Veterans returning home from active duty have a variety of resources to turn to for support while reentering civilian life. Until the 1970s, those who fought overseas frequently found what they needed at their local VFW post. Local chapters of the nationwide fraternal organization have struggled in recent decades, but Bloomington’s Post 454 is committed to meeting the moment and supporting veterans of all generations.
“In World War II, Korea, Vietnam, when you got done, your mental health was you go to the VFW, you drink beer and you talk to the other veterans there,” said Del Saam, coordinator of the 11th Judicial Circuit’s Veterans Treatment Court, which provides alternatives to incarceration and traditional probation for veterans involved in the criminal justice system. Part of the court’s program is to steer participants toward healthier ways to cope.
Post 454 was first chartered May 15, 1920, and has been in the same South Bloomington building since 1972. Quartermaster Jim Waters, a 20-year U.S. Army vet originally from Tennessee, is aware of the stereotype.
“There’s a stigma about the VFW and probably other veterans groups,” he said. “It’s just a bar—a bunch of old guys drinking and telling war stories. That’s far from the truth. Our war stories are Cubs, Cards, Packers, Bears.”
Most days, one of those old guys is Ron Umbright, a Bloomington native—and a Cardinals fan. Umbright completed two tours of Vietnam in the Navy [MCB4, to be exact], primarily responsible for construction projects. He put those skills to use at the VFW, helping the post with maintenance and janitorial work.
Veteran of Foreign Wars [VFW] membership is available to active-duty military and veterans who served honorably during overseas conflicts. On any given day, a few regulars socialize at the bar, while on the opposite side of the room, people file in for lunch at Nom Nom Noodle, which rents the post’s kitchen.
Thinking outside the box
Waters said Nom Nom is the third restaurant to operate from Post 454; it’s where Pop-Up Chicken got their start. And it's one way they’re thinking outside the box to keep the doors open.
“We are getting more younger veterans in, but we also understand that they’re unique family life right now is different from ours,” he said. “We’re older. The older generation, we don’t have kids at home. As those younger veterans age, they’re going to need a place to go. That’s the reason we’re doing everything we can here to keep this post open and keep it available.”
Waters said Post 454 has 443 members, mostly aged 50-80. Family members are part of a VFW auxiliary totaling about 350 members. The VFW hosts fundraisers and events—known for their Halloween bash and “feather parties,” so-called because back in the day, prizes included live poultry stored out back.
Though the VFW is a membership-based fraternal organization, Post 454 has chosen to invite the public in to meet veterans. Money raised helps pay for scholarships, assistance funds and advocacy initiatives once the basic bills are paid. Waters said in addition to their own events, they contribute to other Twin City service organizations and veterans’ initiatives.
To engage younger veterans looking for ways to stay active, the VFW partners with Outdoor Veterans for its annual Ruck March, tied to suicide-prevention efforts. Last month’s fourth edition, a 7-mile trek with gear starting and ending at Post 454, was tied to a food drive, delivering more than 1500 pounds of nonperishable items to Midwest Food Bank.
“We help support the homeless veterans at Home Sweet Home Mission. We help support anything the Salvation Army needs for the veterans are there. We have our own program, Veterans in Distress—occasionally, we get veterans that come in, their care brakes down, they need gas, they need a hotel. They have no place to go, so we work with other agencies to help them get off the streets,” Waters said.
The post has also opened its space to other veterans organizations for meetings, including AMVETS, Central Illinois Leathernecks and Disabled American Veterans Chapter 60. Post 635 of American Legion, which is open to all service members and based out of a second-floor office in Uptown Normal, will start having its meetings in the VFW’s larger, more accessible space.
“We’re doing everything we can to get these younger guys in,” he said. “Like the Ruck March. We’ve got a 5K run we do every year. We try to get our younger members involved in that. We try to get their families in. We have to appeal to their civic-minded community support.”
And for those veterans who still find deep value in face-to-face connections over a bottle of beer, the bar is serving—and Ron Umbright is probably there.
“VFW’s important for all veterans, especially the younger ones coming in,” he said. “To guide them and help get settled in.”
Umbright said veterans who served in more recent conflicts like Afghanistan have had it tough.
“They have so many different problems to deal with like land mines and IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and stuff we never had in Vietnam,” he said. “Over there it was pretty much down to earth fighting. Today, it’s a whole different ball game. I wouldn’t want to be in the service today with what these guys have to deal with.”
