For 76 Years All-American Hawkins-Reeve Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7916 Occoquan, Virginia "Warriors Still Serving" "Honor Our Dead, by Helping the Living."
We are a non-profit, patriotic, social, fraternal, and educational association of 1000 VFW Members, and 190 Auxiliary Members comprised of a select group of esteemed veterans of foreign wars of the United States who are carefully chosen before being conferred membership into the Post.
For the past eight years in a row Post 7916 was awarded the coveted "All American” performance designation placing the Post in the top .01% of over 6300 VFW Posts in the world.
The Post's legendary accomplishments have been lauded by National VFW Headquarters in recruiting videos, podcasts, national articles, and selection as April 2021 Post of the month for all VFW Posts world wide.
After World War II, a group of 37 combat veterans in the, Occoquan, Woodbridge, and Lorton area gathered to form VFW Post 7916.
The official date of "mustering in” for the Post is June 27, 1946 making 2024 our 78th anniversary.
Walter J. "Mac” McGuire was the Post’s first Commander.
Jeffery A. "Doc” Lett has been our "All-American” Commander for the past seven years and the 71st Post Commander.
Since 1946, thousands of our members have selflessly served America on land, sea and air all over the world including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Cambodia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Granada, Iraq, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Panama, Serbia, Somalia, Syria, Uganda, Vietnam, & in WWII.
The Post is most honorably named "Hawkins-Reeve” after two
local Navy and Army pilots who willingly went into harm’s way in selfless
service defending their nation and who lost their lives just 54 days apart.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Claggett Hartwood Hawkins, U.S. Naval Reserve pilot from Woodbridge, (below left) died while flying his TBM-3 Avenger Torpedo Bomber on a landing approach to the aircraft carrier USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) on December 6, 1944. His body went down with his aircraft. His crew survived. Ltjg Hawkins was 22 years old. Prior to the war Ltjg Hawkins was an FBI Agent.
Second Lieutenant Charles Douglas Reeve, U.S. Army Air Corp pilot from Lorton, (above right) died in the jungle of Papua New Guinea of injuries sustained as a passenger in a Douglas A-20 Attack Bomber crash on October 10, 1944. Reeve was enroute to recover a North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber on Papua New Guinea at Port Moresby. There was only one survivor of the crash. 2Lt Reeve was 26 years old. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Prior to the war 2Lt Reeve was employed by the Washington Gas Light Company.
His son, Charles Douglas "Doug” Reeve Jr., was three months old when he died and is a member of our Post.
In 1970, Post 7916 Life Members Jesse Ray Baldwin, Junior Scites, and Don Totman, (above) purchased the OWL firehouse where we reside today for $12,000.
Over the last 100 years, the history of our building from its time as part of Leary’s Lumber yard, to being the Occoquan, Woodbridge, Lorton (OWL) Volunteer Fire Department is just as solid as our namesakes.
Prior to 1970, the Post met in the basement of the Cranford Memorial Methodist Church near Gunston Road and Colchester Road in Lorton.
The then "Ladies Auxiliary” met at Juanita Doome’s home on Occoquan Road very close to Potomac Mills.
Before that, they met in another home on Route 1 where the present day Taco Bell stands.
The Post supports Memorial Day and Veterans Day remembrances at Quantico National Cemetery, Flag Day, our POW MIA ceremony, as well as laying wreaths & flags at Quantico National Cemetery.
The Post cosponsors with the Town of Occoquan the
exceptionally engaging Military Tribute Banner program conspicuously displayed
throughout Occoquan.
Post members have been fully engaged in advancing our mission of "Honoring the Dead by Helping the Living”.
The Post supports several Boy Scout troops, replete with Eagle Scouts, as well as our Woodbridge Little League baseball team. This year, our Scout of the Year was selected as the Virginia Boy Scout of the year. Our hope for the future of America is advanced through the Post's Voice of America, Patriot Pen and Teacher of the Year Programs.
We have provided and delivered hundreds of meals, holiday and Sunday Dinners to the needy including fabulous Easter Sunday Dinners and Memorial Day Dinners to members, as well as making regular health and welfare visits to Post members.
The Post donates to the Lorton Community Action
Center (a local food bank) to purchase food for
the needy.
We gave blood, deployed to NYC to stop COVID, and contributed to the Occoquan "Good News Community Kitchen" run by one of our Members.
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