Bradford resident Ronald J. Peters was elected as the Pennsylvania Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars’ state junior vice commander.
The VFW installed its officers for the 2018-19 program year during the organization’s recent state convention. These line officers will provide leadership and direction for the Pennsylvania VFW, which consists of 75,000 members who served in combat zones and United Nation peacekeeping theaters.
The installation of Peters in the post puts him on course for serving as the PA VFW’s state commander for the organization’s 2020-21 program year.
He has held many leadership positions at the local, district and state VFW levels. Peters served with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War as an armor reconnaissance specialist. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device and the National Defense Service Medal.
In Bradford, Peters is the commander of the Lt. John C. Roche VFW Post 212.
He was honored June 16 in Gettysburg with the Pennsylvania Veterans Foundation’s Sandy Walker Memorial Award. He donated the $30,000 award he received to Veteran’s Helping Hand.
In Pennsylvania alone, VFW units donated more than $5 million in scholarships, youth program support, charitable donations, public safety donations and volunteer community support last year.
VFW and VFW Auxiliary members recorded more than 500,000 hours of community service during the past year. VFW State Service Officers, who are well trained and accredited to represent veterans in VA matters, connected veterans of all ages with more than $25 million in federal benefits over the past year.
The Department of PA VFW has helped to pass many landmark state and federal legislative programs to help veterans, military personnel and local communities.
