Visit the canteen this Week (October 21 - October 28): Friday and Saturday, open 6-10 PM. 

Friday, October 23: 

Commander's Post Up, 4:30 til 6:30 PM

Operation Enduring Freedom Discussion 6 PM

Canteen open, 6 PM

 

Saturday, October 24: 

Memorial Clean, American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, 7 AM

OPERATION WINTERHAVEN Packup day, 9 AM

Desert Storm/Shield Memorial Dedication Ceremony, 11 AM

G4V Group Guitar Lessons, 9 AM

Canteen Open, 6 PM

 

Sunday, October 25: 

Marine Corps Marathon Clean up, 7 AM

Zoom Yoga, 10 am

 

Tuesday, October 27:

Soldiers Angels Food Pantry, 9 AM, The Fields at RFK 

 

Thursday, October 29:

Happy 100th Birthday Walter Gallagher!

 

Post Survey:  YOUR POST WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU!  We sent out a Post Survey earlier this week, if you did not receive that email, or it went to your spam folder, here is the link to complete the survey. Please take a few minutes to fill it out, we want to know how we can make your Post and VFW Experience better!

 

Your Post needs a Community Outreach Committee!  If this is something you are good at, please contact the Post Commander and let him know that you are interested

  

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Commander's Post Up, OCT 23rd, 4:30 - 6:30 PM:    Got a question for the Post Commander? Interested in something the Post is doing? Want to help out but aren't sure what you can do? Want to see some pictures of fish? Come talk to the Post Commander, Friday afternoon from 4:30 - 6:30. While we are there, we can talk about Operation Enduring Freedom and what we did during that mission.  

Busy Saturday!!

Memorial Washing at the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, OCT 24th, 7 AM:  Join our partners in cleaning crime, Chariots of Honor at the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Help out keeping this memorial clean and a place that honors our disabled Veterans.  This memorial is across the street from the US Botanical Garden at 150 Washington AVE SW in DC. 

 

OPERATION WINTERHAVEN PACKUP, OCT 24th, 9 AM:  The team at the VA Hospital in DC will be helping to pack up backpacks for Operation Winterhaven Saturday morning at 9 AM.  Just like last year, they will be packing the packs in the parking lot behind the Fisher House on the VA Hospital campus (50 Irving ST NW, Washington, DC).  As you enter, please go past the parking garage and towards the rear of the parking area on the left hand side, look for the large shipping containers. 

 

Desert Storm/Shield Memorial Dedication Ceremony, OCT 24th, 11 AM:  The Dedication Ceremony for the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The ceremony is open to the public and will be held at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW, Washington, D.C.  This is very close to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  If you are one of our Post's Desert Storm and Desert Shield Veterans, come on over the river and attend the ceremony and show your VFW Pride. If you are interested in the progress of the memorial you can receive the newsletter here:  Desert Storm and Shield Memorial Newsletter.  

 

Marine Corps Marathon Clean Up Team, OCT 25th, 7:00 AM:  We will meet at the Post at 7 AM.  There will be coffee to get everyone going, bagels and something sweet (donuts? cookies? muffins?) to get everyone ready.  At 7 AM, we will have a head count, quick safety and concept of the operation briefing, a picture and then we will move to the mile 2 marker to start our cleaning.  Please dress for the weather!  We will have gloves, bright green or orange vests and hats, work gloves and food handler gloves for the gooey messes. We should be done by about 11 AM if you are planning for that. 

Soldiers Angels Food Pantry - Tuesday, October 27th, 9 AM - Join me at the Fields at RFK (2333 Oklahoma Ave NE, Washington, DC 20019; near the intersection of Benning Road and Oklahoma AVE NE)  for the monthly Soldiers Angels Food Pantry. If you are in need of food support, please sign up here:   Soldiers Angels Food Pantry Sign Up

 

Happy 100th Birthday Walter Gallagher!  Thursday, October 29th is Walter Gallagher's 100th Birthday.  He is a Post Member and a WW II Veteran!  He served on the USS Franklin in the Pacific Theater in WW II.  The USS Franklin was the most heavily damaged US ship to survive a battle.  In multiple campaigns, she survived two separate kamikaze attacks and a dive bomber attack that took the lives of over 800 sailors.  Walter not only survived that, but he is still here to tell us about it.  Happy Birthday, Sailor!

