The Veterans of Future Wars (VFW) was a short-lived student movement that came in response to the bonus paid to World War I veterans in 1936. The VFW began at Princeton University, but quickly spread across the United States, attracting attention from all groups of American citizens. It was extremely popular on college campuses, but it engendered vocal and intemperate opposition from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, chambers of commerce, and other citizens. The student leaders were branded as Communists, Fascists, or other similar subversive groups. The group attracted attention from political leaders; some members of Congress were supportive, but others attacked the group on the floor of the House of Representatives. The student group ended about four or five months after it began. Despite its short life, it was a successful movement that attracted wide support and caused serious discussion about the role of the federal government in providing bonuses to veterans.

"Until now, professors have mentioned the Veterans of Future Wars (VFW), created in March 1936, to liven up class lectures. In an engaging account, Whisenhunt (emer., Western Washington Univ.) provides the first serious, full-scale study of this admittedly ephemeral organization. Far from being organized by radical pacifists, the VFW was launched by a group of politically conservative undergraduates at Princeton University to satirize the effort to grant government bonuses to all veterans of WW I, irrespective of any overseas service. Skillful publicity inadvertently led to the formation of a genuinely intercollegiate body that, at the height of its growth, encompassed over 500 chapters and up to 60,000 members. On some campuses, women formed the Future Gold Star Mothers, a phenomenon followed by the establishment of such bodies as future chaplains, propagandists, profiteers, war correspondents, unknown soldiers, munitions makers, and venereal doctors. The VFW lasted only a few months, falling victim to lack of a general program, the distraction of forthcoming national elections, and congressional adoption of the bonus bill. Sources include the VFW papers at Princeton University, other manuscript collections, personal interviews, and the collegiate press. Summing Up: Recommended." - CHOICE

"Whisenhunt writes an interesting and enjoyable book." - Military Review

"Whisenhunt does historians and general readers a favor by providing a description and analysis of this largely forgotten episode." - Journal of American History