About Us
VVA Mission
VVA ’s goals are:
A) to promote and support the full range of issues important to Vietnam veterans
B) to create a new identity for this generation of veterans,
C) to change public perception of Vietnam veterans.
VVA strives to achieve the following:
- Aggressively advocate on issues important to veterans
- Seek full access to quality health care for veterans
- Identify the full range of disabling injuries and illnesses incurred during military service
- Hold government agencies accountable for following laws mandating veterans health care
- Create a positive public perception of Vietnam veterans
- Seek the fullest possible accounting of America’s POWs and MIAs
- Support the next generation of America’s war veterans
- Serve our communities
History
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA.) is the only national Vietnam veterans organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era veterans and their families. By the late 1970s, it was clear the established veterans groups had failed to make a priority of the issues of concern to Vietnam veterans. As a result, a vacuum existed within the nation’s legislative and public agenda. In January 1978, a small group of Vietnam veteran activists came to Washington, D.C., searching for allies to support the creation of an advocacy organization devoted exclusively to the needs of Vietnam veterans. VVA, initially known as the Council of Vietnam Veterans, began its work. At the end of its first year of operation in 1979, the total assets were $46,506. Council members believed that if the nation’s attention was focused on the specific needs of Vietnam veterans, a grateful nation would quickly take remedial steps. Today, Vietnam Veterans of America has a national membership of over 85,000, with over 650 chapters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Philippines. VVA state councils coordinate the activities of local chapters. VVA places great emphasis on coordinating its national activities and programs with the work of its local chapters and state councils and is organized to ensure that victories gained at the national level are implemented locally. VVA Chapter 1140 was certified on 12 August,2019 to serve Veterans and their families in Franklin and surrounding area. .VVA strives for individual and group empowerment and locally originated action to assist veterans and other needy members of their communities. These volunteer programs offer unique and innovative services to an ever-widening population. They include: support for homeless shelters; substance-abuse education projects and crime-prevention campaigns; sponsorship of youth sports, Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, Big Brothers/Big Sisters; and relief to other communities affected by natural disasters and chronic poverty.