Island Veterans Groups Withering Away
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Vineyard veterans are disappearing. Membership in all three of the
prominent Island veterans' organizations is at its lowest in
decades.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_circle_sm.jpg" The veterans served in World War II, Korea, Viet Nam and the Middle
East. They served in war and in peacetime. Now they are slipping out of
the fabric of the community.
While many Vineyarders this weekend will be remembering the veterans
who served, the veterans themselves will be wondering about their local
future.
Attendance at their monthly meetings is way down. Social events
aren't being held because of lack of interest and a lack of will.
Last week, a number of those veterans gathered at the American
Legion Hall in Vineyard Haven to talk about their changing world and
share a worry. All spoke of a deepening concern. No one spoke of hope.
Jo Ann Murphy, county veterans agent, estimates the number of
veterans in Dukes County at more than a thousand. Most of them, she
said, aren't active.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_arthur_dickson_sm.jpg" "Ten years ago, the American Legion Post 257 had 390 members.
We now have 295. We are lucky if we get 20 who will show up at a monthly
meeting," she said.
Peter Herrmann, past commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars 9261,
based on Towanticut avenue in Oak Bluffs, said the organization has 138
members and only 10 show up for their monthly meetings.
Jason Balboni is the commander of the American Legion Post 186 in
Edgartown. "Our membership is down in the 30s and maybe we will
have six or eight show up at a monthly meeting," Mr. Balboni said.
Part of the decline can be explained: aging World War II veterans
are dying. According to a national statistic, 1,800 World War II
veterans are dying each day, Mrs. Murphy said.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_kevin_nichols_sm.jpg" But another striking reason has to do with a shift in a small-town
community that may not be small-town anymore. Social events that used to
draw a crowd are so poorly attended they haven't been held in
years.
"I just think people aren't really thinking the same
way," said Al Noyes, a past commander of the Edgartown American
Legion post. "They don't feel the same way. There is a loss
of civic pride and it is too bad. There are veterans out there but when
they get home at night, they don't want to get involved. They feel
they've done their duty."
Kevan Nichols, commander of American Legion Post 257, tells a
similar story.
"Look at our faces," Mr. Nichols said. "These are
the same faces you see every time we meet. Our organization is based on
the same 10 people. No matter what you do, whether it is a fundraiser,
whether it is a dinner, funeral or parade, it is the same bunch of
people."
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_peter_herrmann_sm.jpg" More formally called the George W. Goethals Post No. 257 American
Legion Hall, the Vineyard Haven organization is rich in history.
George Goethals, who hailed from the Vineyard, was chief engineer of
the Panama Canal. His history and the generations of members is
respectfully shown inside the old building. Every wall has pictures of
sailors, soldiers and members of all the armed forces. In each of the
portraits, the sense of pride is strong.
But the world has changed, just as much as the battlefield to
preserve freedom has changed.
Arthur Dickson, the historian at post 257, said: "I have seen
times when the legion was real strong, and now there seems to be an
overload somewhere else."
The post's legion auxiliary was made up of active ladies,
always plotting and scheming to do something for the community. Dances,
dinners, and parties were held in the hall often and money was raised
for all kinds of causes.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_ed_colligan_sm.jpg" These days, the big turnouts in the hall occur when Tisbury voters
come to vote, or on a rare Monday night when there is an unexplainable
surge of interest in bingo.
Mrs. Murphy recalled: "We used to have a past
commander's and president's night with huge turnouts."
Now, she said, the turnout is closer to 40.
"At the last April 11th dinner, we didn't have 20
people," Mrs. Murphy said. "We had only five past commanders
and two past presidents. I have been a member for 25 years and this is
the lowest I have ever seen. And it is usually a good meal.
"We used to be a community-based post, always something going
on," she said. "We always supported the Boys and Girls
Scouts. We always supported the Babe Ruth baseball, with a team."
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_fred_thifault_sm.jpg" Mrs. Murphy said the issue of community participation goes beyond
veterans organizations.
"When both husband and wife have to work, they don't
have the time," she said. "Kids are involved in so much more
than they used to be. If you look in the paper, all the nonprofit
organizations are asking for volunteers and I think everyone is just so
busy making a living, they don't have the time."
Bingo at the American Legion Hall in Vineyard Haven used to be a big
draw on Monday nights. This past winter, Mrs. Murphy said, they were
lucky if 18 people showed up.
"Last Monday we had 27 people show up," she said.
"That was a lot." The event requires six veteran volunteers
and getting that many is a struggle.
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_george_santos_sm.jpg" Ed Colligan, a past commander and active veteran, is charged with
making the telephone calls to get the veterans to attend military
funerals.
"We do have good turnouts, 10 to 12 guys and a woman
too," Mr. Colligan said, but adds, "I know a lot of guys
can't make it, they are working." He worries about the
future.
Mr. Colligan was a co-organizer of the Avenue of Flags, a day when
hundreds of flags are shown at Oak Grove Cemetery in Vineyard Haven.
"At the Avenue of Flags people will see 410 flags
flying," he said. "They are all beautiful and people feel
patriotic. Next day it is over. It is too bad."
"We don't get enough members to the meetings,"
said George Santos, another member of the Vineyard Haven legion post and
a World War II veteran. "When the boys came out of the service, a
lot was going on. We had different functions to help the organization.
It has all just petered out."
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_joann_murphy_sm.jpg" But the veterans' groups still can be a conduit into the
community. Jim Dorsey, 70, a retired computer analyst, discovered that
in 1999 when he moved to the Vineyard from northern Virginia.
"When I arrived I didn't know too many people
here," Mr. Dorsey said. "I tried to get involved and it has
been fulfilling. I met more people joining the legion, the VFW and
church."
In Mr. Herrmann's eyes, the Veterans of Foreign Wars is a
dying organization.
"The VFW dues are going up approximately 75 to 80 per
cent," he said. "That isn't going to help membership.
Why are the dues going up? Membership is going down."
Mr. Balboni, 35, commander of the Edgartown legion organization,
served in the Army during the first Gulf War.
"I feel a kind of responsibility to keep doing what we
do," Mr. Balboni said. "But it is difficult. It is
unfortunate that the younger people, and I consider myself young,
don't seem to have the time. Families are busier."
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/05/25/content/vfw_vets_aileen_mahoney_sm.jpg" It is clear that the latest generation of young veterans isn't
as interested in supporting veteran affairs as their elders.
Hopes to bring younger people into the American Legion organization
on the Vineyard have faltered. Although a Sons of the American Legion
organization was formed, the entity faded away after two of its key
organizers died.
Legions and VFW organizations are in trouble, Mr. Noyes said.
"I'd like it if people would get behind the posts
more," he said. "They don't come out to veterans
services any more. You always get the same handful of people. We all
have to remember that if it wasn't for our vets, we would all be
saluting somebody else's flag."
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