Welcome to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Illinois District 19 web site.  On this site you will find links to VFW Posts within the District as well as links to many of the programs your VFW sponsors or promotes.  District 19 is comprised of Posts located in 25 communities in DuPage, Cook, DeKalb, and Kane County.

If you are not a member of the VFW, please take a moment to see what we do and determine if you would like to become part of the best Combat Veteran Organization in the world!  If there isn't a Post close to your home, visit "Find a Post" to locate one next to you.

The "VFW history" - The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, with its Auxiliaries, includes more than 1.5 million members in more than 7,000 Posts worldwide.

Its mission is to "honor the dead by helping the living" through veterans' service, community service, national security and a strong national defense.

The "VFW History" traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service: Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension for them, and they were left to care for themselves.

In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed organizations with what would become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. After chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania, the movement quickly gained momentum.

By 1915, membership grew to 5,000; by 1936, membership was almost 200,000. Since then, the VFW's voice had been instrumental in establishing the Veterans Administration, creating a GI bill for the 20th century, the development of the national cemetery system and the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange and for veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome.

The VFW also has fought for improving VA medical centers services for women veterans. Besides helping fund the creation of the Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and Women in Military Service memorials, the VFW in 2005 became the first veterans' organization to contribute to building the new Disabled Veterans for Life Memorial, which opened in 2010 in Washington, D.C.

In 2001, VFW unveiled its tribute to service and country with its dedication of Centennial Plaza. Annually, VFW members and its Auxiliary contribute more than 13 million hours of volunteerism in the community, including participation in Make A Difference Day and National Volunteer Week.

From providing $2.5 million in college scholarships to high school students every year to encouraging elevation of the Veterans Administration to the president's cabinet, the VFW is there--honoring the dead by helping the living. The VFW History is in the making.

No One Does More For Veterans.