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Edward Banas ( - )
Police officer, Vietnam veteran

Banas Elected VFW National Commander

(December 24, 2003) - Not bad for a Polish kid from Norwich, Conn. That's the now-familiar phrase Edward Banas uses in describing how he felt about being elected the national commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's oldest veterans' organization.

"The three things that stick out most in my mind is, first, meeting with a group of young men at Walter Reed Hospital a couple of weeks ago," Banas said. "They were wounded fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was heartfelt visiting with them.

"Second, the people I've met. The most impressive was the President and Colin Powell," he said. "And, the work still yet to be done, working on legislation on behalf of veterans."

Banas, a former Norwich police officer and Norwich Free Academy graduate, was elected chief at the VFW annual convention in San Antonio in August, becoming only the second Connecticut veteran to hod the position in the 104-year history of the organization. The Voluntown resident's rise to the top leadership position in the VFW was chosen the 1Oth Top Ten Story of Eastern Connecticut for 2003.

A Vietnam veteran, Banas joined the VFW in 1967 while still on active duty and worked his way up the organization's leadership ladder, serving in nearly every capacity on the local and state level before his election two years ago as national junior vice commander.

For much of the past year, Banas has been away from home serving as the official representative of the veterans' group around the world. In February, as senior vice commander, Banas made his second visit to Vietnam to tour sites where the search for MIAs is ongoing. He represented the VFW at ceremonies in Seoul, South Korea, in July marking the 50th anniversary of the end of that conflict.

Next year, Banas will represent the nation's veterans again at another historic ceremony - the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

Source: Straz, Mar. 18, 2004

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