 

Patriots Pen/Voice of Democracy Annual Contests:  Once again the Post is sponsoring a Patriots Pen (grades 6 thru 8) and Voice of Democracy (grades 9 thru 12) writing and oratory contest.   If you know of a Junior or Senior High School student that is interested in competing for up to $35,000 worth of scholarships, let them know about this! The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is now accepting entries for its 80th annual Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen youth scholarship competitions. The 2026-2027 theme asks America’s students "What a Veteran Taught Me About America.” Student entries may be submitted (along with a completed entry form) to their local participating VFW Post. The deadline for both contests is October 31, 2026. To read more about the contests or download the entry form, visit the VFW Scholarship Page by clicking here. 

 

What is going on in our community?

 

Fall 2026 Stumbling Stone Dedications:  The Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington invite you to the unveiling of "Stumbling Stones.” These bronze markers commemorate the lives of the enslaved people who helped build our county and our country and are placed in the sidewalk at the last known site of their enslavement. Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington’s research has revealed over 2000 enslaved people and identified 1050 by name.

• Saturday, October 24 @ 4 PM - Lee Center Baseball Field, 24th St N & Kentucky St.

• Saturday, Nov 14 @ 2 PM - Pike Park, 2820 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204 

Volunteers needed: 

 

We hope everyone had a nice summer and took a break from the heat and humidity. As the calendar turns to fall, we have a pile of events where we will be needing volunteers to lead, coordinate, and participate in.  Here is a short list:

• Memorial Washing:  American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, 7 AM - 830 AM

• Marine Corps Marathon Cleanup (October 25th, 7 AM) - We will be cleaning up miles 2-3 as part of a fundraising event.  We had plenty of folks sign up, but we will need a strong showing the morning of the race so we can meet our requirements.  If this is something you are interested in and didn't sign up for yet, send a note to: cdrpost3150@vfwva.org

• Halloween at the Post (Saturday, October 31st) - Tutubi is joining us for a Halloween Party.  Bring the kids, we will have piles of candy to keep them busy and the popcorn machine will be cranking it out. Costumes?  Yes.  If you are a Halloween-focused individual, come on out and show off your costume to the Great Pumpkin. We can grab the decorations from the scary attic and decorate the Post. We do need a bartender for that evening.

• Memorial Washing - Korean War Memorial, 6:30 AM - 8 AM with Chariots of Honor 

• OPERATION WINTERHAVEN (November 7th, 9 AM):  The 2026 Winterhaven Homeless Veterans Stand Down is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. Hosted by the Washington DC VA Medical Center at its main campus. This year VFW 3150 will be working with American Legion Post 46 in DC at the Boot Station.  There are plenty of opportunities in the weeks prior to help organize, set up and clean up after the drive. If this is something you are interested in, send a note to: cdrpost3150@vfwva.org

• Buddy Poppy Drive (November 4th thru the 10th) - This one of our traditionally best times to get donations for our Post Relief Fund.  Post members will be sharing shifts at the FT Myer Commissary passing out Buddy Poppies, talking about our Post and what we do, and asking for donations to our relief fund. Please sign up for a shift at this link. Each shift is 2 hours, starting at 10 AM and ending at 4 PM. The shifts will run from Thursday, NOV 5th thru Tuesday NOV 10th. If you have not done this before, no problem! We can show you how simple it is!

