Veterans’ organizations include former members of a nation’s armed services. They may limit membership to veterans who served during a particular war or military campaign. Or they may accept only veterans who fought overseas or were disabled.
Veterans’ organizations have been chiefly patriotic and social in purpose. They promote the comradeship formed during war and work to support the laws and government of the nation. They also provide care for the widows and children of deceased veterans. Veterans’ organizations conduct memorial services and take care of the graves of deceased veterans.
These groups usually have significant political influence because of their large membership. They use this power to obtain legislation that will benefit veterans, such as pensions, and care for disabled veterans.
In the United States,
the Society of the Cincinnati was the first veterans’ organization. Major General Henry Knox suggested that officers of the Continental Army organize a society of veterans who fought in the American Revolution (1775-1783). The Society of the Cincinnati began in 1783, with George Washington as its first president.
The veterans’ organizations formed after the War of 1812 (1812-1815) and the Mexican War (1846-1848) were not large. After the American Civil War (1861-1865), which had large armies, strong veterans’ organizations came into existence. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), an organization of veterans of the Union Army, began its work in 1866. It had enough influence to control the Republican Party for almost 40 years. It reached its highest membership in 1890. The support of the G.A.R. often meant the difference between victory and defeat for candidates in the North. The United Confederate Veterans held a similar position in the South.
The Jewish War Veterans of the United States was established in 1896. Other attempts to organize the veterans of foreign military campaigns began in the late 1890’s. The United Spanish War Veterans, founded in 1898, included soldiers who had fought in the Spanish-American War, which took place earlier that year. Three organizations of veterans of foreign wars joined in 1913 to form the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). In 1919, following World War I (1914-1918), veterans who fought in France formed a veterans’ organization called the American Legion. The Disabled American Veterans was established in 1920.
After World War II (1939-1945), veterans formed new organizations. The American Veterans of World War II (now called simply American Veterans or AMVETS) was founded in 1944. Vietnam Veterans of America was created in 1978.
In Canada,
the Royal Canadian Legion is the country’s largest veterans’ organization. It was founded in 1926. The Army, Navy, and Air Force Veterans in Canada is the country’s oldest veterans’ group. It was founded in 1837. Other Canadian veterans’ organizations include the Armed Forces Pensioners’/Annuitants’ Association of Canada, the Canadian Corps Association, the Canadian Paraplegic Association, and the War Amputations of Canada.
