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Some think a veterans club are just a place where old men gather to smoke, drink beer and repeat war stories. Let’s explode that myth. Sure, it’s a place where veterans gather. Some have some years behind them, some going back to World War II. Not many who go beyond that war as veterans die off at the rate of 1,000 a day. It’s easy to forget these grayheads were once the barrier between foreign domination and the democracy we crave. So, many just look at a sign that says VFW, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans or other and think it’s just a dark place with smoking and drinking. Veterans who served as long as 40 or 50 years ago got a small pack of Lucky Strike with their C-rations. Everyone smoked and it was accepted. Everyone drank, sometime heavily, and it was accepted. Posts have changed with the age of its members and their health. Many of had to quit smoking and others have had to stop or curtail alcoholic beverage. But the heart of a veterans post is the fellowship and camaraderie shared by those who have experienced the same military service. It is a family. They may quarrel among each other but come together when there is a problem. Although I had been a member of Rotary, the Moose Club and even the Izaak Walton League, I had never joined a veterans post until a friend got me involved in VFW Post 4848 on Riverside Drive in Chattanooga. That post made an old newspaper gypsy like me settle down. These were my friend. It is a place to go and relax with a beverage, even sit upwind of a friend who smokes when you’ve had to quit yourself. But it’s much more than that. Tom Stanfield, better known to his friends as Peanut, has been a mainstay of 4848 for decades. He served as a commander and was chaplain for many years. He is in his eighties now and stricken with cancer. When his doctor advised him to move from his apartment with a dozen or more steps to one with none, his wife Katie began planning to hire a mover. Members of Post 4848 wouldn’t hear of it. On the last day of May, when the new apartment was ready, 16 members and friends along with half a dozen trucks and trailers were in front of Peanut’s apartment just after 9 AM. Some of the volunteers were in their thirties or forties. Some were in their seventies. Each did a part. By 1 PM Peanut, Katie and all their furnishings were in their new apartment. Peanut is a special person, one whose company I have always enjoyed. His friends did this for him. And they do other services. Post 4848 holds a dance each Halloween and another Valentine’s Day for the residents of Orange Grove. The post has an Easter egg festivity for children and a watermelon cutting each summer at Chambliss Home. When a member is in trouble, veterans help. They are involved in more community activities than people realize. A veterans post is a place where members can relax. And it is much more. It is the nucleus of those with the memories of service, and a storehouse of inspiration for those who will serve in the future. But mainly it is a family, taking care of each other.
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