VFW Leaders Concerned With Dwindling Participation

As one Green Country veterans group flourishes, another is fighting to keep the lights on.

A salute to our veterans was held on the day dedicated to them and the sacrifices they've made for our country was made in the place many war vets consider their home away from home, the VFW.

VFW 577 Post Commander, Travis Barnett said, “It changes you and this is where I found a place to be normal.”

Age is not factor at Tulsa's VFW Post 577. Everyone is an equal, a brother and sisterhood that can't be unbound.

“We've all been there, we've all done that and we've all got each other's backs,” said VFW 577 Post Chaplin, Callie O'Keefe.

But through the celebration, the VFW members are still fighting to survive.

Barnett said participation has dropped as the older generation fades and the young guns are busy building a civilian life. He said he fears the camaraderie found at the VFW could soon be lost.

“We're in a very crisis mode of figuring out what we can put together to sustain us for the next 10, 15 years so that the VFW is here when my generation is ready for it,” said Barnett.

A few miles away, a different kind of support post is just getting started.

“We have something in common and it's a great place to just really relate without having to explain ourselves,” said Dorea Walker with the U.S. Army.

The Coffee Bunker was created with a Marine named Daniel Ligon in mind.

9/11/2014 Related Story: Coffee Bunker Grand Opening Makes A Splash With Veterans

He took his own life after coming home from war seven years ago, so his mom, Mary Ligon, is on mission of her own to save others and to give veterans a place to just be.

“I just personally want to blow a trumpet saying, 'our troops have fought for us, it's our turn to fight for them,'” she said.

Leaders at the VFW said they're working to change the perception that the post is just about drinking and telling war stories.

The real mission is to serve as a middle man between VA and veterans filing claims.