Headline confused 'very different and distinct' veteran organizations

Editor:

Like your sister newspaper, The Augusta Chronicle, The News-Times seems to have difficulty with the correct identity of veterans' organizations.

The sidebar on page 1 of the Nov. 9 edition of The News Times had a notice headed with "Seafood at VFW," and then went on to tell readers about seafood at American Legion Post 192.

Uh-uh, folks. These are two very different and distinct organizations.

While many veterans are members of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) and the American Legion, they were formed at different times and have different membership requirements.

The VFW was formed after the Spanish-American War, and accepts membership from veterans who served honorably overseas in a war zone during specified war periods.

The American Legion was formed after World War I, and accepts all veterans who served honorably during specified war periods, whether they served in an actual overseas war zone or not.

Tom Kane

Martinez