Defiant VFW Post Wins Reinstatement

A rebellious post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars that opposed U.S. military policy in Latin America has won an out-of-court settlement in its battle against being suspended.

National leaders agreed Tuesday to reinstate the post’s charter and appoint two members to key national positions.

In return, the tiny post agreed not to voice its opposition to national VFW policy “as a post” but maintained the right to disagree “as members,” said Post 5888 Cmdr. Richard Anderson.

Billy Ray Cameron, commander-in-chief of the 2.2-million-member organization, and Anderson issued a joint statement announcing the out-of-court settlement of a suit the post had filed after it was suspended March 17.

Rights of Members

Cameron said in the statement that the VFW “acknowledges and encourages the rights of their members to express their feelings and beliefs as members of the VFW. Post 5888 agrees to refrain from stating positions as a post contrary to the lawful orders and resolutions adopted by the post.”

“We made a settlement without anybody getting mud on their faces,” post attorney Eric Schenk said. “We got more than we could have dreamed about getting even with a court victory.”

Under the agreement, reached on the second day of trial of the suit, the VFW agreed to pay for two members of Post 5888 to fly to the national convention in Dallas this year and sit on the national bylaws committee and the foreign policy committee.

“This little post in Santa Cruz, among thousands in the United States, now will have representatives on two important committees,” Schenk said.

Will Print Retractions

The VFW also promised to print retractions in national and state VFW magazines of statements suggesting that post members were aligned with Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista government.

The fight began April 4, 1984, when the post adopted a resolution opposing U.S. military policy in Latin America and calling for a policy of non-involvement.

The national VFW later adopted a resolution calling for “American primacy” in Latin America and endorsing military involvement in the region.

On Dec. 28, a member of the Santa Cruz post took its resolution to Nicaragua and gave it to a member of the Sandinista government “to show that not all veterans agree with the Reagan Administration,” according to Anderson.

The VFW suspended the post’s charter for 60 days on Jan. 16 and then revoked the charter on March 17, leading to the post’s lawsuit.