One of the many ways the Veterans of Foreign Wars 4055 brings local veterans and members of the community together is their open house barbecue.
An annual event, this year’s’ barbecue will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12 at the old Lion’s Club building on 4th and North Street, by the Platte City Cemetery.
“This is an annual event we hold every year that just started two years before COVID as a way to invite the community to meet and greet the members of the Post,” Bob Munsey, post quartermaster said. “The person that started the event was our old commander, Scott Znamenancek. Comrade Bill Prost will be the Grill Sergeant for this year’s BBQ, assisted by grill partner, Russell Martin.”
Munsey served in the United States Army just over 26 and a half years on active duty before he retired.
“The VFW is a great way to bond with other veterans, Munsey said. “Gone are the old days of smoky VFW bars. The VFW now is an organization of advocacy, interested in helping veterans and their families. We still have the camaraderie at our meetings where we gather to remember the fun and somewhat crazy times of our military service and share a meal with our members.”
The upcoming event on Saturday will provide food and soft drinks for the community to enjoy. The VFW members will provide information on what the Veterans of Foreign Wars is and what members do in the community. There will also be a Prisoner of War and Missing in Action display to inform people from the community about the VFW POW/MIA program and how they can support it.
The event usually draws about 20 attendees, but VFW members have looked into new ways to increase participation.
“We came up with providing information on what we do in the community, how we support Veterans in the community, and this year we invited the Veteran Service Officer to give a presentation on Veteran benefits and the PACT Act and how these benefits may help Veterans in the community,” Munsey said.
The PACT ACT is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.
“We also invited the Red Cross to speak, and the VA Outreach to come by and set up information booths to inform the community on what they do in the community,” Munsey said.
He said the VFW Post 4055 in Platte City has 92 members that not too many people know about. “In fact, many Army Veterans from Fort Leavenworth joined the VFW Post in Leavenworth or the large post in Parkville, because they didn’t know we existed,” Munsey said. “That was one of the reasons Scott started the summer BBQ. We get about one to four new members a year in the Post.”
For those who don’t know a lot about the VFW, Munsey said there are many ways the organization helps Veterans and their communities, including fostering camaraderie among Veterans, the military and our communities.
“We advocate on behalf of all Veterans, ensure the care of Veterans and their families and promote patriotism,” Munsey said. “In our community we have in the last five years assisted Veterans with rent assistance, assistance with transportation bills and other emergencies.”
Since Veterans are very self-sufficient, they don’t like to ask for help, so when they do, they usually need help right away to avoid really big problems.
The VFW has connections in the community to get assistance for those Veterans, and if they can’t help them immediately, they can put the Veterans in contact with other people to help them to ensure they receive the assistance they need.
“We host two essay contests every year for the students of Platte County Schools,” Munsey said. “The first is the Patriot’s Pen, which is open to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students in the local community. Home-school students are included too. The student writes a 300 to 400 word essay on the theme of the year and turns it in to our Post by Oct. 31.
This year’s theme is ‘How are you Inspired by America?’ We present the first-, second- and third-place winners awards of $150, $100 and $50.”
The second essay contest is ‘The Voice of Democracy” which is open to ninth-grade through 12th-grade students in the local community, along with home-school students. The student writes an essay on the theme of the year, but must include a 3-5 minute recording of the essay. The essay is judged on originality, content and delivery.
As with the Patriot’s Pen essay contest these Voice of Democracy essays and audio recordings must be turned in to the Post by Oct. 31. This year’s theme is ‘What are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?’
“We present the first-place winner with $300, the second-place award is $200 and third-place winner receives $100, Munsey said. These essay winners go on to District, then State and National and at every stage the winners receive further prizes.”
The VFW Post also supported the Army cannon by the 13-ton anchor from the USS Platte in Platte City and the Memorial by the County Courthouse. VFW 4055 also provides an Honor Guard for Veteran funerals to honor the Veterans when they are interred in their final resting place.
Munsey believes the BBQ is a good way for local residents to show their support and honor the military.
“Stop by and say ‘Hi,’” Munsey said. “Another good way is twice a year we host our Buddy Poppy Drive where we hand out Buddy Poppies to the community. We receive great support from the local Price Chopper to host us in these drives. It is during these drives that we receive donations from the great people of this community that allow our small post to do the Honor Guards for Veteran funerals or help Veterans in need.”
Munsey is most looking forward to the great food at the event and the opportunity to meet the people in the community, and Veterans who live here and continue to serve their country.