So many times when new state commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Louisiana Debbie McElhannon talks to young veterans about joining the VFW, they think it’s an “old man’s drinking club.”
“I’m like, ‘Do I look like an old man?’ ‘Well, no.’ and I’m like, ‘OK then,’” she said in an interview at the Hotel Bentley in downtown Alexandria where the VFW is hosting their statewide Council of Administration and School Instruction this weekend.
McElhannon of VFW Post 9854 in Vinton is the second female in Louisiana to hold the state commander office. What she wants to do is bring to light that the VFW is open to veterans of any age, race or gender who served in combat situations.
“I’m trying to squash some of those myths, trying to get rid of some of those myths, that people have associated with the VFW,” she said. Most of the VFWs today don’t have lounges that most associate with the organization.
“We’re trying to get people to understand that we’re here to help veterans and not just go hang out,” said McElhannon.