The world marked many pivotal milestones in 1924, including the inaugural Winter Olympics and the first successful around-the-world flight. Closer to home, a small group of Belmont veterans created an institution that is also marking its centennial: the Waverley VFW Post 1272.
“One hundred years is a big milestone,” said Viktoria Haase, president of the Belmont Historical Society, in a May 2024 video presentation about the post’s anniversary.
“The Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] of the United States is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, guard, and reserve forces,” according to the national VFW. The organization’s purpose is to “foster camaraderie among United States veterans of overseas conflicts. To serve our veterans, the military and our communities. To advocate on behalf of all veterans.”
In Belmont, the Waverley Post was created by 16 servicemen in 1924. It was housed at several locations over the decades before settling in its current home at 310 Trapelo Road in 1960, according to post historian and past commander Bruce Pahlm.
At the age of 27, the longtime Belmont resident became the first Vietnam veteran as well as the youngest to be elected commander. Pahlm was in charge during the Waverley Post’s 50th anniversary and has seen many of the organization’s goals become reality over the decades.
“I grew up with a lot of the people that are members of the post. I have an attachment to it – it’s like a family,” said Pahlm, who was in the Army Reserves for 25 years after serving in Vietnam from 1967-1968. During the war he started as a private first class and left the Army as a specialist E-4.
Even though he has moved from Belmont to Waltham, Pahlm remains an active and proud member of the Waverley Post and is commander of its color guard.
The post has 91 official members but in the past the 77-year-old said there were more than five times as many. Most veterans at the Waverly Post are in their 70s.
“We are definitely looking for younger members,” said Pahlm.
Honoring veterans
In the documentary about the Waverley Post’s 100th anniversary, Haase praised the VFW members’ efforts to honor fellow veterans and “to keep those memories alive.”
She detailed the post members’ efforts to visit monuments around town during Memorial and Veterans days to honor those who served and died for their country, including:
- Town Hall’s bronze Civil War Monument
- Down the hill from Town Hall was the original World War II Honor Roll dedicated in 1943 but taken down in 1970. The names on the plaque were incorporated into the new library design.
- The Town Hall complex includes a monument that was put up in 1985 for Belmont residents who served in all wars.
- The World War I monument is dedicated to the approximately 600 men from Belmont who played roles in all major operations. It is located at Common and Concord avenues.
- The former Memorial Library was dedicated in 1965 by veterans. The lobby area served as a memorial honoring veterans from several wars. A separate plaque was installed for the Vietnam War that was dedicated in 1974 and replaced by a replica that included three more names.
- A plaque was added at the library for the Global War on Terror that was dedicated to Sgt. Jonathan Curtis who was killed in action in 2010.
- The James Paul White Memorial Field House, which has been demolished, was dedicated in 1948 in memory of White, a high school grad killed during the Battle of the Bulge. There was a bronze plaque inside the field house that will be reinstalled inside the new building.
- Veterans Memorial Park was dedicated in 2019 for all veterans.
- The Edward “Teddy” Lee Memorial was dedicated in 2019 to Lee, who served two tours in Vietnam, earning the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.
- The Brig. Gen. William James Keville Monument was dedicated in 2020 to Keville, who served in the Spanish-American War.
- The Waverley VFW Post itself has several on-site memorials, including a piece of polished black granite that will be dedicated to members who have served their country when it is completed in 2025; a commemoration stone installed in 1933; another plaque that marks the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; and a plaque dedicated to those who served in the Korean War.
Pahlm, the longtime commander of the post’s Color Guard, said since at least 1955, it has been the oldest continually operating unit in the state. He takes great pride in the group’s efforts, which include presenting arms and performing a gun salute at several memorial sites. He said he’s hopeful others will join the Color Guard to continue its traditions.
The post holds great sentimental value for Pahlm, since it’s where he met his wife. He praised the numerous ways the organization benefits the community by offering scholarships, holding writing contests, and making the effort to visit fellow veterans at VA hospitals, to name a few.
As for the next 100 years?
“We hope to … still be in existence … but we have to get more members involved,” Pahlm said.
Waverley VFW Post 1272 is located at 310 Trapelo Road. There will be a celebration of the organization’s 100th anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the VFW Hall, from 4-6 p.m. and cocktails from 3-4. Tickets are $55.
To watch the Belmont Historical Society’s presentation on the post’s 100th anniversary, go to tinyurl.com/BelmontVFW.
