VFW & Auxiliary Post 11553

10/07/2026

We recently received an inquiry about the VFW Auxiliary and the VFW's Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen contests and because it is a question that has come up many times before, we would like to share our response.

The question was about what the VFW Auxiliary DOES when it comes to these two contests, as they are both VFW contests.

The answer is that the level of involvement is different from one Post/Auxiliary to another, so there is no "one size fits all," but Auxiliary members have long helped by distributing information to schools, collecting entries from students, arranging the judging or helping to find judges, contacting local media to promote the contest and/or to announce the winners, assisting in holding recognition celebrations for participants, raising money for prizes awarded on a local level and more.

In short, each individual VFW Auxiliary promotes the VFW Voice of Democracy and VFW Patriots Pen contests while supporting their Post in whatever ways the Post finds most helpful - sometimes this means taking a more active approach and sometimes this means taking a quieter background role - but no matter what you do, make sure to report your participation and fundraising under Scholarships.

And spread the word about these scholarships and contests today!

10/07/2026

The Veterans of Foreign Wars' Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen audio essay entries are due October 31. This is less than ONE MONTH AWAY.

This year’s shared theme is “What a Veteran Taught Me About America.”

The VFW Voice of Democracy National first-place winner will receive a $35,000 scholarship; this contest is for students in grades 9-12. The VFW Patriot’s Pen National first-place winner will receive $5,000; this contest is for students in grades 6-8.

Learn more at https://www.vfw.org/community/youth-and-education/youth-scholarships and share with the tweens and teens in your town today!

10/05/2026

The VFW Auxiliary recently emailed some very exciting Membership awards news. Check out the details here, and thank you to our benefits provider, AMBA, for your generosity!

10/05/2026

Dress code for the Conference Events in Garmisch Germany 🇩🇪

Friday November 6 Dinner:

Dress Code is casual.

Saturday November 7:

Memorial Service: Attendees should be in Suit and Tie. Ladies Dressed accordingly.

EC Meeting: EC Officers and State Representatives should be in Suit and Tie. Other members should be dressed accordingly.

Banquet: Men - Preferably Suit and Tie, Ladies - Dressed accordingly.

10/03/2026

An intentional protocol strips rank insignia from sentinels guarding America's fallen unknowns.

At Arlington National Cemetery, elite infantrymen from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") maintain a perpetual, 24-hour vigil over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. While wearing meticulously tailored ceremonial dress uniforms, Tomb Sentinels systematically remove all rank insignia from their coats prior to stepping onto the plaza. Military protocol dictates that a subordinate officer or enlisted soldier must always defer to a superior rank. However, because the true identities and military ranks of the service members buried within the crypts, representing unidentified casualties from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, remain permanently unknown, the U.S. Army enforces absolute rank anonymity. Stripping chevrons and officer markings ensures that no Sentinel on post ever protocolically outranks the fallen defenders they are sworn to guard.

This deliberate measure underscores the profound egalitarian ethos at the core of the memorial's design. Beyond the omission of rank, Sentinels adhere to an extraordinarily exacting standard of physical and operational discipline. Candidates undergo months of relentless training, memorizing deep military history and spending up to eight hours daily preparing their attire, which includes heat-sealing brass fittings, wet-polishing leather scabbards, and altering uniform cuts to eliminate any fabric fold during movement. On post, the Sentinel marches exactly 21 steps along a black rubber mat, faces the Tomb for 21 seconds, and turns to repeat the sequence, a cadence directly honoring the 21-gun salute, the highest military honor. By shedding individual rank, the Sentinel becomes an anonymous surrogate for the nation, ensuring that institutional military hierarchy yields entirely to the memory of the unidentified dead.

10/02/2026

10/01/2026