Suspended Netcong VFW moves to dissolve. State office says 'not so fast'

Suspended by the state office, locked out of their building and out of money, members of Morris County's oldest Veterans of Foreign Wars post voted on Tuesday to consider dissolution and the surrender of their charter.

But not so fast, said state officials, who informed Netcong Post 2347 that its suspension last week precludes any actions − including a decision for their post to stand down.

"They can't do that," said VFW state Adjutant Ken Hagemann. "They are under the control of the state department commandeer through the administrative committee. They can't do anything. They can't even hold the meeting they held yesterday."

But post Commander Martin Bischoff said that with his members locked out of their deteriorating building and without a canteen license, which allows the post to sell liquor, he sees no way to continue.

"Suspending us and closing our canteen choked our last trickle of income," said Bischoff, a retired Army colonel. "My poor post, after 70 years what a way to go out, by our own guns."

Hagemann was more upbeat about the possibilities to revive Netcong and other posts suspended this month for administrative and other infractions by the state VFW office. Denville Post 2519 and Woodbridge Post 4410 quickly resolved their largely administrative issues and are no longer under suspension. But 10 others remain shuttered and under state control with their futures in limbo.

Hagemann said the state office will send a letter to Netcong members informing them their meeting "was unauthorized and any action taken there is null and void."

"We're going to try and revitalize the post," Hagemann said. "We want to make these posts successful. We don't want to close them down."

Suspended:12 New Jersey VFW posts placed under suspension by state office

Hagemann said he met Tuesday with a Camden County post that had not met since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.

"A lot of members transferred out because they weren't doing much," he said. "But a few people showed up who want to keep it going. We're going to help them move forward."

Hagemann said the state office did grant Netcong an operating exception to allow hall rentals in hopes of generating income. But Bischoff said rentals are not currently practical after a neighboring business prohibited VFW parking in its lot, which the hall had used for decades.

Bischoff said Netcong is down to about 62 members, but many are older veterans, some of whom live in Florida and rarely participate.

"I'm one of the younger guys, and I'm 60, which [the state] beats us up about," he said. "It's hard right now attracting new members."

"It hurts to see a VFW Post close in my legislative district," said state Assemblyman Brian Bergen, a West Point graduate who serves as commander of the Denville post. "As their Assemblyman and their VFW District 10 junior vice commander, I will actively support the members of Post 2347 in finding a new post to call home."

Bischoff said he called a special meeting to vote on the dissolution on Aug. 23. Hagemann said the state office will schedule its own meeting with members.

If Bischoff will not cooperate, "he'll have to be moved aside," Hagemann said.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com

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Following last week’s report about the New Jersey VFW office suspending chapters statewide for various infractions, the struggling Netcong chapter, Morris County’s oldest, unanimously votes to begin dissolution.

The VFW has around 1.5 million members, a drop of a million from 1992. The average age is 67, with 400,000 members over 80. The largest organization of veterans' clubs, the American Legion, has two million members, down from 3.3 million in 1946.

America’s largest and oldest war veterans’ organization began its new membership year earlier this month with almost 1.165 million members, a million less than its peak in 1992, yet significant nonetheless, according to VFW National Commander B.J. Lawrence, who attributes the growth to the organization being more visible on the national scene as well as in more than 6,000 communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, four U.S. territories, and 11 foreign countries.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Suspended NJ VFW post in Netcong blocked from dissolving