Led by our Elks National Veterans Service Commission, the Order has long enjoyed a rewarding relationship with our Nation’s Veterans. Since 1946, our promise to all our Veterans and their families has been and continues to be "So long as there are Veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them." We have faithfully kept this promise and continue to do so.

Ours is a glorious history of service and remembrance to our Nation’s Veterans.

• The ELKS financed and equipped the first two field hospitals in France during World War I and donated $60,000 to the Salvation Army for its use during the war
• We built a 700-bed hospital in Boston and donated it to the Federal Government as the first Veterans Hospital.
• In 1919, the ELKS established the First "G.I." loan program.
• During World War II we established over 150 Hospitality Centers.
• During the Korean Conflict, the Order established 25 Hospitality Centers, and ELKS donated over onehalf million pints of blood to treat our wounded.
• We furnished materials to build a "Rest and Recreation Center" at the Naval Hospital in Guam.
• A "Letters from Home" campaign was initiated during the Vietnam Conflict and continued through the recent Gulf campaign.
• For nearly 60 years the ELKS have conducted a "Veterans Leather Program" by collecting animal hides and having them processed for distribution to Veterans’ Medical Facilities. The leather is used in craft and occupational therapy programs for hospitalized Veterans. The ELKS are the only source of leather for crafting in the VA’s Occupational Therapy Program.
• Elks Lodges mobilized Members, who were tradesmen, to assist families who have a mother or father activated from National Guard or Military Reserve units during the Iraq crisis. They help these families make minor repairs to their homes while their loved one were protecting our freedoms. As this crisis continues, our "Army of Hope" continues its outreach to the families of these patriotic men and women.

Throughout the years, our Lodges and Members have honored our pledge with visits and gifts to hospitalized veterans. They sponsor events such as bingo, dinners and picnics for them. Our ELK volunteers currently serve veterans in 172 VA Medical Centers and a countless other Nursing and Rest Homes, as well as to Veteran outpatients and homeless Veterans

Over the years, ELKS and their families have donated millions of dollars worth of cash and in-kind contributions for those who gave so much to preserve our freedom. Thousands of Veterans have the comfort provided through our "Adopt-A-Veteran" Program.

As our country is faced with the conflicts of the Middle East, we now have a new generation of Veterans who deserve our attention. These Veterans have faced many new challenges fighting in conflicts with a nontypical adversary. Their families also are faced with new problems not typical of traditional Armed Forces families. The Order of Elks has and always will quickly respond to the needs of the Veterans and their families.Each Lodge should have an active and vital Veterans Program.

We have not made an idle pledge. We steadfastly adhere to its challenges and will continue to serve those who gave so much that we may live in peace. To them is owed a debt which can never be fully repaid, but the Order will continue to be in the forefront of those who try, thus proving that "Elks Care — Elks Share."