Levelland Assistant City Manager Justin Balderas is currently working to reestablish a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post in Levelland. The post will give veterans a place to connect with and support each other.
The next organizational meeting will be held on July 17 at 6 p.m. at the Levelland Fire Station.
According to their website, VFW started in 1899 when veterans of the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection came together “to secure rights and benefits for their service.” Now it provides a community for veterans to serve and help each other.
“It is a place to come together for camaraderie and be able to talk to someone who has to been in the same situation,” District 9 Commander for the Department of Texas VFW Todd Hokanson said. “For me, if I hadn’t been in the VFW, I wouldn’t be talking today.”
As well as helping veterans, VFWs hold activities and give back to the community. There was a VFW in Levelland in the 1940s, but it was disbanded. Many members in Levelland currently go to Lubbock posts.
To establish a VFW post, there must be 25 eligible members, 10 of whom have never been in the VFW before. An application is submitted to the Department of Texas VFW, and the national headquarters gives approval to give the post a number. In Levelland, they hope to name the new post with the same name as the original post, which honors a fallen veteran.
After a post has been approved, they appoint officers and can start meetings. Once the post is established, they can also make an auxiliary post for veterans’ family members. Auxiliary posts work with VFW members to give scholarships, hold events and do other community projects.
To be eligible for VFW membership, a person must have given or be giving honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States. Also, the person must have given “Service in a war, campaign or expedition on foreign soil or in hostile waters,” according to the VFW website.
Hokanson said the VFW advocates for all veterans, regardless of membership. The Levelland post will be mentored by the Lubbock post, and they are hoping to start in August. Lubbock veteran Benny Guerrero Jr. was recently named the 2026-2027 State Commander for the Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). For the local Lubbock VFW Post 2466, Air Force veteran Sarah Weedy serves as the Post Commander, leading a team of local post officers.
For more information, contact Todd Hokanson at (785) 263-7321 or Justin Balderas at (806) 470-7778 o r jbalderas@levellandtexas.org.