New York Veterans Posts

About Veterans Organizations in New York

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

History of Veterans Organizations in New York

The New York Department of The American Legion was chartered in 1919 and quickly became, and remains, one of the largest and most historically significant Legion departments in the United States. New York sent more than 367,000 men into uniform during World War I, the largest state contingent in the country, drawn from the immigrant communities of New York City, the industrial cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany, and the farming communities of upstate. The Department of New York established early headquarters in Albany, where it remains today, and developed a Legion culture as diverse as the state itself: Italian-American, Irish-American, Jewish, Polish, German-American, and African-American posts proliferated in the 1920s, in some cases reflecting linguistic communities and in others reflecting the segregated patterns of pre-civil rights America. Many New York posts had distinctive ethnic or neighborhood identities that persisted for generations.

World War II brought New York into the war effort on an enormous scale: the Brooklyn Navy Yard built scores of major warships, including the USS Missouri (on whose deck the Japanese surrender was signed in Tokyo Bay), the New York Naval Shipyard at Staten Island and the Bayonne Annex (just across the harbor in New Jersey but heavily staffed by New Yorkers) handled vast volumes of war shipping, and West Point produced generations of Army officers. Camp Drum (later Fort Drum) in northern New York grew into one of the principal Army training installations on the East Coast, today home to the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). The Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh Air Force Bases operated through the Cold War. Korean and Vietnam-era veterans, often returning to a fast-changing New York City, fortified post membership through the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Post-9/11 service has produced the most recent generation of post members, and the September 11 attacks themselves transformed New York Legion culture: many New York City posts hold annual September 11 memorial observances and have erected memorials to first responders and to the more than 7,000 service members who died in the post-9/11 wars.

Oldest and Most Historic Posts in New York

New York's oldest American Legion posts include numerous 1919 charters, and the state's archive of historic post halls is unmatched in the country. Manhattan's Pershing Square Post 357 holds an early charter and has long been a flagship Manhattan post. Brooklyn's Kings County Post 1 was among the very first chartered in the state. Roosevelt Post 1 in Oyster Bay was named for Theodore Roosevelt and his son Quentin (killed in aerial combat in France in 1918) and remains a distinguished historic post.

Albany Post 6, Buffalo Post 7, Rochester Post 5, and Syracuse Post 41 all hold pre-1925 charters. The Frederick Douglass Memorial Post 1628 in Harlem (chartered for African-American veterans in an era of segregation) is among the historic posts that documented the experiences of Black World War I and World War II veterans. Fiorello LaGuardia Post 1198 in East Harlem was chartered in honor of the future New York mayor (himself a WWI Army Air Service veteran). Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and the upstate counties have hundreds of posts with charters from the early 1920s.

Several New York posts occupy buildings of architectural significance, including former mansions, historic theaters, and purpose-built Legion halls of distinctive design. The Department's archives in Albany preserve original 1919 charter documents and post correspondence from the founding era. Many New York Legion halls have been continuously occupied for a century and serve as community gathering places far beyond their veteran membership, hosting scout troops, polling, youth sports leagues, and community fundraisers alongside their core programming. Several historically Italian-American, Irish-American, Polish-American, and Jewish-American posts in New York City retain distinctive ethnic-community programming that traces directly to their 1920s charters.

VFW Posts in New York: A Closer Look

The Veterans of Foreign Wars came to New York early; some of the original VFW posts that consolidated into the modern national organization in 1914 were New York-based. The Department of New York VFW grew rapidly through World War I and World War II, becoming one of the largest VFW Departments in the country. New York VFW posts cluster densely in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and around the upstate cities and military installations including Fort Drum and West Point. The Department headquarters operates in Albany.

New York VFW posts have particular density in Italian, Irish, Polish, and Jewish neighborhoods of New York City and Buffalo, reflecting the city's century-old veteran ethnic geography. The Department runs strong Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen programs that send New York winners to the national level regularly. Department service officers work with the major VA medical centers in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Northport (Long Island), the Hudson Valley, Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, and the upstate clinics that serve the rural and Adirondack regions of the state. The Department's annual encampment is one of the largest in the country, drawing thousands of delegates from posts across all five boroughs, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and upstate.

