What do you think about the "Veterans of Foreign Wars" (VFW) one day changing their policies to include veterans with no foreign service?

There are multiple Veterans Organizations that any Veteran can join. The VFW is specific for combat Veterans, but those same Veterans can also join the American Legion, American Veterans (AMVETS), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and more, so tell "all of your friend groups" to go join those organizations also if that is the only way they can interact with this Marine.
I am not a combat Vet, but I am a Lifetime member of AMVETS and current President of my local AMVETS Riders Chapter in NC. Our Post and Chapter have combat Vets and some of them are also DAV and VFW and Legion members also. Note that the Legion also has Riders Chapters if any of you are riders. Find one and help do good things for your local Veterans that may be in need of help.

I don't know about the other organizations, but AMVETS also has Sons of AMVETS (for the husbands, sons, and grandsons of Veterans) and the Ladies Auxiliary (for the wives, daughters and granddaughters of Veterans), so you can make it a family affair.

I fail to understand the meaning of foreign war. My dad served in the navy in WW2. He never left the States and was a member at our VFW all his life. He even kept the bar there. Was he illegible? I trained airman during the V.N. "police action" and never left our country. Can I belong? I am considered a V.N. vet by the VA. What gives?

Considering the fact that we have not experienced a declared war since Vietnam, organizations like the VFW have been losing members due to attrition by death. The Vietnam Veterans of America, for example, have made the decision to close their doors forever, once the organization becomes too small to operate.

The VFW may be facing some of the same issues as the VVA. However, one also has to look at the services that these veterans' organizations provide. One of the major services is assisting veterans in filing their disability claims with the VA. And while foreign military service may be decreasing, our National Guard and military reserve activities will not. And, today, it is hard enough to get help for filing for VA disability. For that reason, alone, we should support whatever decision the VFW decides to make, and should they decide to change their membership requirements, they will still be here to help our veterans in need.

If they do not qualify for VFW, they do not qualify.

But if they just want to "hang out" with their old service pals, last I checked (which I will admit is a LONG time ago) VFW members can invite non-members to hang out with them. Won't be able to do meetings and such, but can swap sea stories at the bar.

And even if that is no longer the case, there is nothing stopping people from hosting their own BBQ or dropping in on and old friend or even inviting the war vets to the Legion Hall - after all, VFW members are also eligible to be Legion members.

As far as the VFW dying, you have identified the symptom, but mis-diagnosed the disease. The disease is not exclusivity. It is relevance. There are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of GWOT vets who are eligible. How many have joined? I am among those who have not. And why should I? What does the VFW honestly offer me that I cannot get from going to my buddy's house (bearing in mind that my buddy is AD and the other two couple also have one AD member) for game night?

VFW has built itself a reputation of sad, bitter old men splitting their time between lamenting their lost youth and cursing the youth of today - including us young war vets from GWOT. If you want to keep the VFW alive, you need to change its reputation.

Many Veterans weren't directly there in War, many were in Units that were indirectly, but still played in a support roll, I'm not sure if this is what you consider never served on Foreign Soil

It’s all the name. Nuff said.

Because of technology you can be a combatant w/o leaving the CONUS. THE REQUIREMENT FOR JOINING VFW IS A CAMPAIGN MEDAL.THE SPACE EXPEDIONARY MEET THE REQUIREMENTS. VFW IS HURTING FOR MEMBERS THAT'S WHY THEY PUSHED THROUGH THE KDSM

I served during and at US Army Europe (Foreign Service) during Cold War and was rejected membership in 1998 after discharge. Couldn't understand why. They meant Foreign Combat Service and today with VFW dwindling membership now "opened" non foreign Combat service.
Wow. I'll stick to American Legion membership.

I agree that the name VFW is what the organization stands for.
I served in Thailand in 1973-74 and was denied membership because
there was no war in Thailand at that time. I was allowed to join as a "SOCIAL" member only...

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