JOHNSON CITY, TX. — Cracked paint peels from the surface of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8915. The lonely building sits like a farmer’s field gone barren for the winter, cold and empty.

The Johnson City post, located at 201 Ranchview Drive, was served their revocation notice on Friday, October 24th by the state level VFW organization – 61 years after being founded for area WWII veterans. Dwindling membership, combined with aging members, a lack of local interest and new bylaws at the national level, resulted in its shutdown.

VFW officials at the state and national levels, along with Post 8915 members, say the post is symbolic of a more widespread issue.

According to recent statistics, since 1997, the number of VFW posts nationwide have decreased from 10,500 to 8,400. National membership stands at about 1.7 million — less than 10 percent of the approximately 20 million U.S. veterans eligible to join the VFW.

Local VFW member, Patricia Hartman stated “a year ago there were about 1000 different VFW posts in Texas, now there are only approximately 400.” That’s an approximate forty-percent decline in membership.

The Johnson City VFW hall was constructed by community volunteers back in 1947, when land was donated by a generous resident for the purpose of honoring local veterans. However, national VFW bylaws require posts to accomplish a myriad of requirements each year in order to remain active.

Waning interest in the organization and a lack of community involvement resulted in the Johnson City VFW charter to be revoked. As a result, a bylaw within the organization grants the National VFW the right to seize all assets by the local organization.

In other words, as of this past Friday, the state VFW has cleaned out the Johnson City VFW hall, hauled away anything and everything of value and intends to auction it all off to bidding participants. They also cleaned out the minimum funds that were in their bank account. Items such as iceboxes, an antique shuffleboard table, and vintage beer signs that hung on the walls within the VFW hall have all been seized.

The doors have been locked, and the building was already placed with a local real estate agency for sale.

However, the current War on Terrorism, and ironic timing may just be enough to save the local VFW post from extinction if the Johnson City community will back them up with support.

Johnson City resident, Josh Dean, served two tours in Iraq and recently moved to the area to accept a job with the Pedernales Electric Company as a substation electrician. He has teamed up with Johnson City VFW members, Patricia Hartman and Jimmy Salazar to try and breathe new life into the local organization.

“There’s a lot that takes place at the VFW hall…more than most people might look at… there is a meeting room where members can plan community activities and hold other functions such as bingo and what not. But the real purpose of the hall itself is to serve as a kind of meeting place, where the local veteran’s can go and have some sort of camaraderie with men and women who have shared the same kinds of experiences,” Dean stated.

Although the local organization has not attracted more than five members in recent years, the hope of Hartman, Dean, and Salazar is to entice the numerous vets in the area to join in their ranks – and if the trio of vets is successful, it will certainly be good news for Johnson City.

VFW Posts are known for their community service projects across the nation, which includes sponsoring scholarships for local school districts, serving in parades, raising the flag at football games, and assisting veterans in any way possible.

“A lot of [vets] have scars and they don’t feel like they can just go hang out at the city park or other public places without people staring at them wondering what happened… but they can come to the VFW hall and feel comfortable… it’s a place where nobody asks any questions because they’ve all been there. They understand,” Dean stated.

“It’s also a place where a lot of guys who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can go and relax… they can hang out with friends who share a common bond,” he added.

Although VFW member numbers have been declining at a rapid rate over the years Hartmann is convinced that they’ll be growing again.

“It’s not just by chance that we have some new guys interested in joining the Post,” she stated.

“We are a nation at war. Although many folks walk into my store and they seem completely oblivious to the fact that someone dies every day to protect the freedom we enjoy so much, we need a local charter that can honor our young vets who are serving our country right now. When they come home, they’re going to need a place to go.”

Right now Dean, Hartmann and Salazar are petitioning the district commander to halt the sell of VFW Post 8915 so they can regain control of the property.

In the meantime they are planning to attend the city council meeting on November 5th to ask the city to consider purchasing the property on their behalf to serve as a Veteran’s Memorial Center where every vet, not just VFW members, can go.

“We were shut down because the old post did not have active members – I would go every month with fellow members and the three of us would just sit there and nobody else ever came,” Hartmann said.

“But now that we have some new, young vets interested in joining we can change the pace and tempo and become a more vital organization that can offer the Johnson City community a lot of great things while honoring those who served.”

Area veterans are welcome to join in the efforts to assist the local VFW from disbanding altogether. A recent change to the VFW bylaws now allows any person who has received hazardous duty pay, membership into the organization.

“We would love to also invite anyone and everyone – young and old – to participate on our newly formed VFW Booster Club. The club will help organize fundraisers to serve our community as well as to step up to the challenge of supporting both our current veteran’s as well as our future veteran’s,” Hartmann stated.

“The VFW represents tradition, sacrifice and patriotism,” said Ted Talbot, 80, a U.S. Army veteran who joined Post 4898 in Ohio back in 1948 after returning home from World War II duty in Honshu, Japan. “I think the reason posts are closing, the reason there are fewer members, is because there is less of all three of those qualities in society today than there used to be.

Former Post 4898 member Merlin Huff, 77, a Korean War veteran who lives in Mendon, Ohio was more blunt.“People don’t even want to stand up for the national anthem anymore,” he said. “It’s as if they don’t even understand what the flag represents. It makes me sick.”

In Johnson City, Hartmann believes “If we can’t look at people who’ve sacrificed for us – there is a huge problem in our society… I think our new post will be a proponent for helping veterans… if you served your country we want to help you and serve our community members and remind people that we are here.”

And as the nation’s war continues to march on with no end in the near future, the number of vets that will need a place like the Johnson City VFW will continue to climb.

For more information on how you can support Johnson City VFW Post 8915, contact Patricia Hartmann at (830) 868-7482.