When Marty Schaefer became a member of Darien Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2838 more than a decade ago, he wasn’t living anywhere near the city.
He didn’t even reside in the country, in fact.
The year was 2010, and the Army reservist had been deployed to Afghanistan. And that’s when Schaefer was contacted by Post 2838 member Matt Goodwin. The two had been in the same Army unit in the late 1990s, as well as had deployed together to Iraq in 2007.
“Matt said, ‘Hey, our VFW has decided we’re going to pay the membership dues annually for any member who is deployed, so you can join for free. So there I am sitting across the world in Afghanistan watching a rocket go by and I’m like, ‘Sure,’” Schaefer said.
He was eventually deployed two more times before finishing his service and returning to the states in 2012.
“And I’ve been a member of the post ever since,” said Schaefer, 53, who now lives in Aurora. “There was no obligation for me, but when I got to meet this bunch of folks I really enjoyed being around them, as well as the fact that they were a very service-oriented organization. And not just for veterans but for the local community. VFW posts all over the country participate in their communities in a thousand different ways.”
Just one of the community events hosted by Post 2838 is the annual Veterans Day Remembrance. The ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 11, at the Veterans Memorial in Darien Community Park, located at 71st Street and Clarendon Hills Road.
The ceremony will include the Hinsdale South High School band playing patriotic music and Darien Mayor Joseph Marchese as the keynote speaker.
Post 2838 members are grateful for the city’s support of the endeavor.
“It’s a symbiotic relationship as we support many other civic organizations in town,” Schaefer said.
The post, for instance, partners with the Darien Lions Club, the Darien Chamber of Commerce and the Darien Park District, as well as several area schools and other local organizations to provide community service hours and dollars to Darien and the surrounding communities. Additionally, members actively support the VFW National Home for Children, which supports the families of VFW-eligible service members and veterans in a time of need with housing, education, and job-seeking assistance.
These days, roughly 100 combat veterans from WWII to the present-day conflicts make up Post 2838. They include individuals from the Burr Ridge, Westmont and Hinsdale VFW posts as they consolidated their operations.The organization hopes to attract more, especially those from the younger generation.
“We’ve found many of the younger vets who just got off an active duty tour are looking to start their careers or families or buy homes,” Schaefer said. “A lot of life is happening for them, so they’re not looking at a veteran’s organization as necessarily being a priority at the time. Once they’ve settled in their lives and careers and completed their education, it’s easier for them to carve out time to be involved.”
Event organizers hope to see a large community turnout on Friday.
“Veterans Day is when we remember the veterans who are still with us,” said Schaefer, who has been post commander for the past six years. We’ll often have a couple of hundred people at our ceremony. It’s a chance for those folks to be a part of it and remember and honor someone’s service.”
The event also an offers post members an opportunity to honor each other.
“It’s a chance for us to look to our left and to look to our right and honor the service of those who are with us and around us still,” Schaefer said. “It’s not a celebration of war but a celebration of the people that put their lives aside and went and answered the call when this nation asked them to.”
For more information about the Veterans Day event, visit vfw2838.org or Darien Memorial Post 2838 on Facebook.