The Ray Davis VFW Post 4302 is bustling with activity as its members finalize a major renovation project thanks to a Home Depot grant.
New flooring was installed last week at the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, and the latest project is one of the final stages of a major renovation project funded through the Home Depot Foundation.
Jodie Youngblood, with Home Depot, was onsite at the local post last week, leading a team of floor installers in the $10,000 project. Over the past few years, the post was also the recipient of a $15,000 grant that was used to renovate the building’s ceiling, lighting fixtures and ventilation. The building’s roof was also painted, using 25 five-gallon buckets of paint.
“It feels great to work for a company that gives back to our communities, particularly for our veterans who have served this country,” Youngblood said.
Post Commander, retired Col. Hugh Long, led local efforts to build membership in both the post and the auxiliary, as well as reviving the building on Highway 49 toward Eden for future use.
"The building was constructed in 1973 and nothing has been done to it," Long said, in a previous interview.
Along with donations, the local post has received quite the facelift over the last few years.
The building now stands tall with a fresh coat of paint on the exterior walls and roof, and now has at least one newly installed HVAC unit.
The post’s entire flooring has been replaced. The site welcomes a new kitchen area. And the restrooms have been completely updated.
The renovated local post is vital to the continued efforts of the VFW within Yazoo County.
The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service. Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension for them, and they were left to care for themselves.
In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed organizations with what would become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. After chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania, the movement quickly gained momentum. By 1915, membership grew to 5,000; by 1936, membership was almost 200,000.
Since then, the VFW's voice has been instrumental in establishing the Veterans Administration, creating a GI bill for the 20th century, the development of the national cemetery system and the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange and for veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome. In 2008, VFW won a long-fought victory with the passing of a GI Bill for the 21st Century, giving expanded educational benefits to America's active-duty service members, and members of the Guard and Reserves, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VFW also has fought for improving VA medical centers services for women veterans.
Besides helping fund the creation of the Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and Women in Military Service memorials, the VFW in 2005 became the first veterans' organization to contribute to building the new Disabled Veterans for Life Memorial, which opened in November 2010.
Annually, the nearly two million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries contribute more than 8.6 million hours of volunteerism in the community, including participation in Make A Difference Day and National Volunteer Week.
From providing over $3 million in college scholarships and savings bonds to students every year, to encouraging elevation of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the President's cabinet, the VFW is there.
Long said that they are actively seeking new members to join the post and the auxiliary, and that application forms are available for anyone who is interested.
