Town of Willits

Art Eck - WWII POW (captured by the Nazis, 1944)

Post 174, along with its Ladies Auxiliary, was chartered October 15, 1920 and has been in continuous operation ever since. As one of the first community events, the Post initiated the first “Frontier Days” parade and rodeo on July 4, 1926 to help raise funds for the building of Howard Memorial Hospital. When the event became too big for the Post to handle, it was turned over to the Frontier Days Association. As a result, the Post is honored each year by being the lead Color Guard unit in the annual 4th of July parade as well as the flag raising at all rodeo events. The Post also placed U.S. flags along the major streets in Willits, in front of the businesses that wanted them, on flag holidays. In June 1996 this duty was handed over to the Boy Scouts as their fund raiser. The Post currently conducts a Community Programs Raffle and hosts several dinners, luncheons, and breakfasts throughout the year to raise funds for various community and veterans’ events. These fund-raisers allow the Post to contribute and provide the following: • Boys & Girls State – Send high school juniors to Sacramento & Pitzer College to learn various divisions of state government functions. • National Oratorical Contest – Instills a better knowledge and appreciation of the Constitution in High School students and assists students through scholarships in paying for the high cost of a college education. • Award Academic and Vocational scholarships to graduating seniors. • Provide flags and flag poles to schools, organizations and cemeteries. • Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation – Lobby for the rights of veterans, research service connected illnesses, volunteer in VA hospitals, and aid veterans with their VA claim. • Temporary Financial Assistance – Helps any veteran in need of temporary assistance. • Memorial Services for veterans. • Provides Color Guard for local community events. • Contributes to the Food Bank, Christmas Toy Run, and other community programs. The Post hosts the following events each year: • September: Reception for Boys and Girls State participants, their families and school counselors. • October: Oktoberfest Dinner Party • November 11: Veterans Day Breakfast, FREE to all veterans, first responders, Girl & Boy Scouts and their families. • February: Sweetheart Raffle • March: St. Patrick’s Day /Duane Brown Memorial Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Party. • May: Poppy Drive • July: Community Programs Raffle We always try to address the needs of our Veterans by keeping abreast of legislation that affects us directly. You can be informed of these and many other issues that affect Veterans by attending our meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the Veterans Memorial Building in Willits at 7:00pm. For more information contact Bob Ireland at (707) 272-1997 or Paul Bliss at (707) 459-2965. Sincerely, Bob Ireland, Commander