Founded on November 28, 1944, the University of Kentucky
Veterans Club started with nine members paying their dues of one dollar to
found the organization. The stated purpose of the club was to promote the
causes and protect the interests of veterans attending the University of
Kentucky. The club's motto was a quote by George Washington, "When we
assumed the role of soldier, we did not lay aside the role of citizen."
The club lived by their motto as it worked as a liaison between individual
veterans and the University. The organization of the club included a President,
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Housing Committee, Steering Committee,
Radio Committee, Social Committee, and Women's Division.
The club provided many services for student veterans,
including housing drives, in which over six hundred living spaces were located
for veterans, a free employment service, and a loan service using club funds.
The club promoted veterans issues through their publication, the POSTwarrior,
and their weekly radio program. The club also worked on veterans' rights on the
national level, corresponding with members of Congress and successfully
lobbying for the increase of subsistence payments for veterans attending
school, as provided by the G.I Bill.
Though the Veterans Club was one of the
youngest organizations on campus, it enjoyed the distinction of being the
second largest club by 1947, with 2500 members. The club presidents included Rx
M. Turley, 1944-1945; Joseph C. Covington, 1945-1947; Howard C. Bowles,
1946-1947; C. Hoge Hockensmith, 1947-1948; and Sidney A. Neal, 1948-1949. Club
members decided to inactivate the organization in the fall of 1949 due to a
lessening of veteran attendance at the University. While the Veterans Club
existence was brief, its accomplishments were great and aided in the transition
from soldier to student for thousands for veterans at the University of
Kentucky.
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