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History of the Disabled American Veterans
When the troops came home from World War I, some 300,000 carried grim
reminders of war: disabling injuries, battle scars, gas-seared lungs, and
prolonged illnesses. Following a tumultuous hero's welcome, America wiped the
horror of war from its mind almost as quickly as the ticker tape was swept from
the streets of New York City.
As a result, the needs of the nation's disabled heroes were swept aside as
well. Prejudice kept capable and qualified--but disabled--veterans from gaining
employment in a job market with few enough opportunities to offer anyone.
Veterans benefits programs were administered by three separate government
agencies with conflicting and overlapping responsibilities, leaving disabled
veterans with massive confusion and red tape. Without a medical system dedicated
to their needs, many disabled veterans found themselves sleeping on cots--or
even on floors--in the halls of America's overwhelmed hospitals.
 Some just gave
up the struggle, sitting on street corners with tin cups and signs reading:
"Help Me. I'm a Disabled Veteran."
Angered by the negligence and incompetence of the federal government in
dealing with their problems, disabled veterans began forming local self-help
groups in cities across America. In 1920, leaders from 250 of these groups
gathered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Under the charismatic leadership of Judge Robert
S. Marx, himself a veteran disabled in France, they federated into a national
body named the Disabled American Veterans of the World War (DAVWW). Judge Marx's
public life took him to cities across the country, affording him the opportunity
to use his superior organizing skills in the new DAVWW's behalf.
The new organization also attracted some very high-powered supporters from
society at large. For example, our first corporate sponsor was Henry Ford, who
supplied a caravan of 50 Model-T Fords to carry needy disabled veterans to San
Francisco for the organization's second national convention in 1922. At that
convention, the famed Rudolph Valentino became the DAVWW's first celebrity
sponsor when he threw a benefit concert on the organization's behalf.
Early on, the DAVWW also opened a Washington, D.C., office to help veterans
file claims for disability benefits. By the mid-1930s, the DAVWW had veterans'
benefits experts stationed in Veterans Bureau hospitals across the country. When
the specter of World War II raised its head,
 the DAVWW
dropped the reference to the First World War from its name, becoming simply the
Disabled American Veterans, or DAV.
Among those who led the DAV in the era following World War II were two
famous generals. One was General Jonathan M. Wainwright, well known for his
defense of Corregidor and his 39 months as a prisoner of the Japanese. The other
was General Melvin J. Maas, who became known as the "blind general" when he
remained on duty after combat wounds suffered on Okinawa took his sight.
The World War II and Korean War generation built a DAV that could never have
been imagined by those who founded the organization back in the 1920s. Their
efforts to open up employment opportunities for disabled veterans and other
handicapped people are legendary. They built a volunteer network that now
contributes nearly 2 million hours annually to patients in VA medical
facilities. Using a formula provided by Independent Sector, an organization that
provides oversight to American nonprofits, this time is valued at $30.5 million.
Most importantly, they prepared an organization that was ready to serve
the veterans of the next generation, those who returned from the Vietnam War
sick and wounded. In doing so, they resolutely stood in opposition to a society
that often shunned these younger veterans. In the belief that Vietnam veterans
should be treated with the same respect enjoyed by earlier generations of
veterans, they worked hard on behalf of the Veterans Readjustment Act of 1966.
In the years following the war, they worked with younger veterans to establish a
treatment model for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a model later adopted
by the VA Vet Center program.
The DAV's Vietnam generation continued that tradition of advocacy, among
other victories winning recognition of the needs of veterans exposed to
radiation in the post-World War II era and Agent Orange during the Vietnam
War. They also won establishment of the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, which
affords veterans the right to gain judicial review of unfavorable VA decisions.
If the DAV's World War II and Korean War veterans were quick to respond to
the needs of Vietnam veterans, the Vietnam generation proved just as ready to
respond to the veterans of the Persian Gulf War and other post-Vietnam military
conflicts. They have been outspoken in their advocacy on issues like the
unexplained illnesses that plague the lives of so many Gulf War veterans. In
addition, they're actively recruiting a new generation of DAV National Service
Officers from disabled veterans now in their twenties and thirties, a generation
that will lead the DAV into the 21st century.
It is important to note that the DAV has had a quiet partner as the
organization built this substantial record of achievement. It takes funds to
field the kind of services, programs and advocacy the DAV offers to disabled
veterans and their families--more funding than could possibly be supplied by the
dues paid by disabled veterans for membership in the organization. The American
people--good and loyal people like yourself--have stood by our organization,
providing nearly all of the funding necessary to field our extensive network of
services. We are not exaggerating one bit when we say we are eternally grateful
to you. Your generosity has allowed us to touch the lives of literally millions
of disabled veterans and their families. Thank you for such great kindness.
"This text was taken from the DAV's Main website,
www.DAV.org " |
