VFW POST 921 history

VFW Post 921 was chartered on December 2nd, 1933 and is named in honor of Snohomish native, Gay Luther Jones.  Gay Jones was a Private in the US Army, serving with Co. C, 361st Infantry, 91st Division.  Private Jones was stationed in St. Mihiel, France and went into action at the famous battle of the Meuse-Argonne on September 26th, 1918.  On the 4th day of the battle, September 30th, Private Jones was killed in combat, just 11 days after his 23rd birthday.  He was initially buried in France near the battlefield near where he died.  At the request of his parents, his body was shipped back to Snohomish in August, 1921, and received a hero’s welcome on what would have been his 25th birthday, finally home.  

Although eventually leading to the Armistice on November 11th, 1918, the battle of the Meuse-Argonne resulted in 26,277 Americans killed and another 95,786 wounded, making it the largest and bloodiest single operation of the war for the American Expeditionary Force.  Since 1922, the VFW has been distributing remembrance poppies every year on November 11th in memory of all those that have sacrificed during our Nation's wars.  The "buddy" poppy (that distinctive red flower found on so many French battlefield cemeteries), has become one of the world's most recognized symbols for soldiers that have died during conflicts and is also distributed by veterans' organization in the British Commonwealth and other Allied nations.  The VFW uses proceeds from annual poppy sales to support its charitable programs for needy and disabled veterans as well as for the widows and orphans of deceased veterans.