Local Veterans of Foreign Wars post turns 75

Holyoke’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6482 turned 75 on April 16. The Zeiler-Owens-Lindsay Post is named for John Zeiler Jr., Richard A. Owens and James Lindsay, three local men who were killed in Pearl Harbor while on duty.

The VFW is a nonprofit veterans service organization whose mission is to foster camaraderie among U.S. veterans of overseas conflicts, to advocate on behalf of all veterans, and to serve veterans, the military and communities.

The organization’s vision is to ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements, and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made for the country.

Terrence Barth, a retired Marine who has been commander of the VFW post since 2005, said there are about 42 members in the local VFW and 39 in American Legion Post 90, but there is overlap in membership between the two organizations.

“It was created by our World War II boys,” Barth said of the local post. “They had esprit de corps and semper fidelis — and a lot of it.” He said their aim is to take care of veterans, and that goal often expands into assisting the community as a whole.

“Our mission is to support the community, and our major thrust is to support the kids,” Barth said. “Anybody that needs help, we try to take care of.”

The May 2, 1946, edition of The Holyoke Enterprise announced the organization of the local VFW, saying that members desired that more veterans who qualify join the new service group.

Barth said there are over 300 veterans buried in the Holyoke cemetery, and the VFW and the American Legion decorate the cemetery with American flags and coordinate the Memorial Day program each year.

The VFW gives out citizenship awards and scholarships to Holyoke High School graduates, and they coordinate the Voice of Democracy contest. They also typically sponsor Easter egg hunts for the community each year.

The July 11, 1946, Enterprise points out that large crowds attended the July 4 celebration sponsored by the local VFW post. “Ball games, horse and pony races, a firemen’s demonstration and fire works furnished a full day and evening of entertainment,” the article notes, and the “local park was alive with picnic parties during the day and from the 10 a.m. ball game to midnight people were celebrating in Holyoke.”

An article in the May 6, 1971, edition of the Enterprise reports the celebration of the post’s 25th anniversary. One particular highlight the article mentions was a contest where all guests estimated how many members the post would have if all the members who joined since its beginning were still members in 1971.

The contest resulted in a tie as two people guessed 513, and the correct answer was 510.

At the ceremony, a lawn chair was awarded to L.B. Miles for the honor of being a charter member who traveled the farthest to attend.

Barth said quartermaster Steve Millage does a great job keeping up the paperwork to keep the charter going, and the VFW will continue to focus on its mission in the community today and into the future.