Mission Statement
We are dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. We accomplish this by making sure veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interest of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill and educating the public the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life. This mission is carried forward by providing free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies of government; providing outreach concerning its program services to the American people generally; and to disabled veterans and their specifically; representing the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress, the White House and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local governments; extending the DAV’s mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state level departments and local chapters; and providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs.
History
The DAV was founded in 1920 to assist veterans from WWI. Since then we have assisted veterans from all the conflicts the United States military has been in. We have 1.3 Million lifetime members. Connecticut has approximately 9,000 lifetime members.