Stillwater Veterans of Foreign Wars Ollie O. Dykes Post 2027

Stillwater VFW Ollie O. Dykes Post 2027 (https://vfw2027.org) was named for a World War I veteran who was killed while serving overseas. He was killed in France on September 12, 1918. He is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and was the first soldier killed from Payne County in WWI. The post has been an advocate in the areas of citizenship, patriotism, courtesies to the national flag and national anthem, veteran affairs, honoring and remembering veterans and the fallen, and mentoring youth and recognizing their achievements in the community. The post works with veterans to help ensure they receive the benefits they have earned. Service officers provide assistance to veterans and their families, which includes claims for disability, as well as death benefits. The post hosts and participates in veteran-related ceremonies at local cemeteries, including hosting Memorial Day festivities at Sunset Memorial Gardens, and participating in Veterans Day activities at Fairlawn Cemetery where it presents a commemorative wreath. In past years, the post provided a firing squad as a part of their Memorial Day ceremonies at Sunset. A new initiative the post recently supported is the “Wreaths Across America” program to place a live evergreen wreath on the grave of each veteran in the local cemetery during the 2017 Christmas season. The post assisted in the Prisoner Of War/Missing In Action (POW/MIA) Empty Chair Ceremony during the remembrance service at Fairlawn on December 16, 2017. The present VFW post building is a 1-story metal structure, with 6 tall flagpoles positioned to the north along the entrance walk to the post building and adjacent to the parking area. The tallest, central flagpole flies the American flag above the POW/MIA flag. The other flagpoles fly the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard flags. (Note: Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of Highway US-177 and State Highway OK-51. It is the county seat of Payne County, with a population of 49,504 in 2016, and is home to the main campus of Oklahoma State University (OSU). Stillwater was part of the first Land Run held April 22, 1889, when Oklahoma Territory's unassigned lands were opened for settlement. The city charter was adopted on August 24, 1889.) (Note: Private Dykes’ tombstone at Fairlawn Cemetery indicates his rank was private, and he served with the 165th Regiment, 42nd (“Rainbow”) Division. The regiment did not receive campaign credit for participation in the Chateau-Thierry campaign, and was involved in combat operations in the St. Mihiel Salient on the date of his death.)