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Catholic War Veterans


KevinBeyer
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Hello, All,

 

I have recently added a Catholic War Veterans Past Commander's badge to my collection.

 

CWVPastCommander.jpg

 

From their website:

 

The primary objective of the Catholic War Veterans is to make the entire nation acutely aware of the struggle and needs of many veterans, their widows and children. We, as survivors, have an obligation to our fallen brothers and sisters to inform the people of our country that many veterans and their families need asistance; that these veterans have made sacrifices for their country and deserve to be treated accordingly, with proper respect and support.

 

It is also the responsibility of the Catholic War Veterans to help protect, preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States and the laws of our government.

 

As members of the CWV, we are obligated to cooperate to the fullest extent with all veteran organizations in order to better serve the interests of the men and women who served in each of the the wars in which our nation has been involved.

 

However, we must constantly remember, that as Catholics, we are bound to serve God. We can do this in many ways, such as demonstrating our love and respect to individuals without regard to race, creed, color or national origin.

 

We must strive to instill in the young people of today a respect for our flag, our national anthem, and for the traditions of our great country.

 

And finally, we must remember that the family is the basic unit or building block in our society. May we ask the Lord's blessing in providing us with the strength and fortitude to achieve our goals.

 

CATHOLIC WAR VETERANS

 

This follows closely on the heels of the recent discussions of the Jewish War Veterans. I am unaware of other Faith Based Organizations. If anyone knows of any, please feel free to post your information within this forum.

 

Kevin

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Kevin,

 

Was glad to finally see a CWV membership badge. This one has eluded me for many years. Although the organization currently exists, do no believe they make or issue badges anymore (at least they are not listed on their website).

 

Was also unaware of how elaborate the badge was with spaces in the center. Assumed it would be more solid like the convention badges in the attached illustration. Believe the ribbon is significant with r-w-b edges and yellow/white center. If memory is correct, yellow/white are the Pope's heraldic colors.

 

Frederickpost-1633-1202236522.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

A recent discovery is that of the Catholic War Veterans Auxiliary. This group had its first chapter formed in New York in 1935. The qualifications for membership were that one had to be a member of the Catholic Church and to be related to an eligible Catholic Veteran. That being said, an Auxiliary Post could not be formed without the existence of a Catholic War Veterans post with which to be affiliated.

 

I am not certain if this medal is a membership medal, or if it is a presentation medal for past service as an officer (in this instance a 2nd Vice Commander). Can anyone offer any information?

 

CatholicWarVeteransAuxiliary.jpg

 

The back is marked:

 

G. Brudis

58 Ohio 59

C.W.V.A.

2nd Vice

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Versions of the patches and medals shown here are definitely still worn today. The medals are for commanders present and past, etc.

A variety of patches (and other items) are available via the organization: ~~> http://www.cwv.org/Forms/CWV%20Merchandise%20List%200409.pdf

 

~ Will

 

Will,

 

Do you know if the purchase of these items is restricted to members of the organization? The two medals I obtained were both acquired via eBay.

 

Kevin

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Oh, don't worry. This forum hasn't forgotten the JWV. Check out

 

JEWISH WAR VETERANS

 

for our discussion on that group.

 

Perhaps you can post pictures of your grandfather's JWV items in that section. Also, check your camera. It seems to be photographing in reverse! :)

 

Kevin

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Oh, don't worry. This forum hasn't forgotten the JWV. Check out

 

JEWISH WAR VETERANS

 

for our discussion on that group.

 

Perhaps you can post pictures of your grandfather's JWV items in that section. Also, check your camera. It seems to be photographing in reverse! :)

 

Kevin

 

Thanks for the concern, I was using my Mac webcam when my camera died :) and I'll go check that out.

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  • 1 year later...
Guest LordDrexil

Hi Everyone,

 

Just became aware of this forum. Thanks for including our organization. I am currently a Post Commander and former National officer in the CWV from Idaho.

 

Yes - we are very much still active and have just celebrated our 75th Anniversary. Along with the JWV we are only 1 of 3 decidedly religious Congressionally Chartered National Veterans Service organizations in the U.S., and the only Catholic organization so honored.

 

It's great to see all of the older medals you guys have found. I personally haven't seen any of these in person. It's amazing to see the history and the changes to the designs over time. We've recently had a resurgence in the wear of our uniform and organizational medals. Here is the order of precedence for our currently issued awards taken from our uniform manual:

 

Table 1

CWV Awards and Decorations

Order of Precedence

1 Order of St. Sebastian 2 Fr. Washington 3 Celtic Cross

4 Honor et Veritas 5 Most Outstanding CWV 6 Natl. Gold

7 Natl. Silver 8 Natl. Bronze 9 Dept. Gold

10 Dept. Silver 11 Dept. Bronze 12 Chapter Gold

13 Chapter Silver 14 Chapter Bronze 15 Post Gold

16 Post Silver 17 Post Bronze

 

I only have a Post Gold Medal to share with you right now, and I'll post it up once I get a photo of it. I'll see if I can get our National Historian to take some photos of older medals if he has any in the archives and ask around for some of the older members to see if they have anything they'd like to share. It'd be great to compile a historical photo album of all of the medals issued over the years.

