Disabled American Veterans

Since its formation in 1920, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has been the nation's most vocal advocate on behalf of disabled veterans and their families. Unlike larger veterans' organizations such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the DAV is composed exclusively of men and women who were disabled in military service. During the course of its history, the DAV has worked to educate law-makers and the general public about the struggles of disabled veterans in civilian society. Through its numerous publicity campaigns and lobbying efforts, the organization has also helped Americans recognize the permanent impact of war on veterans' bodies and lives.

Despite competition from other veterans' organizations, the Disabled American Veterans of the World War (the name was shortened in January 1941) had already attracted tens of thousands of members by the early 1920s. Membership declined later in the decade but rebounded during the Great Depression and World War II (1939–45), swelling to a record 105,000 in 1946. As new generations of disabled veterans joined the DAV's ranks following conflicts in Korea (1950–53) and Vietnam (1964–75), its membership continued to climb, topping one million in 1985. Among its most prominent members have been two presidents, John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush. The organizational structure of the DAV comprises local chapters, state-level departments, and a national headquarters located in Cold Spring, Kentucky.

The establishment of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War (DAVWW) was a consequence of the overwhelming casualties of World War I, which the United States fought from 1917 to 1918. Despite the relative brevity of U.S. involvement in the war, more than 300,000 Americans servicemen returned home with gas-seared lungs, psychological disorders, and other debilitating injuries. By November 1918, few government programs were in place to meet the needs of America's disabled veterans. Many government hospitals, already overtaxed by the Spanish influenza epidemic, were unprepared for the influx of so many service personnel requiring long-term care. Moreover, disabled veterans seeking any form of government assistance faced a bureaucratic nightmare, made worse by the fact that no single agency was responsible for veterans' postwar readjustment. In the midst of a national recession, and burdened with lingering public prejudice against disabled people in general, countless wounded veterans had nowhere to turn for help.

To meet this need, local disabled veterans groups began to form across the United States. The DAVWW coalesced out of two such groups: the Ohio Mechanics Institute for Disabled Soldiers, located at a Cincinnati training school for disabled veterans, and an informal organization of disabled veterans from the University of Cincinnati. The organization began to take shape during the early months of 1920 under the leadership of Judge Robert S. Marx, later known as the “father of the DAV.” The DAVWW was formally established on September 25, 1920, when the Cincinnati groups held a national caucus and established the organizational structure it has maintained ever since. On June 27, 1921, the DAVWW held its first national convention in Detroit, and 1922 saw the formation of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War Auxiliary—its members were the female relatives of disabled veterans.

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