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AVON VFW POST 3272
VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT In April 2001, we began our Veterans History Project by requesting in our monthly Post Newsletter (“On Target”) that members complete a 2-page form regarding their military service. The first page of the form sought military data (dates, units, duties, decorations, etc) while the second page asked for recollections, experiences and stories. The basis of this request was that our military information on our members was limited and incomplete. Furthermore, we were beginning to publish individual stories in our newsletter regarding our members and their experiences. It was a slow process as many veterans did not have the data we requested handy, some found it painful and others felt they did not do anything special. By October, however, we had collected 44 individual histories and it showed a rich reservoir of service and sacrifice. Many of the forms were, however, incomplete with very few stories and experiences supplied. We made additional requests and special mailings to build this collection. On the occasion of our 60th Anniversary in November 2005, we wrote short summaries from these histories on our Charter Members and those receiving Continuous Service Pins for 25 or more years as members. At that time Bob Hunt, the Post Historian, also published a booklet showing a 60-year membership roster of our Post. This was compiled from Post and Avon’s records and showed that 463 veterans had spent approximately 600 cumulative years in harm’s way and 1200 years in active military service from this Post alone. This study prompted us to renew our efforts to collect more data and stories. By 2007, we had compiled 120 personal histories, changed the format to include photographs and made it computer-friendly for easy reading. In 2008, we set a Veterans Day deadline for 50 copies to be ready for delivery to the Avon Historical Society. Our ultimate objective is to complete a total of 150 Military Service Histories on our members in a permanent collection showing the service and sacrifice rendered by veterans of a relatively small VFW Post to America. Their stories are of courage, privation, fear, loss, pride, accomplishment, adventure, comradeship – they are living histories, tales of survival and insights into service during wartime. You wish there was more information and you could ask more questions but unfortunately many of these veterans are gone now. There is clearly much left untold. In early December 2008, we delivered 50 Military Service Histories to the Avon Historical Society as the 1st installment on this ongoing project. We are now in the process of developing our 2nd installment of these histories and hope to deliver another 25 or so by the spring of 2010. We encourage you to stop by the Avon Public Library and review these extraordinary histories of local veterans who served their country under very difficult circumstances. We sincerely thank all the Veterans, their families and friends who made this Post Project possible!! Serving the Avon
Community for 65 years (1945 – 2010)
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