Rathke steps down from role as VFW Post 1638 Commander

At the Nov. 5, 2024, meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Schmitt Manecke-Donner Post 1638, current Commander, John Rathke, announced he was stepping down from his leadership role, because he learned there was a problem with the documentation of his military record and—though he is taking the necessary steps to get the matter resolved—it was the right thing to do. As soon as it is resolved, he will be back to active membership in the VFW in good standing and will again work to support the organization however he can, including in a leadership role if he is again elected to serve, he said.
Rathke had the support of Senior Vice Commander Corey Dornbrack and, following Rathke’s announcement to Post 1638 membership, the two also went to the VFW Post 1638 Auxiliary and shared the same information with the membership there so everyone in the Post 1638 community would be fully and accurately informed of the circumstances that led to his decision.
The problem started when Rathke was informed his paperwork showed he wasn’t eligible for the VFW, Rathke said. “I needed to have my DD-215 changed, because they didn’t have my war awards on there.”
“I was informed my DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) did not show a qualifying medal to be a member of the VFW. I then put in a correction of record to the Air Force Board of Correction, the process I started last year in November,” he said. “I received the letter back from the Air Force Board of Corrections stating the information I provided did not qualify for the medal I requested for the correction of my DD-214. I have since been in contact with the VSO (Veteran Service Office) and have been informed I qualify for the Southwest Asia Service Medal (SWASM). I am currently in the process of completing another Air Force Board of Correction.”
“They denied the one award that we put in for—we put in for the wrong one basically. So I felt at that time that I needed to step down until I got that corrected,” Rathke said. “I wanted to do the right thing.”
“I was deployed to Diego Garcia from Jan. 2, 1991, until the end of May 1991,” he said. “I also retired from active duty with an honorable discharge, which is one of the requirements to be a member of the VFW.”
“It was my discussion and obligation to inform the Post membership of my circumstances and step down from Commander until the correction is completed,” Rathke said. “From day one when I signed up in the VFW, 18 years ago, I assumed my DD-214 was correct, due to the fact my deployment was during Desert Storm and the B-52’s were deployed out of Diego Garcia for bombing missions, where I helped maintain and repaired them when any damages occurred.”
“There is a paperwork discrepancy here which makes me temporarily ineligible until it’s resolved,” Rathke said. He said it was important to him to be fully transparent and to step down until the issue is formally resolved.

Rathke’s record in Merrill

Rathke joined VFW Post 1638 in 2006 and was elected to Junior Vice Commander in 2012. He was Commander from 2013-2019, during which time the Merrill post was recognized with numerous awards, including Captain of the All-State (the top award at the State level) for 2014-2015, All-State for two years, and All-American for one year. In 2022, he was again elected Commander, a role he has held until now, and under his leadership, VFW Post 1638 was again named All-State, one of the top 15 posts in Wisconsin, and All-American for 2022-2023. In 2016-2017, Rathke also helped start the funding for the construction of the new Northwoods Veterans Post.

Military family needs to support one another

Ultimately, it is just a paperwork discrepancy, Dornbrack said. The issue is in the process of being rectified and, once it is, Rathke will be restored to good standing within the VFW and he will be eligible to serve in a leadership role again if he so choses.
The current paperwork failed to show his proper credentials to verify that he was eligible to be a member of the VFW and to be an officer in good standing.
Essentially, Rathke’s records were missing the documentation for the Southwest Asian Medal he received as a result of his serving in Diego Garcia in a combat role.
Not all awards get into a soldier’s paperwork, Dornbrack explained. “Some awards aren’t given until afterwards, and if you go on to another unit or you get out of the military, everything doesn’t catch up with you."
“Some awards are easier to see than others,” Dornbrack said. “And sometimes you think it’s in there, but it’s not. You know what you did, but all of a sudden there’s nothing there.”
It’s unfortunate that false rumors about Rathke’s voluntarily stepping down have been circulating in the community, Dornbrack said. “It is highly disappointing.”
“You know, we military—we’re family,” he said. “We have enough issues [from our service/combat] without stuff like this … we just don’t need this, you know, other people throwing members under the bus unjustifiably."
“The District Commander knows about it; the State Commander knows about it,” Dornbrack said. “I’m a District officer myself—I’m the Senior Vice [Commander] for District also, so the higher entities know that this is going on, and they want to help any way they can. It’s not that John’s not putting forth his information … It’s when you don’t put forth your information, that’s where it causes problems.”
The paperwork has always been there, Rathke said. But at the time it was looked at, no one noticed an issue.
Maybe the VFW needs to do something different—that when you apply for the VFW, it’s got to get sent up to the State for verification, the two suggested. It’s possible that membership procedures should be tweaked going forward to avoid these kinds of issues.

Interim Commander, elections to fill two vacancies in December

Dornbrack is currently acting VFW Post 1638 Commander in an interim role. As Senior Vice, he can choose to take on the role of Commander, Rathke said, and Dornbrack said he is considering doing so and will make a decision on that before the next meeting, but he wasn’t prepared to officially accept the role immediately at the November meeting when Rathke announced his decision to step down. It’s a lot of responsibility, Rathke said.
If Dornbrack fills the Commander role, the membership of VFW Post 1638 will need to elect a new Senior Vice Commander, as well as a new Junior Vice Commander—due to the recent and unexpected death of Junior Vice Commander Paul Kudick—at the December meeting. If Dornbrack opts to retain his position of Senior Vice Commander instead of stepping into the Commander role, then the VFW membership will need to elect a new Commander and Junior Vice Commander. In either case, two leadership roles will be filled at the upcoming Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, VFW Post 1638 meeting at 6 p.m.
All members of the VFW in good standing are eligible to come to that meeting to vote in this election. Nominations will be accepted from the membership to fill the vacant roles.