VFW Auxiliary — the family's own membership
Most families never hear this: if your veteran is eligible for the VFW, you are probably eligible for the VFW Auxiliary — in your own name, with your own membership — whether your veteran is living or has already died. It is the VFW's organization for the family itself.
- Founded: 1914
- Status: The auxiliary organization of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (the VFW is congressionally chartered; the Auxiliary states no separate charter)
- Headquarters: Kansas City, Missouri
- Size: “nearly 480,000 members” (the Auxiliary’s own figure)
- Website: vfwauxiliary.org
Who can join — stated exactly
Members must be citizens of the United States or U.S. nationals, and at least 16 years old. You qualify through your relationship to a veteran who was or is eligible for VFW membership (honorable overseas service recognized by a campaign medal). The eligible relationships are:
Husband/Wife · Widower/Widow · Father/Mother · Grandfathers/Grandmothers · Sons/Daughters · Grandsons/Granddaughters · Brothers/Sisters of the eligible veteran.
The veteran may be living or deceased. Step- and adopted parents, children, and siblings — and half-siblings — count the same as biological family, as do step- and adopted grandparents and grandchildren. Proof of the veteran’s qualifying service (such as a DD-214) is required when you join.
Read that list against this site’s readers: the spouse who kept the house running, the son or daughter who became the caregiver, the parent, the brother or sister. That is who this organization is for.
What it does
The Auxiliary runs national programs in its own name — Veterans & Family Support, Hospital (volunteers inside the VA medical system), Legislative (helping the VFW pass or block legislation affecting veterans and their families), Americanism, the Buddy® Poppy program, and youth scholarships, among others. It has no claims service of its own — claims help runs through the VFW’s service officers, who serve families free whether anyone joins or not.
How a family uses it
- Join at vfwauxiliary.org/join-us (also linked from vfw.org).
- Eligibility questions: info@vfwauxiliary.org · (816) 561-8655.
Eligibility language is drawn from the VFW Auxiliary's own published FAQ and membership materials (vfwauxiliary.org), checked October 2026. The Auxiliary's own site governs. Corrections: care@bowmanwebservices.com.