Keeping stories alive: Grosse Pointe Veterans Club reflects on partnership with The War Memorial

Its mission is two-fold: to be an educational and social organization. 

The Grosse Pointe Veterans Club is a community veterans group of former and active-duty servicemen and women who have joined together to honor the traditions of the U. S. Armed Forces and to support the patriotic mission of military service organizations. 

The Veterans Club meets monthly at The War Memorial in the Veterans Room, located in the lower level of the historic Alger House.  

The Club has been headquartered at The War Memorial since at least the mid-1990s. Club membership is open to all honorably discharged veterans or active-duty personnel who live within 30 miles of The War Memorial.  

Currently, John Bates indicated the Club has 70 members. Bates has been the Club’s president for 20 years. He served in the Army in the early 1960s and was discharged as a sergeant. He notes that its membership peaked in the years following World War II, with around 140 members. The Club’s oldest member is 100-year-old World War II Veteran Larry Bennett. A former member who spent decades with the Club was Jean Gilbert, who passed away in December at age 105.  

“Jean was a coordinator to have members go to different schools and organizations and present a program about World War II,” Bates said. “Larry doesn’t miss a meeting.”   

The Club’s next event is its annual dinner on May 16 at 7 p.m. at The War Memorial. The dinner, which costs $35, includes salad, caprese chicken, herb roasted new potatoes, dinner rolls and butter, and cheesecake with fruit topping.  

In response to what he takes the most pride in with the Club, Bates indicated it is that the group keeps veterans educated on pertinent issues. 

“We want them to be informed of what is going on and after a meeting, we usually have historians that bring in material and we have discussions on what they did,” he said. “We just had a series on submarines.” 

Speaking to the Club’s history, Bates noted that its first president was Joe Trowern. He was president for over 20 years. Trowern passed away in 2022 at the age of 96, residing in the Grosse Pointe community for over 30 years. 

“The fellow that started the Veterans Club was Frank Sladen,” Bates said. “He was on the Board of Directors in 1949. He said it was strange that The War Memorial did not have a veterans club. It had been meeting next door at the church. They ran out of space at the church, so brought it over to The War Memorial.”   

Discussing what he values about the partnership with The War Memorial, Bates said that the Club and the nonprofit organization honors the military and those who have fallen. 

“It reminds people that there were wars and that lots of people served in them,” he said. “We always want to keep the memories alive.” 

To learn more about the Grosse Pointe Veterans Club, click here.