keister."
Funding issues
The Veterans Administration has just agreed to full funding for the national VFW this year, but next year is up in the air, he said.
He said he recently visited an Iraq veteran who was able to hold his young child for the first time. The man lost an arm and a leg and had undergone surgery to reduce brain swelling.
As medical care and technology, such as for artificial limbs, increases, Mueller said, "Costs go up."
But Mueller said that federal officials decided earlier this month that veterans groups don't have to testify at legislative hearings about the needs of their members, a long tradition in Washington.
The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Steve Buyer R-Ind., even announced that veterans organizations favored the idea.
In a statement on its Web site, the VFW said, "To propose the elimination of joint hearings during a time of war and prior to Veterans Day is both insensitive and insulting to all who have served in uniform."
wilkinson@vindy.com
XFor more information, visit www.vfw.org.