The halls of many American Legion and VFW posts across California and the nation are pretty tame places these days. Some so quiet they are closing their doors.
As the number of World War II veterans dwindles, so does membership in these two venerable groups. American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars membership nationally declined 24%, to 3.9 million, from 1995 to 1998.
More than 1,500 Legion posts have disappeared in the last 16 years--as of this year, there are 14,862. Since 1994, the number of VFW posts has declined from 10,777 to 9,898.
At American Legion Post 132 in Orange, Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Garten sat alone in the dimly lit basement bar. Across the room, another elderly veteran sat on a stool smoking a cigarette and nursing a beer.
"Most of us who carried this post were World War II vets, but we're dying off," said Garten, 77. "I can remember when this place used to be packed on Friday nights."
Post 132 claims 500 members, but only a handful of men show up for meetings.
Garten and other World War II veterans make up the core membership of the fraternal groups that welcomed fighting men home from wars and offered them companionship and an opportunity to serve their communities.
In an effort to turn the tide on falling membership, leaders are taking a number of steps, such as allowing sons of veterans to join even if they have never served in the military.
They also are reaching out to Vietnam War veterans, who have traditionally been more concerned with Agent Orange and MIAs than with blood donations and volunteer work. That effort is hampered, officials admit, by bad blood dating back to the end of that divisive war.
Although declining membership is a problem everywhere, it may be most acute in small towns where the VFW and American Legion halls have been mainstays of community involvement.
American Legion Post 355 in the Central Valley farming community of Kerman--population 7,000--is among those closing, said acting post commander Clinton Villines, 72.
"We've got 67 members, but most of us are World War II vets," said Villines, an Army veteran. And those older veterans "are too old or sick to drive to meetings. We have about 500 veterans living in the area, but nobody wants to join. You can't make them join if they don't want to."
Disappearing along with the post will be its volunteer efforts, ranging from holiday parties for local children to the installation of a new flagpole in front of the town's senior citizens center.
