“Right now we just want to be able to get into our post homes,” he said. He compared the closure of so many Texas VFWs to someone being evicted from their home without any other warning and said members wouldn’t mind not drinking on the premises for a while if it just meant they could have their building back. Shawver added he and other commanders are still pushing for a response from the governor. 19, with local post commanders also trying to reach out to their individual congressperson. The first letter was sent in early July and never received a response, he said. “We wrote two letters to let him know about this,” Shawver said. The Ohio native lives in Flint, Texas, just south of Tyler, and originally moved to Texas in the late 1970s. Shawver, a 70-year-old Marine veteran, said he has been involved with Texas VFWs for more than 25 years. It’s an issue VFW State Commander Dick Shawver has tried to address with Gov. Other restaurants or bars operating because they also serve food and aren’t impacted by the order are often packed with customers, he said, yet he and other vets aren’t allowed inside a private club.
Going out to bars or other restaurants causes him severe anxiety, making the VFW post one of the only places in which Brandon said he feels safe.
