HISTORY OF THE WISE COUNTY VETERANS GROUP

Our Statement: “We have served at different times, different places, different conditions, different branches of service, different religions, different political views and yet we all have a common bond. We respect our Nation, our Military Service and our Flag. We know that every one of us feels a sense of National Pride when our Flag is presented, when the National Anthem is played, when the Pledge of Allegiance is spoken and we feel sorrow when ‘Taps’ is played at the graveside of a comrade.”

With this as part of their oath, on January 19,2000, the founding members of the Wise County Veterans Group set down their purposes and gave their signatures to the original bylaws of the organization. On February 22, 2005, the WCVG became registered as a non-profit corporation with filing number 800456641.

The aging of the greatest numbers of American veterans in our history brought about a dramatic rise in their death rates by 1999. World War II and Korea War veterans were passing in numbers far beyond the abilities of the military to provide them with fitting final services. The promise of a graveside salute and flag presentation by uniformed service personnel became an impossible task for our government to provide.

Across the country, various veterans organizations attempted to fill the gap but in rural areas too often there were not enough personnel to suffice. The need to bid a fitting farewell to our comrades was a burden to patriotic and caring veterans in Wise County and a nucleus of them set about to answering the call. That became the first purpose of the Wise County Veterans group and we have served it with pride, honor and faithful dignity.

The charter members went forth to build an organization around that duty which would be one of camaraderie, enjoyable socializing and simplicity of structure. Those were the defining principles of the Veterans Group then and they serve us well today. There is no secret to our success today as the largest civic group in Wise County. We were bonded together in our youth...we identify with that bond today. We respect each other and enjoy the companionship that comes with it that always has reminiscences of our military days, regardless of rank, status or branch of service.

That premise, we trust, holds true to what the founding members expected of us and shall be passed in good faith to all who survive us in the stewardship of the

Wise County Veterans Group, God willing.

Manshadow Waylett
WCVG Historian

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