         We still have open shifts on:  Thursday afternoon, November 5th; Friday

           afternoon, November 6th; Saturday, November 7th, all shifts; Sunday afternoon,

           November 8th; Monday and Tuesday November 9th and 10th in the afternoon. 

• Marine Corps Birthday (November 10th) - Joe Wagner will be leading this effort; Everything is looking pretty well organized, but we will need folks to help set up and clean up.  Even if you are not a Marine, this is a very fun event. If this is something you are interested in and want to help out or attend, here is the Evenbrite link to sign up to attend. If you are not able to attend the celebration, please consider donating to Toys For Tots on the same link above

• Veterans Day Celebration (November 11th) - This is one of the Post's most important celebrations.  We will be conducting our traditional ceremonies at Clarendon War Memorial and the Cherrydale Boys' School Memorial as well as other events.  If you want to help out - do some outreach work to promote the event, move the chairs, podium, tents, loudspeaker, help with the flowers, do a quick police call at the memorials, let us know!If this is something you are interested in helping out or attending, send a note to: cdrpost3150@vfwva.org

• Post Thanksgiving Basket Donations (November 19th) - We are working to partner with USAA and Joint Base Fort Myer/Henderson Hall to reach out to Army and Marine Corps families that are in need during the holiday season.   If you are interested in being part of this team we can always use help with shopping and packing up the boxes as well as delivering them in November. If this is something you are interested in and didn't sign up for yet, send a note to: cdrpost3150@vfwva.org  

Help your Post out and step up!  You will enjoy it and see how easy it is.

 

Veterans in Need:

 

If you know of a Veteran in need, here are some resources that can help them in Virginia or in the greater DMV area:

 

Right here in Arlington, there are two resources available at our comrades' American Legion Post 139:  

     - Charles Reynolds is a Virginia Veterans Service Representative.  He can be reached at (571) 317-6680 or at charles.reynolds@dvs.virginia.gov

     - George Mason Law School has an MVETS office at American Legion 139.  MVETS M-VETS enables Mason law students to assist servicemembers, veterans, and dependent family members in a wide variety of litigation and non-litigation matters.  https://mvets.law.gmu.edu/

  

US Vets: US Vets (here is a link to their Website) has just opened a Service Hub in DC. If you know of a Veteran facing housing insecurity, please link them up with US Vets. As a note, we have a Post member who is a counselor for US Vets, our Chaplain, Chris G. 

  

Virginia Department of Veterans Services: Here is some useful contact information to assist Veterans in need. The Virginia Department of Veterans Services can help out:

 

• Contact Edwin Robles if you live in either Fairfax County or Arlington County.

• Fill out a request form if you live outside Fairfax County or Arlington County.

• If you have the resources to donate money for assisting a Veteran, the Virginia Department of Veteran Services recommends donating by sending a check to Northern Virginia Vietnam Veterans of America, PO Box 2111, Reston, VA 20195.

 

VA Disability Claim Assistance:  All of the organizations above can assist with a VA Disability Claim.  If you are unable to contact any of them, you can call Keith Garrison at the VFW National Headquarters at (202) 530-9385 or (202) 815-7241.

REFLEX Comedy Classes: Reflex Improv will offer FREE Intro to Improv classes to members of VFW Post 3150. During class, you will learn about the fundamentals of improv comedy, including Yes-And, Got Your Back teamwork, creating characters on the fly, and recognizing and playing with scene game. No prior experience in improv or comedy needed! If you're interested in joining the classes, please email Daniel Brown and cc Mike Cantwell. Include your full name and contact information, and state that you are a member of VFW Post 3150. 

VFW Action Corps Weekly - October 19, 2026

• Senate Holds Roundtable on VA Toxic Exposure Process

• Podcast Spotlights VFW Training Conferences, Conflict Casualty Recovery

• Pentagon Announces Increases in Hostile Fire and Imminent Danger Pays

• Veterans' Opportunity to Voice Concerns About Los Angeles VA Campus 

• MIA Update