VFW District 8 Newsletter
CWO5 Randle M. Tolliver, USN (Ret)
Commander
For veterans in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line's number is "988” then press "1”.
Homebound veterans requiring assistance please contact any member.
Veterans experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, please contact any member or the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.
Buddy Checks! Please call or go visit elderly or homebound veterans and see how they are doing and if they need help.
We, the VFW, are always looking to have veterans who are eligible and want to continue serving our community to join us. If you are interested, please contact any member or post.
Reminders:
The next VFW District 8 meeting will be on 8 February 2026 at VFW Post 2210 in Ste. Genevieve. The address is 852 Memorial Dr, Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670 and the meeting starts at noon. This will also be our Voice of Democracy, Patriots Pen and Teachers of the Year Awards Presentation, and all members are encouraged to attend. There will also be ZOOM access to the meeting at the posts. More information will be provided via Facebook and to the post Commanders.
The next meeting of the VFW Department of Missouri Council of Administration will be held on February 20-21, 2026, at the Resort at Lake of Ozarks 3076 Bagnell Dam Blvd, Lake Ozark Missouri. All members are encouraged to attend.
Road Trip! Please attend the 9 March Veteran’s Legislative Rally at 11 am in the Rotunda at the Capital building in Jefferson City to support the veteran’s community.
For your information:
For severely disabled veterans and service members who are eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Specially Adapted Housing program, the VA has increased building and materials costs grant amounts. This program enables severely disabled veterans and service members to adapt their existing home or build or buy an adapted home. For more information please visit https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/disability-housing-grants/how-to-apply .
Starting now, all VA education beneficiaries, including "Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance” students will be required to verify their enrollment EACH MONTH to receive their benefit payments. This is important, the student MUST VERIFY ENROLLMENT for the before the VA will BEGIN processing your monthly benefit. Once verified, payment processing can take five to seven calendar days. You can learn more about the different enrollment verification methods at https://www.va.gov/education/verify-school-enrollment/#verify-your-enrollment-online or contact your School Certifying Official. You can find their contact information listed at https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool .
Local events:
The time and place of these and local post meetings and other events are provided on each post’s Facebook site; come join us!
Every Tuesday, VFW Post 5331 in Cedar Hill host "Veterans Coffee Talk” at 9 am at 1 Lynn Lane in Cedar Hill. If you have questions or would like more information, please call EverTrue @ (314) 446-2539, Col. (retired) Ted Hodgson @ (314) 221-2096 or Mark Newton @ (636) 222-3521.
Every Wednesday, VFW Post 5896 is hosting an "all-you-can-eat” breakfast at 814 E Karsch Blvd, Farmington. Food service is 7 to 9:30 am and the cost is $8 and children under the age of 10 eat for free.
Every Saturday, VFW Post 1831 is hosting a Shooting Match at 1651 Veterans Dr., DeSoto. Doors open at 10 am, practice at 11 am and shooting starts at noon. Clubroom will open for drinks & appetizers. For more information call (636) 586-9271.
Every 3rd Sunday of each month, VFW Post 6516 in High Ridge will host "Meat Shoot” at 2220 Gravois Rd, High Ridge. Rain or shine, shooting starts at noon. Ages 12 and up are welcome and they provide the shells. Nothing smaller than a .678 choke tube and no scopes, optics, bull barrels. For mor information call (636) 677-1772.
VFW Post 6883 in Bonne Terre will host multiple BB gun shooting contest at 1112 Roe Street in Bonne Terre. The schedule is 1 & 15 February and 1, 15, & 29 March. House guns are available. For more information, call (573) 358-4440.
On 14 February, Bonne Terre VFW Post 6883 is hosting a Valentine's Day Party. Doors open at 6 pm and the party is from 7 to 11 pm. There is no charge for admittance, and it is a cash bar. Music by "Voices.” For more call (573) 358-4440.
Legislative news:
Please support the "Major Richard Star Act” (H.R. 2102 and S. 1032) to fix a decade’s long injustice - over 50,000 medically retired veteran’s Department of War retirement pay is reduced to offset their VA disability compensation. These are fundamentally different benefits, earned for different reasons, yet Congress refuses to act. Please contact Senator Hawley at (202) 224-6154, Senator Schmitt, at (202) 224-5721, and your Congressman / Congresswoman. You can find your congress person at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative .
