Vets of Foreign Wars - Halifax, VA
Telling the story VFW 8243’s plight.
On April 24th, 2016 the Veterans of Foreign Wars 8243 facility was rented for a private birthday celebration. The leasee knowingly and deliberately violated the use agreement by advertising the celebration on social media to increase attendance beyond 3x the legal occupancy level without the knowledge of the VFW (LEOs responding to the scene estimated 300 people in attendance). During the course of the birthday celebration, criminals from the neighboring city of Danville, VA located in Pittsylvania County engaged in violent, felonious crimes including attempted murder by targeting individuals inside of the facility and discharging a firearm within the occupied facility wounding 5 – the individual has since pleaded guilty to four violent felonies including 2nd Degree Attempted Murder and was sentenced to 33 years with 25 years SUSPENDED. As a result of the melee that ensued from the shooting and compounded by the extreme level of over-occupancy, the VFW 8243 facility located at 1055 L P Bailey Memorial Hwy, Halifax, VA suffered not only a tarnished reputation as a safe and hospitable place but STRUCTURAL DAMAGE to the facility which has rendered it unsafe and unfit for use until appropriate repairs are made.
In good faith, VFW 8243 filed a claim with their insurance provider for structural damages that resulted from the over occupancy of the facility. The provider has used litigation; preferred engineering firms; and delay tactics to avoid payment to VFW 8243. VFW 8243 has and continues to incur mounting legal bills challenging their provider in Federal Court and has been without the use of their primary revenue source for over 2 years now. This has led to a dire financial situation for the organization and the chartered chapter established in 1946 by Halifax County, VA D-Day veterans is now at extreme risk of losing its charter and being shuttered. With the current available funds and monthly expenditures, closure is eminent in approximately 2 months.
The combat veterans of VFW 8243 and the complimentary women of the Ladies’ Auxiliary have, much like in their days of service to this nation, soldiered on in the face of adversity and have done and continue to do their duty in trying to save this irreplaceable veteran’s resource. They cannot win this battle alone, but motivated by their deep sense of duty and love of country they will not retreat even as some fall into ill health. They have signaled to us the need for help and reinforcements and we as free Americans must answer their call with haste. We cannot allow this source of camaraderie and brotherhood that has actively served to better the mental health and lives of our combat veterans since WWII through modern campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as promote civic involvement that betters the community to be lost forever. And so, we must help them financially with charitable donations and a campaign to relay their call for help for to all Americans.
In closing, members of VFW 8243 would like to issue a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the men and women of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and in particular HCSO Sgt Seth Bowen, who in the course of his duty and response to this incidence placed himself in harm’s way to protect the public, apprehend and disarm the perpetrator of the crimes that were committed that night. God bless our men and women in uniform and God bless the United States of America.
On April 24th, 2016 the Veterans of Foreign Wars 8243 facility was rented for a private birthday celebration. The leasee knowingly and deliberately violated the use agreement by advertising the celebration on social media to increase attendance beyond 3x the legal occupancy level without the knowledge of the VFW (LEOs responding to the scene estimated 300 people in attendance). During the course of the birthday celebration, criminals from the neighboring city of Danville, VA located in Pittsylvania County engaged in violent, felonious crimes including attempted murder by targeting individuals inside of the facility and discharging a firearm within the occupied facility wounding 5 – the individual has since pleaded guilty to four violent felonies including 2nd Degree Attempted Murder and was sentenced to 33 years with 25 years SUSPENDED. As a result of the melee that ensued from the shooting and compounded by the extreme level of over-occupancy, the VFW 8243 facility located at 1055 L P Bailey Memorial Hwy, Halifax, VA suffered not only a tarnished reputation as a safe and hospitable place but STRUCTURAL DAMAGE to the facility which has rendered it unsafe and unfit for use until appropriate repairs are made.
In good faith, VFW 8243 filed a claim with their insurance provider for structural damages that resulted from the over occupancy of the facility. The provider has used litigation; preferred engineering firms; and delay tactics to avoid payment to VFW 8243. VFW 8243 has and continues to incur mounting legal bills challenging their provider in Federal Court and has been without the use of their primary revenue source for over 2 years now. This has led to a dire financial situation for the organization and the chartered chapter established in 1946 by Halifax County, VA D-Day veterans is now at extreme risk of losing its charter and being shuttered. With the current available funds and monthly expenditures, closure is eminent in approximately 2 months.
The combat veterans of VFW 8243 and the complimentary women of the Ladies’ Auxiliary have, much like in their days of service to this nation, soldiered on in the face of adversity and have done and continue to do their duty in trying to save this irreplaceable veteran’s resource. They cannot win this battle alone, but motivated by their deep sense of duty and love of country they will not retreat even as some fall into ill health. They have signaled to us the need for help and reinforcements and we as free Americans must answer their call with haste. We cannot allow this source of camaraderie and brotherhood that has actively served to better the mental health and lives of our combat veterans since WWII through modern campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as promote civic involvement that betters the community to be lost forever. And so, we must help them financially with charitable donations and a campaign to relay their call for help for to all Americans.
In closing, members of VFW 8243 would like to issue a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the men and women of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and in particular HCSO Sgt Seth Bowen, who in the course of his duty and response to this incidence placed himself in harm’s way to protect the public, apprehend and disarm the perpetrator of the crimes that were committed that night. God bless our men and women in uniform and God bless the United States of America.