WHEELING — While Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4442 Commander Gerald “Wally” McMasters will admit “the military wasn’t for him,” he discovered his passion for caring for his fellow veterans through his Vietnam War service.

McMaster’s journey from being at the “bottom of the ladder” in a construction battalion in the U.S. Navy to leading the local VFW began after he graduated from Central Cambria High School in Evansburg, Pennsylvania, in 1967.

The writing was on the wall for McMasters after graduation: He would have to join the military due to the draft. After speaking with a Navy recruiter, McMasters was reassured he would “get on a ship, go around the world, and probably never see Vietnam.”

That promise convinced McMasters that the Navy was the right branch for him. However, after boot camp, McMasters did not end up on a ship away from the war but instead performed maintenance work in Vietnam military bases.

“After boot camp, an officer started giving me all these green clothes, and I told him, ‘I joined the Navy. Is there a mistake here?'” McMasters recalled. “They told me I was going to be a ‘CB,’ and I had no idea what that was.”

McMasters soon learned that “CBs,” nicknamed “Seabees,” stood for construction battalion, and his role in the war would be as a tradesman on Vietnam military bases. After boot camp, he entered electrician school to become the expert electrician needed to keep the lights on at military facilities.

McMasters was first assigned to perform maintenance at a Marine Corps base in Vietnam. After spending a year at the base, he extended his service and went to South Vietnam to participate in “Vietnamization” efforts.

“We were teaching the Vietnamese to be self-sufficient, so we taught them to build houses, lay bricks, put roofs on houses,” McMasters said.

His six-month participation in Vietnamization efforts led McMasters to travel all over the country from Ho Chi Minh to Da Nang. After two years of service, McMasters returned home and entered the coal industry, as there “were no other jobs.”

McMasters worked as a coal miner in Pennsylvania for seven years before he moved to eastern Kentucky to work as a federal mine inspector from 1977 to 2001. From there, he held various mining-related jobs, including that of a ventilation specialist, litigation representative and accident investigator.

After his final accident investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in Beckley, McMasters retired in 2011. The ischemic heart disease he developed from the Agent Orange chemical used as a weapon during the Vietnam War resulted in him being physically unable to continue his accident investigation work.

McMasters then began performing mine consultations. This career change led McMasters to join a VFW branch in Kentucky as his previous federal mine inspector job made him wary of the social pressures that could affect his work.

“Sometimes social clubs put pressure on people because someone could say, ‘I know Wally from the VFW, so he’ll give me a break on this inspection,'” McMasters said. “I couldn’t afford that because my job was sensitive, and people could lose their lives.”

Though his entrance into the VFW was delayed, McMasters had always wanted to be a member.

“What’s nice about the social club aspect is that you can meet with brothers who understand what you’re talking about when it comes to military services,” McMasters said. “They know what it’s like to be lonely on your birthday. They know what it’s like to have Easter dinner at a camp or sit in pouring rain waiting for a fresh pair of socks.”

McMasters had plenty of his own traumatic stories from his Vietnam War service, from living with rats in bunkers to enduring the “three miserable months” of the monsoon season in Vietnam.

“When you get off the bus, they’ll break you down and build you up to what they think you should be,” McMasters recalled. “That’s the way of life. You can’t cry for mommy, and you can’t quit the military.”

The sense of camaraderie McMasters finds with his brothers-in-arms when recalling memories of Vietnam is irreplaceable. He noted that something as simple as the smell of diesel fuel causes flashbacks to his service, and having VFW members who can commiserate with him about the highs and lows of war has helped him come to terms with his own trauma.

When McMasters moved from Kentucky to Wheeling in 2017, his former quartermaster, Vernon Anderson, encouraged him to transfer his membership to VFW 4442. McMasters agreed to the transfer if he was not put into a leadership position. He described “having enough of leadership” after holding leadership roles at hospitals, schools and dioceses in Kentucky.

Though he believes he is “not a leader,” McMasters found himself moving through the ranks of VFW Post 4442 from trustee to junior vice president to senior vice president and finally commander.

Even though he did not set out to obtain the commander distinction, McMasters takes pride in his role. He noted that it was important for VFW Post 4442 to serve as more than a social club, as he has executed multiple projects to recognize and honor fellow veterans.

“It’s always been my philosophy to make everybody look good, and our organization look good,” McMasters said. “I want to involve as many people as possible to get involved with our organization and programs.”

McMasters undertakings in the commander role include the Quilts of Valor and the Purple Heart Parking Space programs.

Quilts of Valor provides all combat service members and veterans with a homemade quilt to honor their service.

“All the members who regularly attend our meetings have gotten a Quilt of Valor,” McMasters noted. “I remember one old member who received a quilt and was moved to tears. To be recognized for what you gave for your country years afterward can still have a big impact.”

McMasters believes the crown jewel of his projects as VFW Post 4442 Commander is the Purple Heart Parking Space program, which reserves designated parking spots at local businesses for veterans who have earned the Purple Heart distinction.

McMasters began the program in 2023 after he met a veteran with a Purple Heart license plate who refused to park in the handicapped spaces. The veteran told McMasters that he was not handicapped but “just had old war wounds.”

McMasters then approached local businesses to see if they would reserve spaces specifically for Purple Heart recipients. He has yet to hear a “no.”

Since McMasters’ conversation with the veteran, more than 70 Purple Heart Parking Space signs have been installed in the Ohio Valley, from Cabela’s to the West Virginia DMV. With every new sign, McMasters hopes residents will remember to respect those who made the ultimate sacrifice during their service to earn the distinction.

Even among VFW members, whom he does not regularly see at meetings, McMasters has heard of the program’s impact.

McMasters recalled running into a man at Walmart wearing a Vietnam veteran shirt. After exchanging “welcome homes,” the veteran asked McMasters whether he had seen any of the new Purple Heart parking spaces, which McMasters affirmed.

“He told me, ‘That’s our post doing the Purple Heart Spaces,’ and I didn’t even know he was a member because I had never seen him at meetings,” McMasters said. “To me, that’s the pride of the program. We’re getting people that don’t even come to our meetings to see VFW Post 4442 on signs.”

For McMasters, the “main focus” of his role is not to hear that he is doing a good job as Commander but for the VFW Post 4442 and all its members to be recognized for their impact within the community.

“I want veterans to say, ‘Hey, our post is out here putting these signs up,'” McMasters said. “It’s not just about me, but the whole organization, being recognized and respected in the community.”