VFW Post 549

OUR HISTORY

Tucson Post 549 has a long, proud tradition of service to the community, the state, and our nation.

Activated on January 3, 1921, Tucson’s Post 549 is one of the largest VFW posts in Arizona. Originally chartered as “Joe C. Salazar Post 549,” the charter was inactivated in 1925 when many of the post’s active members—then patients at the government hospital at Pastime Park—left the area upon discharge. The post was reactivated on May 1, 1927, as “John C. Greenway Post 549,” but again became inactive until April 26, 1930, receiving a charter as “Tucson Post 549.” Although this charter was lost on April 1, 1930, quick work was done to reactivate one final time on June 24, 1932. Since then, The Friendly Post has remained a steady presence in the Tucson community.

In 1945, the post recognized the need for a well-kept veterans’ cemetery in the community and purchased a lot for $5,000, with the option of securing an adjoining lot for an additional $5,000. The first establishment of its kind by a VFW post, the lot boasts 4,000 plots available to eligible veterans with honorable discharges, deceased spouses of VFW members, and deceased VFW Auxiliary members. The cemetery was dedicated in 1947 by then-commander Comrade Louis A. Menager. Menager now rests in the cemetery he dedicated, and his son, Louis L. Menager, remains a post member.

The original “post home”—the largest in Arizona at the time and costing $500,000—was dedicated on May 30, 1948, and located at 124 E. Broadway Boulevard. Due to diminishing membership and support, as well as Tucson’s demographic changes and lack of parking, the post was relocated to 1884 S. Craycroft Road in 1971. The building, with one of the largest meeting halls on Tucson’s east side, was originally a used clothing store and supported members until January of 2011 when the post moved to a brand new, modernized facility at 8424 E. Old Spanish Trail.

Learn more about us and our history at our website:

https://www.vfwpost549.com/about