New Mexico Veterans Posts

About Veterans Organizations in New Mexico

A deep look at the history, oldest posts, membership process, and notable veterans connected to New Mexico.

History of Veterans Organizations in New Mexico

The New Mexico Department of The American Legion was chartered in 1919, only seven years after New Mexico achieved statehood in 1912, and the Department's history reflects the state's unique blend of frontier military tradition, atomic-era science and testing, and multicultural Hispano, Native American, and Anglo veteran communities. New Mexico sent more than 17,000 men into uniform during World War I, including the famous 'Bilingual Battalion' of the 144th Infantry whose Spanish-speaking riflemen were drawn heavily from northern New Mexico villages and pueblos. Returning veterans organized rapidly: by the close of 1919 dozens of New Mexico communities had filed for Legion charters, and the Department of New Mexico established its headquarters in Santa Fe, the state capital, where it remains. New Mexico's Legion culture has always reflected the state's tri-cultural heritage, with many small posts in northern New Mexico operating partly in Spanish and with strong Native American post participation in the western counties.

World War II brought New Mexico into the global spotlight through both extreme tragedy and historic scientific achievement. The New Mexico National Guard's 200th Coast Artillery Regiment, deployed to the Philippines in 1941, suffered catastrophic losses in the fall of Bataan and the subsequent Bataan Death March; nearly half of the unit's roughly 1,800 men died as Japanese prisoners of war, and the survivors who returned in 1945 reshaped New Mexico Legion life for the next half-century. The Manhattan Project at Los Alamos produced the world's first atomic weapons; the Trinity test on July 16, 1945 took place at the White Sands Proving Ground, and many of the military service members who participated in the test and its aftermath went on to be classified as 'atomic veterans' whose service-connected exposure became a long-running advocacy issue for New Mexico Legion and VFW posts. White Sands Missile Range, Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, and the various Department of Energy facilities have continued to make New Mexico one of the most militarily and scientifically significant states.

The Department maintains close ties to the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque, named for the Korean War Medal of Honor recipient.

Oldest and Most Historic Posts in New Mexico

New Mexico's oldest American Legion posts include several with 1919 or 1920 charters. Santa Fe Post 1 in the state capital holds the earliest charter and has been continuously active for more than a century. Albuquerque Post 13 grew alongside the city to become the largest post in the state, and Las Cruces Post 10, Roswell Post 28, and Carlsbad Post 7 all hold pre-1925 charters. Bataan Memorial Post 4 and other 200th Coast Artillery commemorative posts emerged after World War II to honor the New Mexico National Guard members who suffered through the Bataan Death March, and these posts continue to host annual Bataan Memorial March observances; the actual Bataan Memorial Death March is held annually at White Sands Missile Range and draws thousands of military and civilian participants.

Smaller posts in Taos, Las Vegas (New Mexico), Silver City, Raton, and Lordsburg hold early charters and continue to anchor their communities. Northern New Mexico has a particularly distinctive set of small posts in towns like Espanola, Mora, and Tierra Amarilla, where Hispano veteran families have maintained continuous post membership for four or five generations. Native American posts on or near the Navajo Nation, the Pueblo communities, and the Mescalero Apache Reservation have similarly long histories. Smaller-town posts in Deming, Gallup, Farmington, Hobbs, Ruidoso, and Socorro hold pre-1925 charters and continue to anchor their communities.

Several New Mexico Legion halls occupy distinctive Pueblo Revival or Territorial-style buildings of historical significance, and many host town meetings, scout troops, polling, and youth sports leagues alongside veteran membership programming.

VFW Posts in New Mexico: A Closer Look

The Veterans of Foreign Wars came to New Mexico in the years after World War I, with the Department growing rapidly during the WWII and post-WWII period as overseas combat veterans returned. The Bataan veterans gave the New Mexico VFW Department a distinctive identity, and the survivors of the Death March became some of the most active VFW members in the state through the rest of their lives. Today the New Mexico VFW maintains posts across the state with concentrations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and the cities adjacent to the major military installations: Clovis (Cannon AFB), Alamogordo (Holloman AFB), and Roswell. The Department headquarters operates in Santa Fe and runs strong Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen programs.

Department service officers coordinate with the Albuquerque VA, the El Paso VA system (which serves southern New Mexico), and community-based outpatient clinics across the state. New Mexico VFW posts have been particularly active in atomic veteran and downwinder advocacy, given the state's unique role in the nuclear age. The Department's annual encampment rotates among the larger New Mexico cities and consistently draws delegations from every region of the state. New Mexico VFW posts have particularly strong programming for Hispano and Native American veterans, reflecting the Department's tri-cultural heritage.

