VFW Post 1924 honored with 2 awards

FALLBROOK – The members of Charles E. Swisher VFW Post 1924 have been recognized by both the VFW National Organization and the VFW Department of California for their work during the 2020-2021 VFW year. The Post earned All-American honors for the first time ever from the national organization as well as All-State honors for the second time (2016-2017) ever from the VFW Department of California.

"Every year the National and State Commanders put out the criteria to attain these prestigious awards," said Post Commander Chris Ingraham. The criteria established is to award Posts that are well rounded in all the programs and services the VFW organization offers, some of the criteria is the same for both awards but other criteria are different based on the National and State Commanders' priorities for that year.

"Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of Post 1924 chipped in when asked and helped accomplish what needed to be done," said Ingraham.

The All-American distinction is the highest honor a Post can attain at the national level; the All-State distinction is the highest honor a Post can attain at the State level. "It is rare for a Post to attain both in the same year, but with dedicated members and a willingness to serve it can be done as we proved," said Ingraham.

As an all-volunteer organization it takes hard work and a dedication to serve fellow Veterans, the Active-Duty Military and the communities the VFW Post resides in. "Post 1924 has been in existence here in Fallbrook since Feb. 2, 1941. That is 81 years the Post has been serving the communities of Fallbrook, Bonsall, Rainbow and DeLuz," said Ingraham.

The Post was presented with certificates and streamers to commemorate the achievement of being an All-American and All-State Post. The Post Commander and Post Quartermaster (Elia Exile) were presented with special caps to commemorate their hard work; the members of the Post were allowed to acquire an All-American cap if they chose to do so.

"Post 1924 was one of 995 Posts to earn All-American out of 6,024 eligible Posts in the National Organization and was one of 32 Posts to earn All State, out of 266 eligible posts in the state of California," said Ingraham.

Some of the accomplishments that were behind Charles E. Swisher VFW Post 1924 earning these prestigious awards were exceeding the community service hours criteria for both awards. The Post prepared and delivered 843 Thanksgiving Dinners and 356 Christmas Dinners to the community during the height of the pandemic; these meals went to seniors and families that could not be with family due to the Stay-at-Home order that was in place.

The Post also assisted the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce with placing flags along Main Street on every federal holiday, and did flag maintenance whenever required. The Membership of Post 1924 and its Auxiliary provided over $2,800 in youth scholarships during the pandemic. The Post assisted needy veterans and active-duty service members with $6,200 in financial assistance.

The Post also partnered with other nonprofit organizations to assist those in need during the pandemic like Wounded Warrior Homes, Warrior Foundation, Daniel Ferguson Memorial Foundation, North County Veterans Stand Down and local high school boosters and organizations.

"We did all this while the Post was closed due to the pandemic restrictions and not participating in local community events that were canceled due to the restrictions, events that we count on to raise the money we utilize for our programs and services. We held a special take out only Burger Night to raise some much-needed funds that the community supported greatly and received donations through members, the community, and state and county pandemic grants that were available to us. As the post commander, to earn these prestigious awards during a pandemic that added additional hurdles for us to conquer makes it mean all that much more," said Ingraham.

Anyone who would like to support VFW Post 1924 can contact the Post at [email protected] or visit http://www.fallbrookvfw.org and click the donate now button. Also follow the VFW on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FallbrookVFW to keep up with meals and events going on at the VFW.

Submitted by Charles E. Swisher VFW Post 1924.