AMVETS, DAV, and Other Veterans Organizations in New York

AMVETS established a Department of New York shortly after the organization's national founding in 1944, drawing on the enormous WWII veteran population. AMVETS posts cluster across New York City and the metropolitan area, with significant upstate presence in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. The Department is particularly active in scholarship and Americanism programs and runs major fundraising events. The Disabled American Veterans Department of New York is one of the largest DAV departments in the country, with chapters across all five boroughs and every upstate region.

New York DAV is particularly active in 9/11 first responder advocacy (many of whom served in the National Guard and Reserves and qualified for DAV membership through deployment-related service connections), in Agent Orange advocacy for Vietnam veterans, and in burn pit and post-9/11 toxic exposure work. The Department coordinates with the New York State Division of Veterans' Services, headquartered in Albany. New York DAV's chapter network is among the most active in the country, handling tens of thousands of claims annually and operating an extensive transportation network that brings veterans to VA medical centers and specialty appointments across the state.

New York Veterans Posts by the Numbers

New York is home to approximately 700,000 to 750,000 veterans, placing it among the largest states by total veteran population. The American Legion Department of New York oversees more than 800 chartered posts and a six-figure membership total, ranking it consistently among the top five departments nationally and historically among the very largest. The VFW Department maintains a comparably massive post network. New York operates five state veterans homes (in Batavia, Long Island/Stony Brook, Montrose, Oxford, and St.

Albans/Queens). The state's VA medical center system is one of the largest in the country and includes facilities in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Northport, Castle Point, Montrose, Albany, Syracuse, Bath, Canandaigua, and Buffalo, supplemented by dozens of community-based outpatient clinics. Fort Drum remains the largest military installation in the Northeast and produces a continual flow of new veterans, while West Point continues to commission Army officers each spring. New York's veteran population includes a particularly diverse mix of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 era service members, and the state's New York City posts operate in extraordinary linguistic and cultural diversity.

How to Join a Veterans Post in New York

Membership in a New York American Legion post follows national eligibility rules, broadened by the LEGION Act of 2019. New York posts span the full spectrum of American military experience, from World War II survivors (whose numbers are diminishing each year but who remain the spiritual core of many posts) to post-9/11 veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the global counterterrorism campaigns. New York City posts operate in extraordinary linguistic diversity, with multilingual member outreach common. The Sons of The American Legion is robust statewide, the Auxiliary runs New York Girls State, and the Department runs New York Boys State, both flagship leadership programs held annually.

The American Legion Riders maintain very active chapters across the state, with major participation in Run for the Wall and other national rides. Joining a New York post is straightforward, and many posts offer reduced first-year dues for newly separating service members from Fort Drum and other installations. The Department's youth programs include shooting sports, oratorical contests, Boys State, Girls State, and a robust Legion Baseball program that has produced many of the most successful amateur teams in the Northeast over the past century. New York posts also coordinate with the West Point Society alumni networks and with the state's National Guard programs to integrate transitioning service members into civilian veteran life.

Notable New York Veterans in History

New York's veteran legacy is unsurpassed in scope. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President, organized and led the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War; his son Quentin was killed in aerial combat in France in World War I, and Roosevelt Post 1 in Oyster Bay honors both. Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not serve in uniform but as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I and as Commander-in-Chief during World War II remained closely tied to veterans' affairs. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

landed with the first wave at Utah Beach on D-Day and received the Medal of Honor posthumously. Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of World War II, made his postwar home partly in Texas but was honored at New York Legion events for decades. New York City has produced an enormous list of Medal of Honor recipients across every conflict from the Civil War to the post-9/11 wars. Senator John McCain, although later associated with Arizona, was born at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station and had New York-area family ties.

Colin Powell, born in Harlem and raised in the South Bronx, served as a Vietnam combat infantry officer, rose to General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and served as Secretary of State; his Harlem origins and Vietnam service made him a beloved figure in New York Legion circles. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka were senators from Hawaii, but New York's own senatorial veterans include Robert F. Kennedy (Naval service in WWII), Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Navy WWII), and others. The state has produced thousands of distinguished veterans whose names are preserved in post halls and community memorials across the five boroughs and the upstate counties.

Frequently Asked Questions: New York Veterans Posts

Sources & Further Reading

• https://www.nylegion.org
• https://www.legion.org
• https://www.vfwny.com
• https://veterans.ny.gov
• https://www.va.gov/directory/guide/state.asp?STATE=NY