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A&NU             

          Origin of the Army  Origin of the Army & Navy Union U.S.A.
           
          The Army and Navy Union of the United States of America, founded in
          Cincinnati, Ohio in 1886, is the oldest veterans organization in America.
          It is the only  American veterans organization in which membership is not
          limited to any specific form, date, branch, place or nature of the military
          service rendered, nor is membership restricted by considerations of
          racial origin or religious creed. ALL and ANY men or woman who have
          ever served honorably in the armed forces of the United States, or who
          are still serving honorably in uniform, are eligible to membership,
          provided they obligate themselves,

         TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY IN PEACE AS WELL AS WAR.
           


          ORIGIN:

          At the time it was founded, this organization filled a vital need,
          the need for a coordinated, united effort by all veterans to aid the
          soldiers and sailors coming home from the wars to readjust themselves
          to civilian life. It still fills that need.....and many more.

          One of the first recorded Service organizations came into being as
          far back as 1841, "to alleviate suffering and need among returned
          soldiers and sailors." Later veterans' organizations of every kind and
          description were formed in various communities, none having connection
          with any of the others. During this period were born "The General
          Society of the War of 1812," " The Grand Army of the Republic," 'The
          Order of Indian Wars," and others, all with the same general purpose.
          However, they limited their membership, each to a certain group, and
          excluded all others. In this process, a very large number of
          ex-servicemen were left unable to join any of them and enjoy their
          benefits.

          In 1886, men of vision realized that these exclusive organizations
          would become extinct at the death of their members, and that their
          work in behalf of Veterans and for the good of the Nation would then
          come to an end. They advanced the idea of a PERMANENT National
          Organization for ALL Veterans. Under the leadership of Peter Lacher,
          Louis Renkert and George Russell Downs, they founded an organization
          open to ALL who had served honorably in the armed forces or who were
          still in uniform to "Promote loyalty to the country, assemble comrades
          in order to perpetuate a spirit of fraternity, present social affairs,
          and befriend ex-servicemen and woman who might need help in securing
          employment, in caring for the sick, and in burying their dead. This
          organization is known as: