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One hundred and sixteen years ago, members of the First Colorado Volunteers who had served in the Philippines during the Spanish American War gathered at the Colorado State Capitol and founded what would become the country’s first Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, VFW Post 1.
Post 1 celebrated that history and veterans everywhere with its Founder’s Dinner Sunday night at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa. The festive event came with an impressive guest list (from left to right in photo above): Medal of Honor recipient Hiroshi Miyamura, who was awarded the military’s highest honor for valor during the Korean War; Navy SEAL team 6 member Robert J. O’Neill, the man many know as the SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden; George “Joe” Sakato was also recognized at the ceremony. Sakato died earlier this month.
Post 1, which is situated today in the Art District on Santa Fe, is currently undertaking a capital campaign to renovated the historic (read: not up to code) building it’s housed in. Learn more about Post 1 and its members at vfwpost1.org.
