VFW POST #6310 was founded in 1992 in honor of Petty Officer Robert Diaz Lopez, a 1965 graduate of Tolleson High School.  Petty Officer Lopez joined the U.S. Navy right out of high school and was deployed to Vietnam as a Medical Corpsman with the U.S. Marines in 1970.  Less than two months after arriving in Vietnam, Petty Officer Lopez was killed in action.

The mission of our VFW Post is patriotic, historical and educational.  We strive to preserve and strengthen comradeship among our members.  We assist our comrades in need and honor the memory and history of our fallen comrades and assist their widows and children.  We promote true allegiance to the Government of the United States of America and fidelity to its Constitution.  We strive to foster true patriotism and to maintain and extend the institutions of American Freedom and to preserve and defend the United States from all of her enemies both foreign and domestic.

The Robert Diaz Lopez VFW Post has been active in the South West Valley for the last 19 years.  We work in close coordination with the city government and civic and religious leaders to support and promote the city of Tolleson and the surrounding area by assisting them in cultural and patriotic events.

Some of the programs that our Post sponsors and oversees are local participation in Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy.  These are national audio and written essay programs for students in grades 6-8 and 9-12.  The Patriots program is a nationwide competition that gives young students the opportunity to write essays expressing their views on Democracy.  Annually more than 115,000 students participate.  Prizes range from $1,000 to $10,000 Savings Bonds.  The Voice of Democracy program provides more than $3,000,000 nationally in scholarships that range from $1,000 to $30,000 paid directly to the recipient’s university, college or vocational/technical schools.  The first place winner gets an all expenses paid trip to Washington D.C.

Another of our fine programs is the Buddy Poppy Program which is designed to raise money for the benefit of veterans.  All money donated to the Buddy Poppy Program is used for the sole benefit of our comrades in need.

We are privileged to have one of the finest Honor Guard / Funeral Detail and Color Guards in the country.  Our Honor Guard is certified by the U.S. Air Force and annually conducts at least 250 funerals with full Military Honors at both the National Cemetery of Arizona and other cemeteries throughout the State of Arizona.  In addition, the Color Guard participates in civic and cultural events all over the Valley of the Sun to include presentation of the Colors, parades and Flag Pole dedications.  Our Honor Guard maintains their uniforms and rifles.

Our Service Officers are highly trained personnel who devote hundreds of hours each month counseling and aiding veterans and their families and ensuring they receive the benefits they have earned by serving their country in combat all over the world.  In addition to counseling veterans at our post and at the VA Hospital, our Service Officers train other veterans to be Service Officers.

The VFW is unique in that we are the oldest U.S. Military Service Organization that is only open to combat veterans.  We are dedicated to assisting our fellow veterans and their families who may have special needs such as counseling, attaining medical equipment and even emergency financial assistance out of our own pockets if needed.

Since 1992 our membership has grown from a handful of members to more than 500.   We have out grown our current location and are in urgent need of securing at least 1½ acres of land to construct a larger facility.  Since our current location is often standing room only we need to expand to be able to reach out to new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and for us to fulfill our mandate of aiding our fellow veterans and our community.  In that light we have launched a fund raising program and have asked our members to reach out to the West Valley community for aid in raising the necessary funds to accomplish our goal.  Any money or land donated to our VFW Post will be used to further our need to have a facility large enough to meet our commitment to our veterans and our community.  We will be extremely grateful for any help you may provide in reaching our goal.

Sincerely,

Bobby Jones
Commander, VFW Post #6310
P.O. Box 1178
Tolleson, AZ 85353

Commander@VFWPost6310.org