 

Don't know if you have a sub-forum for them yet, but the Knights of Columbus have some pretty cool organizational medals / pins as well and even though they are not strictly a veterans organization, they are very patriotic and have been around a little longer than we have.

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Guest LordDrexil
A recent discovery is that of the Catholic War Veterans Auxiliary. This group had its first chapter formed in New York in 1935. The qualifications for membership were that one had to be a member of the Catholic Church and to be related to an eligible Catholic Veteran. That being said, an Auxiliary Post could not be formed without the existence of a Catholic War Veterans post with which to be affiliated.

 

I am not certain if this medal is a membership medal, or if it is a presentation medal for past service as an officer (in this instance a 2nd Vice Commander). Can anyone offer any information?

 

post-276-1252175900.jpg

 

The back is marked:

 

G. Brudis

58 Ohio 59

C.W.V.A.

2nd Vice

 

From the ribbon colors and the design I believe this is a National Deceased Member medal for an Auxilliary member. Deceased Member medals are given to the next of kin of members who pass on along with a special certificate of recognition. The CWV Auxillary can be contacted for confirmation from their national website at http://www.cwv.org/laux/laux.htm

 

Thanks!

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Many thanks for posting the ID of the National Deceased Member medal. We look forward to seeing other medals you might be able to post.

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Hi Everyone,

 

Just became aware of this forum. Thanks for including our organization. I am currently a Post Commander and former National officer in the CWV from Idaho.

 

Yes - we are very much still active and have just celebrated our 75th Anniversary. Along with the JWV we are only 1 of 3 decidedly religious Congressionally Chartered National Veterans Service organizations in the U.S., and the only Catholic organization so honored.

 

It's great to see all of the older medals you guys have found. I personally haven't seen any of these in person. It's amazing to see the history and the changes to the designs over time. We've recently had a resurgence in the wear of our uniform and organizational medals. Here is the order of precedence for our currently issued awards taken from our uniform manual:

 

Table 1

CWV Awards and Decorations

Order of Precedence

1 Order of St. Sebastian 2 Fr. Washington 3 Celtic Cross

4 Honor et Veritas 5 Most Outstanding CWV 6 Natl. Gold

7 Natl. Silver 8 Natl. Bronze 9 Dept. Gold

10 Dept. Silver 11 Dept. Bronze 12 Chapter Gold

13 Chapter Silver 14 Chapter Bronze 15 Post Gold

16 Post Silver 17 Post Bronze

 

I only have a Post Gold Medal to share with you right now, and I'll post it up once I get a photo of it. I'll see if I can get our National Historian to take some photos of older medals if he has any in the archives and ask around for some of the older members to see if they have anything they'd like to share. It'd be great to compile a historical photo album of all of the medals issued over the years.

 

Don't know if you have a sub-forum for them yet, but the Knights of Columbus have some pretty cool organizational medals / pins as well and even though they are not strictly a veterans organization, they are very patriotic and have been around a little longer than we have.

 

Kevin and Frederick: thank you for posting the medals. It never ceases to amaze me on the amount of militaria that is out there.

 

LordDrexel; thanks for posting too.

 

I have been aware of the CWV organization for some time and I never gave it a thought they were issuing medals. I look forward to seeing other badges associated with this organization.

 

Brent

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  • 6 years later...

These images depict a Catholic War Veterans Past National Commander pin. It was made from 14K solid gold. In the upper arms of the cross there is a ruby (red), diamond (white), and sapphire (blue) gem.

 

CWVPastNationalCommanderPin.jpg CWVPastNationalCommanderPin_03.jpg

 

The CWVs have been around for less than 100 years. Did they make a pin for each National Commander as they leave office? They have to be quite uncommon. I have never seen the likes of this pin before.

 

Kevin

 

Note: The images come from a popular auction website and are displayed here for educational purposes.

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Just came across this thread, and just happened to have a uniform walk into the shop yesterday. Sorry for the bad pics, but it was just a quick shot. One of the medals is named.

IMG_6126.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know I'm many years late to this party but I just picked up a Catholic War Veterans group. The biggest piece is the 4' x 6' CWV flag from Post 1666 (nice number) in Hampton, Virginia. This Post no longer exists. The flag is a double sided embroidered piece. At the CWV Website, this flag can be ordered for your post. The bargain price is over 1200 dollars. Also shown in the block is the Memoriam Plaque with the names of the deceased members. More pictures to follow.

post-165739-0-33831200-1498531272.jpg

post-165739-0-40234200-1498531280.jpg

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The round medallion looks like it came from or was meant to be mounted to a plaque. I believe the button is a cuff button.

post-165739-0-55995900-1498531471.jpg

post-165739-0-72837400-1498531479.jpg

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Two photographs from meetings. The 8 x 10 photo shows the American flag on the left and my CWV flag on the right. I have the topper too.

post-165739-0-21897200-1498531665.jpg

post-165739-0-39415400-1498531672.jpg

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