In 1917, while the world was at war, our Order established a committee to study what the Elks could do in the crisis facing returning Veterans. There was no Veterans Administration. There were no Veterans Hospitals.
This committee recommended at the 1917 Grand Lodge Session that “the Elks give consideration to the sick and wounded on the battlefields of France and equip base hospitals for their care,” and that “Our Order create a fund for war relief work.”
The membership enthusiastically and unanimously approved a resolution appropriating One Million Dollars for the War Relief Fund. A War Relief Commission was appointed to administer the funds. Thereafter, the Order organized and equipped the first two base hospitals to reach France, staffed by faculty and alumni from the Universities of Virginia and Oregon.
In 1918, to accommodate maimed and wounded veterans, the Elks built a 700-bed Reconstruction Hospital in Boston and gave it to the War Department. It continues in operation to this day. This was the only Veterans’ Hospital that was donated by a private entity.
Also in 1918, the Order built a 72-room Community House to take care of the families visiting the 40,000 soldiers stationed at Camp Sherman, Ohio.
After World War I, a war in which more than 70,000 of our Members served, and more than 1,000 of our Members perished, our Order made 40,000 rehabilitation, vocational and educational loans to disabled Veterans, without requiring any security. This was the genesis of the G.I. Bill. The vast majority of the loans were repaid.
During the Grand Lodge Session held in Los Angeles in 1921, a proposal was made to establish the National Headquarters of the Order in Chicago, Illinois. It was also then proposed that the Order erect a memorial building to honor those who served their country and gave their lives in what was then called the Great War. The Lodges of the Order promptly raised more than 2.5 million dollars for the effort and the cornerstone of the Elks Memorial and National Headquarters Building was laid June 7, 1924.
By 1940, the growing strife in Europe led to the formation of the Elks National Defense and Public Relations Commission. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the National Defense and Public Relations Commission was renamed the Elks War Commission.
The War Commission worked to recruit aviation cadets and to send gift boxes to members of the armed services. As the War advanced, the War Commission became heavily involved in nurse recruitment and in caring for and entertaining traveling and hospitalized soldiers. More than 100,000 Elks served in World War II and more than 1,800 gave their lives.
In 1946, after the end of World War II, it was recommended that the War Commission be dissolved and a National Veterans Service Commission be created to carry on a Hospitalized Veterans Program.
The National Headquarters and Memorial Building was rededicated in 1946 to honor those who saw service in World War II. Again, in 1976, this honor was bestowed on those who served in Korea and Vietnam and all subsequent conflicts. In 1994, the City of Chicago accorded the Memorial Building monument status.
As the Elks National Veterans Service Commission was also charged with responsibility for all patriotic activities of the Order, it was decided in 1949 to change its name to the Elks National Service Commission. In 1995, at the Grand Lodge Session in New Orleans, the delegates voted to change the name back to the Elks National Veterans Service Commission.
With funds primarily granted by the Elks National Foundation, the Elks National Veterans Service Commission now staffs and funds representatives in more than 250 VA Medical Centers, Outpatient Clinics, State Veterans’ Homes and USO’s. It funds Veterans Grants to Lodges across the country. It sponsors Adopt-A-Veteran, Army of Hope, Playing Cards for Veterans, Student/Veteran Volunteer, a Veterans Leather
Program and a great number of other Veterans programs. It assists the Re-Creation singing group as it entertains Veterans in hospitals across this nation.
Elks will continue to honor and support our country’s veterans. It is a pleasant task we have chosen for ourselves and we hold it as a most sacred trust.
