Walk into the Cantina of VFW Post 2657, and there is always something going on. Maybe it's preparation for a safe Halloween party for kids or a fundraiser for a community member in need. Then again it might be the Auxiliary members cooking up another meal for the public to share.
It doesn't really matter which day. These men and women who have already given so much, are fully committed to give a little more.
Established in August of 1932, Fulton's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2657 - 334 members strong - has a long history of service in this community.
"They are always giving, doing so much more than people know," said Debbie LaRue, public relations director for Callaway Bank, who teamed up the Callaway Kids Bank program with Fulton's elementary schools for an art project commemorating veterans.
It's fitting that the project involved children, because aside from taking care of their own members, the Post has a distinct soft spot where kids are concerned.
"I went to pick up my grand-kids from school one day, I guess it was back in 2011," Adjutant Quarter Master Charles Williams said. "And there were some kids crying, not wanting to get on the bus to go home."
Williams later found out those kids hadn't been able to get one of the Buddy Packs that provide food for children who might not have enough to eat on the weekends. There weren't enough for every child who needed one. He approached his fellow members at the Post who implemented an annual Buddy Pack Brunch to raise money. They recently donated $500 from this year's brunch.
And not long ago they raised $1,000 for a child who had undergone a bone marrow transplant whose family was living at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis.
"You can't talk about the good without addressing the bad," Williams said. "We've had our bad times; we were down to nothing. But as a Post, we've got things worked out now."
Williams said it was the Auxiliary members who saved the Post.
"If they weren't here cooking, donating their time, we wouldn't be in a position of having funds to give," he said.
Members of a VFW Post consist of Veterans who have served in combat in a foreign war. The Auxiliary members are those who have had family members who served in those wars. Every member involved in VFW activities is a volunteer. No one is compensated for time spent organizing, cooking or fundraising.
Most recently Callawegians probably saw VFW members sharing Buddy Poppies at local retail establishments. The poppies -made by disabled veterans - were first distributed in 1922 and continue to be a fundraising effort by VFW posts across the country.
Funds from the program go directly to local veterans and their families who are in need. If a Post has excess funds and hear of a fellow veteran coming through town who is in trouble, the members have the option of sharing funds with that individual as well. After that, the money can also be distributed to the community in general.
"If a guy comes through town and maybe doesn't have gas money or needs a meal, we can help him out by filling his tank or helping him with food," Larry Underwood, Post Commander at 2657, said. The Post has also helped with overnight lodging when a traveling veteran is stranded.
Underwood and his brother "Chubby" also host a fishing day at their lake for residents of the Mexico Veterans Home. Members of the Post share their time getting together for food and fishing.
"It's a fun day for them, but it's also fun for us," Underwood said.
There are numerous other projects Post 2657 sponsors. There are two scholarship programs, one for middle school students in the form of the Patriot's Pen essay writing contest and a second for high school age students who create an audio essay for the Voice of Democracy competition. These contests begin at the Post level, then progress through regionals to national competitions.
Another national project sponsored by our local post is the VFW National Home in Grand Rapids, Michigan where each state has a "home" that can be used by a veteran's family for up to four years while getting on their feet. The Missouri home recently housed a young single mother and her children while she completed her nursing degree and saved enough money to buy her own place.
Back home the veteran volunteers have also provided Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to those in need, have supported the Honor Flight program, which takes veterans to Washington D.C., and distributes home health support equipment - such as walkers, hospital beds, wheelchairs and other items - that have been donated to the Post. These items are shared with the community at large.
Where does this kind of grace come from when someone has already given a portion of their life to something as physically and psychologically costly as war?
"I can't speak for anyone else, but for myself - and I think for a lot of the others - it comes from knowing that you are willing to go and help a total stranger - willing to give your life to help them," Williams said. "That carries over to the rest of your life. I'll serve this country til the day I die."