National VFW Membership Decline Reflected Locally

More wakes and funerals for members than new member initiations.

That's what Brian Denzler has observed ever since he joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054 in Setauket.

He is among a new generation of VFW members – a small generation, thanks to an overall decline in the number of lifetime members nationally.

"With our generation, there's sort of a negative association or stigma with the VFW or a fraternal order," said Denzler, 33, a veteran of the Army's 101st Airborne Division. "It just kind of sounds like ... someplace your grandfather would hang out."

Nationally, the number of lifetime VFW members declined from 1.45 million in 2010 to 1.2 million in 2011 – a drop of about 17 percent – according to VFW statistics. In New York, the decline was about 14.5 percent. On a local level, commander Jim Wills has said he has also seen a decline. The organization is losing its World War II veterans because of age, and new members haven't joined at the same pace.

"Membership is declining, but we've been lucky," he said. "We've got about 15 young guys from the Iraq and Afghan wars, and they're bringing in some of their friends."

Denzler said he believes the Setauket VFW can expect a spike in membership in the near future due to large numbers of service men and women returning from overseas.

The Setauket VFW post 3054 occupies an 80-year-old building originally constructed for Boy Scout use, but which was given to the VFW about 60 years ago, according to Wills. The organization currently sponsors a local Boy Scout troop as well as the annual Three Village Memorial Day parade. Members also visit the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook to bring residents comfort items, as well as send care packages to troops overseas and make school visits to talk about their experiences with students.

Setauket's VFW post has 122 members, though only about 35 are active, Wills said.

"We've done some outreach to Stony Brook and other schools to get some of the vets that are going back to school to join our post," he said. "It seems to be working somewhat."