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Like most chapters, Post 1 had thrived for years, but by the early 2000s, membership had dwindled. "We weren't getting enough people at the meetings for a quorum, which is five
people," says Michael Mitchel, 48, the post commander. Mired in debt, the chapter began recruiting younger members. VFW posts are trying new things to attract younger members. Vets can
bond at a weekly yoga class at Post 1 in Denver. Benjamin Rasmussen That reflected a national trend in which veterans groups have sought to arrest decline by reaching out to a new generation
— with promising, but not yet conclusive, results. Some VFW chapters, like Post 4534 in Rockledge, Fla., have gone smoke free, and some have gotten rid of their bars altogether, to focus
more on family-friendly activities. Post 3199, in Modesto, Calif., is building a playground, and Post 12153 in Greenwood, Ind., has an exercise room. To promote activities and appeal to
younger veterans, many posts have embraced social media. Denver's Post 1 has been among the most aggressive in changing to survive. In 2014, Post 1 moved into a former gallery in
Denver's hip arts district. There are photography and acting classes, yoga and tai chi. "We're the hub of the veteran community in Denver," Mitchel says. "If we
can't help you, we'll put you on the right spoke." Membership, which had dropped to 800, has climbed to 1,100. And it's not just younger veterans; many new members served
in Vietnam, and are giving the VFW a chance for the first time. But reinvention isn't easy, as Dan Shoemaker learned when he took over Post 4267 in Gunnison, Colo. After being
medically retired from the Army due to injuries sustained in Iraq, he joined the VFW and found quick camaraderie. Within months, a World War II veteran nominated Shoemaker, 36, to lead the
post. "We need guys your age to start moving up the ranks," Shoemaker was told. "I did spaghetti dinners, fish fries, family nights," Shoemaker says. To Iraq and
Afghanistan veterans in the area, he pitched the VFW as a relaxed environment where they could have conversations with their brothers and sisters in arms. But just two of 20 young veterans
he spoke with joined. The post kept losing money, and closed in 2014. As VFW posts die off, newer veterans are worse off for it, losing the chance to draw on older veterans'
experiences. Russell Attema served two tours in Vietnam with the Army Rangers. Afterward, he told few people that he had been to war. Only later, when he joined the American Legion in the
1990s, did he realize the benefit of shared experience among veterans. "Same mud, same blood," he says. "There's no way to explain what you're dealing with to
someone who hasn't worn the uniform."