Department of Oklahoma

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO ADDRESS VFW CONVENTION

WASHINGTON (Aug. 9, 2007) – Four top-tier presidential candidates have accepted invitations to speak to the 108th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., which starts Aug. 18 in the hometown of the VFW’s national headquarters, Kansas City, Mo. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ) are scheduled to speak Aug. 20, and former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will speak Aug. 21. “This is the candidates’ opportunity to address the national convention of America’s oldest and largest organization of combat veterans,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Gary Kurpius, from Anchorage, Alaska. “In our audience will be veterans from every war since World War II," said Kurpius, who served in the Army in Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive. “We want to know how, if elected to our nation’s highest office, they will prosecute the war on terrorism. We want to know how they will protect America, what their positions are on national security, military readiness and homeland security, and how they will enhance military and veteran healthcare programs, increase benefits, and expand Quality of Life initiatives.” According to three USA Today/CNN/Gallup polls during the 2004 presidential election, America’s veterans were politically aligned 47 percent Republican and 42 percent Democrat, and ideologically, were exactly even at 43 percent each between moderate and conservative. More important, according to an earlier VFW magazine survey, is that 91 percent of veterans vote in presidential elections, compared to a national average of 64 percent during the 2004 election, and 60 percent in the 2000 election. “If you include spouses and adult-age children, the nation’s veteran family approaches 75 million Americans,” explained Kurpius. “A quarter of the entire population of the United States is a voting bloc that absolutely cannot be ignored by any politician at any level.” The VFW was founded in 1899 by Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection veterans who came home to a government that bore no responsibility to care for their wounds or for their families. Since then, the VFW has been the top champion of military and veterans’ rights on Capitol Hill. Approximately 10,000 VFW and Ladies Auxiliary delegates will represent the 2.3 million-member organization at the annual weeklong convention to approve new national priorities to guide the organization as it lobbies Congress on issues important to the nation’s 24 million veterans, her two million servicemembers, and their families. Convention delegates will also elect a new VFW national commander and recognize prominent individuals for their support of America’s veterans and military personnel. .