A VFW Post near St. Louis has made sure to support and recruit local service members for their Post by participating in events at the Jefferson Barracks Military Base in St. Louis, Missouri.
One such event VFW Post 4223 in Lemay, Missouri, was a part of was a “family day” held for members of the Air Force’s 131st Bomb Wing Support Group held in September 2022. VFW Post 4223 member Noel Stasiak said members at the Post in recent years have jumped at the opportunity to meet service members and families.
VFW Post 4223 members Noel Stasiak (center) and Brent Krohne (right) present an original captain’s Army Air Corps uniform to Air Force Col. William Miller in September 2022. The uniform was donated by Tom Knox, of Lemay, Mo. PHOTO COURTESY OF NOEL STASIAK“We were invited to attend the unit’s family day – these events stopped during [the COVID-19 pandemic],” said Stasiak, a former Navy Seabee of the Iraq War. “This gave us the opportunity to meet with service members face to face.”
Stasiak said the Post has continued to support the unit since then.
During the 2022 event, which was the first time the Post supported the family event, Stasiak and Brent Krohne, both retired Navy chiefs, presented a vintage Army Air Corps uniform to the commander of the Jefferson Barracks Military Base. The Army Air Corps was an aerial component of the Army before the branch became the Air Force in 1947. Stasiak said the uniform is still on display in the commander’s office.
Stasiak said that some airmen of the base have become members of VFW Post 4223. He also added that he and others at the Post continue to be a presence at the base during any events the Post is invited to.
“We just want to show them that we have their backs,” Stasiak said. “Thats what the VFW is here for. We want them to know we are here for them.”