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Eligibility Requirements
The fundamental difference
between our Organization and other veteran
organizations, and one in which we take great pride, is
our eligibility qualifications. There are three
requisites for membership in the Veterans of Foreign
Wars of the United States: (1) Citizenship; (2)
Honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United
States; (3) Service entitling the applicant to the
award of a recognized campaign medal or as set forth in
the Congressional Charter and/or By-Laws.
Checking Eligibility:
Checking eligibility is comparatively simple. Assuming
that a person is a United States citizen and has an
honorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces, it only
remains to be proven that the person served outside the
continental limits of the U.S. and has earned a campaign
or service medal recognized by the VFW as meeting the
campaign medal requisite for VFW Membership. (The only
exception is for service in Korea after June 30, 1949,
until present.)
Discharges issued during
and immediately after the close of World War II have a
section on the back listing the medals and decorations
which have been earned. Persons discharged later
received a DD-214, "Report of Separation" form, which
has a space showing medals and decorations. Lost
separation documents can be replaced by completing and
submitting GSA Standard Form 180, "Request Pertaining to
Military Records."
There is always a
possibility of an omission on the separation documents.
If an applicant claims entitlement to a medal which is
not shown on the individual's separation papers, that
person may request verification and correction of
records by submitting a GSA Standard Form 180.
The GSA Standard Form 180
is available from any office of the Veterans
Administration or state Veterans Departments. The form
must be completed and signed by the veteran in order to
receive the information requested or authorize the
release of the information to the Veterans of Foreign
Wars.
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