As one of America’s foremost veterans service organizations, AMVETS (or American Veterans) has a proud history of assisting veterans and sponsoring numerous programs that serve our country and its citizens. The helping hand that AMVETS extends to veterans and their families takes many forms.
One of the most visible is our network of trained national service officers (NSOs) accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Funded by the AMVETS National Service Foundation, these dedicated men and women can be found in close to 40 states, providing sound advice and prompt action on compensation claims at no charge to the veteran. In one recent year alone, AMVETS national service officers processed more than 24,000 claims that resulted in veterans receiving some $400 million in compensation. This commitment to service traces its roots back to 1948, when our NSOs first began helping veterans of World War II to obtain the benefits promised them by the federal government.
Coincidentally, it was these returning veterans who provided the impetus for forming AMVETS in the first place. At the time, many of them belonged to veterans clubs on college campuses. As the number of returnees swelled into the millions, it was evident that some sort of nationally organized assistance for them would be needed. The older established national groups wouldn’t do; the leaders of this new generation of veterans wanted their own organization ... ... But helping others is not limited to our fellow veterans.
AMVETS members in more than 1,400 posts nationwide also promote and support “quality of life” community-service programs ranging from Special Olympics and ROTC to scouting and organ-donor projects. Apart from these initiatives, the organization has thrown its monetary support behind work on such national monuments as the USS. Arizona, the Statue of Liberty and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It also sponsors its own carillon program to honor America’s deceased servicemen and women. Since 1949, when President Truman dedicated the first carillon at Arlington National Cemetery, this program has grown to encompass more than 60 sites in the United States and overseas.
Find the Post nearest to your location: http://www.amvets.org/amvets-near-you/