Please support Missouri veterans. We must fund the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) who manages the seven Missouri Veterans Homes, six cemeteries, and numerous veterans’ programs with a stable funding solution, or these programs are at risk. We need to pass HJR 115 and SJR 88 to provide ‘Disabled Veterans Property Tax and Homestead Exemption” for 100% service-connected disabled veterans. Finally, we need a Missouri law to fight unaccredited companies (Claim Sharks) that prey on veterans through misleading advertising by offering to file VA claims and the charge exorbitant fees for "consulting. Accredited organizations such as VFW, DAV, MVC, and American Legion file for free.
Please contact your senator and representative to voice your support for Missouri Veterans. You can find your representative at https://house.mo.gov/legislatorlookup and your senator at https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup .
Now let us talk a bit about our history:
164 years ago this week, the battles of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River began. The first phase was the attack on Fort Henry, a five-sided, open-bastioned earthen structure commanded by Brigadier General (BG) Lloyd Tilghman and defended by 3,200 men and 17 guns. The fort was designed to stop traffic on the river, not to withstand large-scale infantry assault. Brigadier General Grant's plan was a combined attack with his 15,000 troops, and 7 USN gunboats commanded by Flag Officer (FO) Andrew Hull Foote. BG Grant began landing his two divisions on 4 February 1862, just north of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. Although heavy rains and muddy roads delayed the infantry divisions, FO Foote began his attack as scheduled on 6 February. The gunboats fired at the fort from less than 300 yards, but the rains did the damage; the rising river flooded the fort. The combination forced BG Tilghman to both move most of his troops to Fort Donelson and surrender to FO Foote. On 12 February, Grant shifted his forces to attack Fort Donelson and by 14 February his encirclement of the fort included a flotilla on Cumberland River that shelled the fort.
On 15 February Fort Donelson’s commander, BG John B. Floyd, ordered an attack on the right flank of Grant's army with the objective as to open an escape route for retreat to Nashville. Grant arrived in time to rally his men and counterattacked. Although successful, Floyd lost courage and ordered his men back to the fort. The following morning, Floyd and his Deputy Commander, abandoned their command and escaped, leaving BG Simon Bolivar Buckner to surrender later that day. However, several thousand confederate troops refused to surrender and escaped with Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Nathan Bedford Forrest. The Union force of 24,500 lost 2,691 (507 killed, 1,976 wounded and 208 missing & captured) and the Confederate force of 16,100 lost 13,846 (327 killed, 1,127 wounded and 12,392 missing & captured). Forts Henry and Fort Donelson were the first major Union victories in the Civil War and Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to Major General. It was a Confederate disaster; Kentucky was lost, and Tennessee was open with Nashville falling within days. The Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers became integral parts of Union supply lines. This battle has been well documented however I recommend Shelby Foote’s three-volume "The Civil War: A Narrative.”
I offer this from American novelist and a noted historian of the Civil War Shelby Foote "Grant was something rare in that or any war. He could learn from experience.”
Bulletin Board:
The VA one-stop telephone number is 1-800-698-2411 and press "0” for immediate assistance. The VA one stop website is VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs .
For more for information concerning VA "End of Life” benefits and services see www.va.gov/initiatives/end-of-life-benefits/
Veteran employment opportunities! Please visit https://news.va.gov/138283/hiring-veterans-job .
The Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) one-stop Benefits and Resource Portal is (573) 522-4061 or www.veteranbenefits.mo.gov .
To pre-certify for burial in a Missouri Veterans Cemetery, apply at https://my.mo.gov/gsp?id=vcp_preapplication . For information on burial eligibility, visit https://mvc.dps.mo.gov/cemeteries .
The Missouri Job Center offers no-cost employment assistance for veterans and spouses. Contact (417) 257-2630 or visit jobs.mo.gov/vets.
To order military service documents such as a DD 214/Separation Document or Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), contact the National Archives, National Personnel Records Center at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records, or call (866) 272-6272.
For more information, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/967395123712841 or visit movfw.org
"Here to Serve”
