Linda Roloff
2023-2024 National Americanism Ambassador

Headshot of Linda Roloff

Americanism:  From Sea to Shining SEE!

Whew!!! What a rush! Is everybody’s core temperature finally coming down after that magnificent National Convention in Phoenix? The concrete was 160 °F, and y’all KNOW I’m built a bit too close to the ground for all of that! LOL!!!

It was awesome seeing everyone and getting to see a part of this truly spectacular country that I personally have never seen before. America’s cities and terrain help to form her regional cultures, and we are blessed to have such a diverse landscape and people! How many different environments can you see in a one-day car drive? While the weather is still gorgeous, I challenge you to get out and experience this country from her open roads…In other words; MOTORIZE YOUR FREEDOM! Here are some suggestions for your “Motor ‘Merica’ Day Trippin’”

  • Research your local historical sites and markers and visit them.
  • Visit a local state or national park.
  • Visit a big city and a small town in the same day, try to feel what makes them both tick…
  • Walk around your State Capitol (Really take in the statues and monuments)
  • Have a truly impressive bridge or dam nearby? Visit it! American engineering is a national treasure.
  • Walk the campus of a university, college or trade school in your area; be proud of America’s educational institutions.
  • Spend the day at the ballpark; how people play says a lot about who they are.

POW/MIA…ehrr..umm…Prisoner of War / Missing in Action:

How is the transition from the use of acronyms to full words coming along? If you’re like me, it’s a struggle, but so worth it! Remember when we use the full words, we immediately have a more vivid image in our heads of a PERSON. This person is a father, son, brother, husband, friend…they are #MoreThanLetters. At every meeting this year, lets:

  • Find out who our local Prisoners of War or Missing in Action are.
  • SAY THEIR NAMES and briefly tell something about them.
  • Invite a family member (if you know of any) to the weekly meeting.
  • Remind members to read the VFW Action Corps bulletins to see if any Prisoners of War or Missing in Action from your area have been or are being returned home and honor them.
  • Get to know the mission of the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
  • AMERICANS will never forget; “Until they all come home.”

“POW/MIA Remembrance Day” is Friday September 3. If your State’s Governor issues a proclamation, read it to your membership. If you have an official state observance of POW/MIA Remembrance Day at your state capital; GO! Plan and execute an observance of POW/MIA Remembrance Day at your Post, your local municipal buildings, a school, military installation, nursing home or memorial park.

Patriotic Instructor(s):
This year (and every year really) your role is big! You are the one who is responsible for building our #AuxTRIBE!  You must:

  • Embody Auxiliary sister/brotherhood
  • Learn and practice our VFW Auxiliary rituals and traditions.
  • TEACH, mentor and model our VFW Auxiliary rituals.
  • Wear our gear! Encourage a similarity of dress whether VFW Auxiliary branded or patriotic.
  • Display, explain and properly wear our Official Uniform when appropriate.
  • Encourage our #AuxTRIBE mentality…If we are unified in spirit, mission and appearance we will attract new members and veterans who may be feeling displaced.

School’s Starting: How’s that Flag lookin’?

Now’s the time to reach out to your local school, parochial school and even homeschoolers and houses of worship to see if there is a need for their Flag to be replaced! This could be your “in” to bring up the subject of how we might be able to help them with Flag education or provide them with patriotic materials for instructional use. You know that once those first vital lines of communication are open, the door may stay open for us to get our scholarships and youth contests into the hands of our local youth. The VFW Store has some awesome age-appropriate material for Americanism instruction!

Patriotic Holidays:
Holidays are the ties that bind! Observance of patriotic holidays especially serve to unite a diverse people because the ritual and spectacle that are associated with that holiday transcend our ethnocentric heritage… OOF! That got wordy… It just means EVERYBODY likes to “America it up” and show our pride on holidays!

  • August 14: U.S Victory Day
  • August 14: Navaho Code Talker Day
  • September: National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
  • September 11: Patriot Day
  • September 14: VFW Auxiliary Birthday
  • September 17: Constitution Day
  • September 29: VFW Birthday
  • Third Friday in September is POW/MIA Remembrance Day
  • Gold Star Mothers/Family Day is the last Sunday in September