Photo by MICHAEL P. MAUER special to Alachua County Today

ALACHUA COUNTY – Veterans of Foreign Wars Alachua County Post 2811 got some good news recently. On May 8, the post and its auxiliary were met by officials from the economic development office of the City of Gainesville, and told that the veteran organization’s home is marked safe for a planned development at Citizens Field.

“It was certainly good to hear directly from the city what the plans are,” said VFW Post 2811 Quartermaster Avery Owen, a retired master sergeant with the 3rd Bn, 20th Special Forces Group of the Florida Army National Guard. “We were concerned about how much input we were going to have and what consequences this project would have on the post.”

A few weeks ago, the post was told by the City that all or some of its property might be required for a proposed 36-acre Citizens Field revitalization project. Concerns were compounded when the City sent a state-certified general real estate appraiser to the post home in March. The value noted for the post’s nearly five acres and building was $950,000.

“The City was just preparing to give us some options,” Owen said. “The choice our members and auxiliary prefer is for the post to stay put – and for our mission to help veterans in Alachua County to continue.”

“No money is worth the price of more than 90 years of valor by our local service members and community service to our veterans,” the quartermaster added.

Officials did emphasize that the City may need temporary use of some post property as part of the construction process. The main building and parking lot, however, would remain unscathed.

“We’re looking forward to this partnership,” said Owen. “It’ll be a win for everybody in the community.”

So for now, it seems VFW Post 2811 is out of the crosshairs. The May 8 meeting gave some insight to how the history of the VFW here will look in the near future.

And that history here has been a long one. World War II was still going on when the landmark property on Northeast Waldo Road was secured by a group of veterans in Gainesville, Fla. Guaranteed by then Mayor-Commissioner Fred M. Cone — the namesake of Gainesville’s park on East University Avenue — a deed was filed and recorded in Alachua County for VFW Post 2811on May 22, 1945.

Post trustees Mervin McGilvray, Roy L. Holder and Louis Pennisi paid $10 to the City of Gainesville for a five-acre property that was used 80 years ago as a municipal dump. The expansion was sorely needed. During and after World War II, the post underwent tremendous growth as Alachua County veterans from this conflict joined the VFW. Likely inspired by the proud tradition founded a few years earlier when the unit was mustered in May 21, 1933, the new members swelled the ranks so quickly that the post was forced to find larger quarters.

Soon after the land was purchased, the trustees and post leadership improved the property with a building. As membership grew, a larger post home was needed, and the VFW on Northeast Waldo Road was expanded, renovated, and expanded and renovated again.

Through the years, many of the older veterans from World War II passed, and the size of the United States military shrank from more than 16 million uniformed personnel who served in that conflict to fewer than one-and-one-half million today. From this smaller pool of combat veterans to draw from, VFW Post 2811 currently has about 200 members on its roster. These veterans range in age from their early 30s who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to centenarians who deployed in World War II. Scores of other members served in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, in the Caribbean and Central America, as well as the Middle East.

Despite these changes, VFW Post 2811’s good work of honoring those who served by helping the living continues to be recognized. Several times over its long history, Alachua County VFW Post 2811 has been selected as an All-State Post. It earned this honor largely on the strength of its community service.

To be selected as an All State Post, VFW Post 2811 members had to accomplish a long list of service-oriented goals outlined by the VFW Department of Florida.

Such good works include supporting student scholarship programs, helping hospitalized veterans, and participating in fund raising to assist the VFW’s network of service officers. It is through this world-wide network of service officers that the VFW directly assists veterans in filing benefit claims, and promotes awareness for veterans’ preference in government employment and educational opportunities.

Also, magazines, periodicals, podcasts and social media messages produced by the VFW on the state and national levels regularly inform members about the myriad of services and benefits available to eligible veterans. Former service members in the VFW receive steady, up-to-date information not only about current benefits, but legislative efforts by veterans service organizations to help those in its ranks.

All of these services are provided free of cost — regardless if veterans can qualify for full VFW membership or not.

For the moment, VFW Post 2811’s building, two armored fighting vehicles, flag poles, monuments and military memorabilia stretching from World War II to the present day are safe. With its future more certain, Quartermaster Owen expressed relief about the unit’s ongoing mission to help local veterans.

“As long as a veteran is in need, we want to be here to help,” he said.

Those interested in VFW Post 2811 and its activities can call 352-376-7660.

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Michael P. Mauer is a life member of VFW Post 2811. He served as an Army photojournalist during Operation Desert Storm, and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal by Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf for his actions during the war. This past year, Mauer won the Silver Award for top feature article in the VFW National Publications Contest.

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