World War Veterans - History

History

The WWV established a "Northwestern Division" prior to January 1919 at a meeting held in Minneapolis. Anyone having an honorable discharge from the US or Allied powers was eligible for membership.

Further articles of incorporation were filed in New York on December 12, 1919 by merging the original World War Veterans with the Rank and File Association and the Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines Protective Association of New York into one organization.

The WWV does not seem to have had a constitution in its earliest phase, but was based around an organizational "preamble":

The World War Veterans are strictly non-partisan. For the love of our country and humanity, we, returned Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines who served in the Entente Allies during the World War, 1914-1919, are uniting ourselves into one great fraternal organization for the mutual protection of our rights, advancements of interests, promotion of our welfare, for the fostering and aiding of our cordial, social, and fraternal relationship among our members. To secure forever the blessings of Liberty, equality, justice, and peace to ourselves and all our fellow citizens in the United States of America.

The slogan of the World War Veterans was: "The enforcement of the Constitution of the United States of America as it is written, and in the spirit of its founders."

The primary unit of the WWV was known as a "Post," consisting of 10 or more ex-service men. Charters were obtained from state headquarters for $5, and the Post was responsible for sending per capita dues of 10 cents each month to state headquarters. Individual ex-servicemen could join as "members at large" by sending in $1 to national headquarters, including a 25 cent initiation fee and 3 months dues at 25 cents per month.

From about January 1920, the group also had an Auxiliary which was open to the general public, open to anyone wishing to become a member who believed in "Enforcement of the Constitution of the United States as it is written."

The auxiliaries of the World War Veterans had three basic organizational rules: (1) No religious subjects must be discussed at meetings. (2) No political party will receive the endorsement of the group. (3) All speakers must confine their utterances within the limits as guaranteed by the constitution of the United States as it is written. All members of the regular WWV organization were to automatically be enrolled as members of the WWV Auxiliary, and the Auxiliaries were to meet on different nights than the regular WWV Post. Dues in the WWV Auxiliary were $1 per year.