John Wiebel VFW Post 2932

The plaque credits a federal law of 1899; the VFW's own history tells it differently. On September 29, 1899, thirteen Spanish-American War veterans met in a Columbus, Ohio, tailor shop and formed the American Veterans of Foreign Service, soon joined by veterans of the Philippine fighting. The name Veterans of Foreign Wars dates from August 1, 1914. Congress chartered the organization only on May 28, 1936, more than a year after the Aransas Pass post was chartered. The first nationwide Buddy Poppy drive came in 1922, and women were formally admitted in 1978.

What the plaque says

John Wiebel VFW Post 2932 In 1899, the United States government passed a law establishing the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as a fraternal organization to help veterans and their families. Influenced by the VFW, congress established veterans benefits in 1917 that included disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and insurance. The VFW post in Aransas Pass was first chartered on January 29, 1935 by World War I veterans that included W.M. Womack, Worth B. Howard, C.R. Roberts, Olin Newberry, Normal D. Sanford, Albert Tate, and Rivas S. Olivares. In 1945, donations were raised for the construction of Veterans Memorial Home. The veterans memorial building has withstood hurricanes, served as a relief shelter, a disaster center, FEMA headquarters, and a Red Cross distribution center. Post membership has included veterans from World War I and II; current membership includes Vietnam, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Each member is decorated with the Cross of Malta which is the official insignia of the order. District Six Command is in charge of the VFW organization, but VFW national headquarters and the Department of Texas VFW also offers guidance. The VFW Ladies Auxiliary has helped veterans with community activities and aids in conducting meetings. The John Wiebel VFW post is a historical organization in San Patricio County that has influenced county history by serving the veterans and the surrounding community. (2012)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Port Aransas — 6.9 mi
  The fishing town at the north end of Mustang Island, reached by a free state ferry that crosses the ship channel day and night, with a university marine lab begun in a one-room shack.
• Fulton Mansion State Historic Site — 12 mi
  A French Second Empire house of 1874-77 on Aransas Bay, paid for with hides and tallow, with gas lights, central heat and hot running water no other house nearby had.
• USS Lexington Museum on the Bay — 16 mi
  An Essex-class carrier of 1943 moored off North Beach, the Blue Ghost that Tokyo Rose kept reporting sunk, and the Navy's training carrier for nearly three decades after.
• Texas State Aquarium — 16 mi
  A nonprofit aquarium on the tip of Corpus Christi Beach built around the Gulf and the Caribbean, with the largest coastal wildlife rescue center in Texas behind the exhibits.

More markers nearby

• Great Land Lottery of Aransas Pass — steps away
• First United Methodist Church of Aransas Pass — 0.6 mi
• Terminal Railroad — 0.7 mi
• Late Pleistocene Ingleside Fauna — 4.0 mi