AMVETS, DAV, and Other Veterans Organizations in New Mexico

AMVETS established a Department of New Mexico in the post-WWII period, and AMVETS posts cluster in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and the cities adjacent to the major Air Force bases. The Disabled American Veterans Department of New Mexico is particularly robust given the high concentration of service-connected disability claims tied to atomic testing, downwinder exposure, and the long Bataan POW experience. DAV chapters operate transportation networks that bring veterans from rural northern and eastern New Mexico to the Albuquerque VA Medical Center, often a journey of several hundred miles. The Department coordinates with the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services and with the New Mexico State Veterans Home in Truth or Consequences, the only state veterans home in the state.

New Mexico AMVETS and DAV chapters work closely with the Bataan veterans' surviving family members, the downwinders' advocacy networks, and the Native veterans' service offices on the Navajo Nation and the various Pueblo communities. The Department also runs joint claims clinics with Legion and VFW posts in rural counties where private benefits help is otherwise unavailable. The Department of New Mexico AMVETS coordinates with the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services on programming for older veterans.

New Mexico Veterans Posts by the Numbers

New Mexico is home to approximately 145,000 to 160,000 veterans, with a high per-capita rate reflecting the state's deep military tradition and the presence of multiple major installations. The American Legion Department of New Mexico oversees roughly 100 to 130 chartered posts. The VFW Department maintains a comparable network. New Mexico operates the New Mexico State Veterans Home in Truth or Consequences.

The Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque is the state's flagship VA facility, supplemented by community-based outpatient clinics in Las Cruces, Roswell, Farmington, and elsewhere. The state's military installation footprint includes White Sands Missile Range, Holloman AFB, Cannon AFB, and Kirtland AFB, all of which produce a steady flow of new veterans. New Mexico's veteran population includes a notable concentration of Native American veterans, particularly from the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo communities, whose per-capita military service rates are among the highest in the country.

The state's veteran-friendly tax provisions and outdoor recreation opportunities make New Mexico a notable retirement destination.

How to Join a Veterans Post in New Mexico

Membership in a New Mexico American Legion post follows national eligibility rules, broadened by the LEGION Act of 2019. New Mexico posts have an unusually multicultural character, with many northern New Mexico posts operating partly in Spanish and with strong Native American membership in posts near the pueblos and the Navajo Nation. The Sons of The American Legion is robust statewide and the American Legion Riders maintain very active chapters with strong participation in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March and Run for the Wall. The Auxiliary runs New Mexico Girls State and the Department runs New Mexico Boys State.

Joining a New Mexico post is straightforward, and many posts welcome dual or triple membership across Legion, VFW, and DAV. The Department's Land of Enchantment Boys State and Girls State are flagship summer leadership programs held annually on New Mexico college campuses. The Department also runs robust youth oratorical contests, baseball teams, and shooting sports programs through New Mexico's network of post-sponsored youth organizations. New Mexico's American Legion Riders chapters maintain particularly strong participation in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands and in the Run for the Wall, with riders departing from California each May and arriving at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington over the Memorial Day weekend.

Notable New Mexico Veterans in History

New Mexico's veteran legacy is exceptionally distinguished. Hiroshi 'Hershey' Miyamura of Gallup received the Medal of Honor for actions in Korea and was a longtime fixture of New Mexico veterans' organizations. Raymond G. Murphy of Albuquerque received the Medal of Honor in Korea, and the Albuquerque VA Medical Center bears his name.

Senator Pete Domenici did not serve in combat but was a lifelong veterans-services advocate. Senator Jeff Bingaman served in the Army Reserve. The Bataan veterans of the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment include numerous decorated survivors whose stories have been preserved by the Department through oral histories and the annual memorial march. Code Talker veterans of the Navajo Nation, including Chester Nez (the last surviving original Navajo Code Talker, who died in 2014), are honored throughout New Mexico.

The state has produced Medal of Honor recipients in every major conflict, and many of their names are preserved in posts and community memorials. Ben Kuroki, the Nebraska-born Japanese-American B-24 gunner of WWII, lived part of his life in New Mexico and was honored at multiple state veterans' events. New Mexico's contemporary post-9/11 veterans include numerous deployed members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 200th Infantry Battalion, whose unit lineage descends directly from the Bataan-era 200th Coast Artillery, providing a powerful continuity of unit identity from World War II to the present.

Frequently Asked Questions: New Mexico Veterans Posts

Sources & Further Reading

• https://www.nmlegion.org
• https://www.legion.org
• https://www.vfw.org
• https://www.nmdvs.org
• https://www.va.gov/new-mexico-health-care/