DAV Magazine, July 1983, Volume 25, Issue 7.; The Official Voice of the Disabled American Veterans and DAV Auxiliary

Cold Spring, Ky: Disabled American Veterans, July 27, 1983. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Magazine. Good. [2], 32, [2] pages, counting the covers. Illustrations. Cover has some wear. Thirty years have passed since the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War on July 27, 1953. Yet, in the opinion of the DAV, veterans of the Korean War have not received the due measure of honor they've earned through valor and great sacrifice. The issues of the war, its veterans, and movement toward recognition of those veterans are discussed in this issue of the DAV Magazine. Contains articles on Jobs for Vets; Vets lobbying rights upheld; Dedication Events of DAV Vietnam Veterans National Memorial; Korea: Heroism and Sacrifice Too Long Forgotten; Medal Honoring Vietnam Veterans Considered; VA's Treatment of Women Vets...A Woman's View; and DAV Auxiliary in Action. The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created by the United States Congress for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families. In the aftermath of World War I, disabled veterans in the United States found themselves seriously disadvantaged, with little governmental support. Many of these veterans were blind, deaf, or mentally ill when they returned from the frontlines. An astonishing 204,000 Americans in uniform were wounded during the war. The idea to form the Disabled American Veterans arose at a Christmas party in 1919 hosted by Cincinnati Superior Court Judge Robert Marx, a U.S. Army Captain and War World I veteran who had been injured in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in November 1918. Although it had been functional for some months by that time, the Disabled American Veterans of the World War (DAVWW) was officially created on September 25, 1920, at its first National Caucus, in Hamilton County Memorial Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2] While touring across the U.S. as part of the election campaign of James M. Cox, Judge Marx publicized the new organization, which quickly expanded. It held its first national convention in Detroit, Michigan on June 27, 1921, at which time Marx was appointed the first national commander. In 1922, a women's auxiliary organization was founded. The DAVWW continued working through the Great Depression to secure the welfare of disabled veterans, although their efforts were troubled by fundraising challenges and the desire of the public to put the World War behind them. In the midst of these troubled years, DAVWW was issued a federal charter by Congress, on June 17, 1932. The demands of World War II required the urgent expansion of the organization, which officially changed its name to Disabled American Veterans to recognize the impact of the new war. In 1941, DAV launched a direct mail campaign, distributing "IdentoTags", miniature license plates which could be attached to a keyring with instructions that lost keys should be mailed to the DAVWW, who would return them to the owners. In 1944, the DAV began offering a National Service Officer Training Program at American University in Washington, the first step of education that completed with a two-year mentorship program. In 1945, the DAV expanded the Idento Tag program and brought the manufacturing in-house, eventually purchasing complete ownership of the program in 1950. The program proved long-lasting and highly successful, both in bringing in donations and employing veterans in manufacture. By 1952, 350 people were employed in the endeavor, which brought in over $2 million a year in donations. Meanwhile, the number of disabled veterans had been increased by the Korean War. The DAV rallied around the veterans of the Vietnam War and also focused heavily on working for prisoners of war and missing in action. Vietnam veterans soon filled the diminished ranks of the National Service Officers.