Veterans of Foreign Wars
of the United States
Lookout Post No. 1289
Chartered Oct. 28, 1927

6011 Lee Highway
Chattanooga TN 37421
Phone: 892-2772
Fax: 892-5271

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A Tribute to Joe Murphy

Visitors to our home page:

Commander Carl Minnick

Officers for 2003-2004
Commander
Carl Minnick
Sr. Vice Commander
George Griggs
Jr. Vice Commander
Bill Lemons
Quartermaster
Charles A. (Speedy) Bearden
Service Officer
Charles A. (Speedy) Bearden
Adjutant
Charles A. (Speedy) Bearden
Chaplain
Bob Bevering
Judge Advocate
Frank Weller
Surgeon
Richard T. Harris
Trustees
A.C. Rhodes
Walter Grimes
Jessie Leaptrot
Chairman House Committee
Bob Bevering

Post home is at 6001 Lee Highway, Chattanooga, TN.

  VFW Post 1289 was mustered Oct. 28, 1927.  Perpetual charter for life members was dated Jan. 4, 1972.
  First post home was at Memorial Auditorium where it remained from 1927 to 1945.   The office was at City Hall.  From 1945 to 1949 it was at 810 Chestnut with the office remaining at City Hall.  The post home was at 121 East Sixth Street from 1949 to 1951.  Post home was at 850 Fortwood Avenue until 1957 when it moved to the present location at 6011 Lee Highway.

  Meetings are the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM.

The post is proud of members who have held
state or national VFW office:

Past National Commander in Chief
Cooper T. Holt

Past State Commanders:
William A. Sachse, 1931
Willaim A. Sachse, 1936
E.W. Wimple, 1947
Cooper T. Holt, 1954
Joe A. Murphy, Jr, 1969
Charles Bearden, 1983
Larry L. Dalton, 1990

What is a Veteran?
By Cooper T. Holt
Past Commander-in-Chief
Veterans of Foreign Wars
of the United States

I would like to explain what is so special about a veteran.
First of all, the veteran is selected. Right away, the fact that he is selected makes him something special and puts him in a class by himself. He is no longer free; he is subject to military law, and he becomes a special breed, committed to fight to the death for the ideals of freedom around the world.
He cannot be flat footed; he cannot be lame; he cannot be uncertain or short of vision--he must be as perfect as possible. And not only physically perfect, but the veteran must be mentally alert. He cannot be moronic; he must be able to read and write; he must have some talent.
Furthermore, he must be morally fit--he cannot be a criminal; he cannot be perverted; he cannot be nervously unstable. He must know the difference between right and wrong. He lives in unsegregated barracks, black and white together, as equals--they fight together and they die together for freedom.
The lame, the sick and the uncertain are rejected.
Conscientious objectors, students and key people in lucrative positions are excused or labeled "4-F." Only the best physically, mentally and morally are called to war. And so, only the best are fit to be killed. So, even in our sophisticated society this special breed performs a sacrificial service. Only the brave are selected and only a race of ingrates could forget their sacrifice.
From the heights of Iwo Jima to the depths of Vietnam, the veteran is a special breed. Our enemies recognize the veteran as special--that's why they single him out and rage: "Go home, GI!" He can make an amphibious landing; he can take a hill; he can storm a bunker; he can annihilate the enemies of freedom. But he can also feed the widow and the orphan; he can become the friend of children in foreign lands; he can charm more people than the most experienced diplomat. And yet, some people have the gall to ask, "What is so special about the Veteran?"
The veteran is a special breed because only Congress can make a veteran and only Congress can break a veteran. At this point the veteran becomes the special charge and the special responsibility of the Congress. And no one can take this special charge and this special responsibility form Congress.
And this special breed, this select group, these physical specimens--only the best--these citizen soldiers went to war at the behest of Congress, in defense of freedom all over the world--and they became the best fighting men history has ever known.
And they came home "veterans"--gassed or shellshocked from Chateau Thierry, bedraggled from the Battle of the Bulge, burned from the Franklin, hungry from Corregidor, frozen from Chosen Reservoir, maimed from Vietnam. Some came back with yellow fever, some with malaria, some with TB. Some came back psycho, some alcoholic; yes, some even returned as dope addicts.
These are the men who were the best when they went to war--God only knows what condition they were in when they came back. But to the President and to the Congress, they should still be the greatest.

Information for the post compiled by Joe Murphy.
Records for past commanders furnished by
National Veterans of War Headquarters, Kansas City
VFW Post 1289 Muster date 10-28-1927

Pete Chaney, Website Editor
James Tollett, Webmaster

Past commanders of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1289:

Past quartermasters of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1289: