Legacy for the future: James E. Sursely, a combat-disabled veteran of the Vietnam War, was elected National Commander on August 3, 2004, by a unanimous vote of the delegates to the 83rd National Convention in Reno, Nevada. Following are highlights of his acceptance remarks, which were received with enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation at its conclusion.

Throughout a person's life, there are some occasions that seem to stand out above many others. This is one of those moments for me.

I feel very humbled by your support. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your National Commander.

With your help and support the year ahead is full of promise, and I look forward to carrying on the fine work of Alan Bowers and all those who served before as leaders of this great organization.

What we, as an organization, have accomplished in fulfilling our mission of service to disabled veterans and their families is extraordinary. But we have a long history of outstanding accomplishments.

Let's take a look at what we have accomplished over the past decade, which I believe has been a crucial period in the DAV's history.

In the past decade, the DAV has:

* Breathed new life into our service programs;

* Re-energized our volunteer programs;

* Strengthened our membership recruitment and retention;

* Cultivated a powerful grassroots legislative advocacy program;

* Reached out to the American public in bold, new ways; and

* Implemented a far-reaching strategic vision at all levels of our organization.

All of which has been aimed at one purpose: Creating the DAV's Legacy for the Future.

We have accomplished all this through the inspiration and support of our volunteer and professional leadership working together as never before to get the job done.

And I am proud to lend my voice in admiration and appreciation to the architects of this remarkable transformation; DAV leaders like Dick Marbes, Dale Adams, Jesse Brown, Art Wilson, and to my predecessors who have remained committed to our mission and have shared that vision of excellence.

Just like all of you, I have seen first-hand the results of that vision and commitment to service.

Many thousands of today's veterans and their families have reaped the benefits of that dedication. Many more will also find the DAV's commitment to service is there for them as well.

They will find an organization that is ready, willing, and eager to stand up for their rights, not only now but in the decades to come, thanks to the strong foundation that you and I have to build on. It is the DAV's Legacy for the Future.

Ours is a legacy that has been passed from one generation of disabled veterans to the next. And we have a responsibility to strengthen that legacy so the DAV will continue to fulfill our mission of service and hope.

We do that by remaining true to our core values of service, quality, integrity, and leadership. And I pledge to all of you that I will be steadfast in my resolve to do just that.

Not long ago, I had the honor of visiting with a number of the brave men and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. I knew that some of those fine Americans whose lives are changed forever by their disabilities were just like me when I was injured in Vietnam years before some of them were born.

As I recovered from my injuries and began the life-long process of rehabilitation, the DAV became an increasingly important part of my life. I was fortunate to have a strong family support system in rebuilding my life, but the DAV was there for me as well. So, I know how vital the DAV is to this new generation of disabled veterans.

Our National Service Officer corps, its ranks continually replenished with the best trained, highly motivated wartime disabled veterans, will carry on a tradition of excellence nurtured and sustained by our professional leadership.

There are none better able to ensure that those disabled in service to our country receive all their earned benefits from a government that all too often has failed to honor its commitment to veterans.

Our Mobile Service Office program continues to be very successful in delivering help where it's needed most. The DAV "office on wheels" is an integral part of our broader outreach efforts at air shows and other special events where veterans congregate, spreading the word about our service and volunteer programs.

Even more important nowadays is our Transition Service Program which brings DAV service to our troops as they prepare to leave the military. This kind of preparation and assistance makes a huge difference as a veteran returns to civilian life.

Our Transition Service Officers provide these men and women with vital information about their rights and benefits, giving them a head start on claims for VA disability compensation, medical care, and other earned benefits and services.

Our VAVS hospital volunteers and Transportation Network continue to be the mainstays of the DAV Voluntary Services Programs. Our volunteers continue to outpace every other organization participating in the VAVS Program--the most volunteers, the most hours donated, all record setting statistics.

And we are finding new volunteer opportunities for our members. Those new opportunities are out in the communities where veterans live, in addition to VA hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, which have been the traditional base of our volunteer programs.

The Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship program rewards deserving young men and women who generously donate their time and compassion to sick and disabled veterans in their communities. They are fine examples of the hundreds of youngsters who have much to give and much to gain by volunteering in their communities.

We have built a stronger, more active membership. We've reinvigorated our recruitment efforts, offered new incentives for recruiters, and created some great new membership benefits and services as well.

We've launched an effort to attract, retain, and develop effective leaders throughout the organization. We've seen tremendous results from professional development and leadership training for our employees.

We've made a significant investment in computer and information technology and training designed to help them do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.

Leadership development for the fraternal side of our organization has the biggest pay-off in our Chapters and Departments, where the benefits of solid leadership have a direct impact on disabled veterans and their families in their own communities.

And from those Chapter and Department leaders come tomorrow's leaders at the District and National levels of our organization.

They also are the DAV's Legacy for the Future.

We've made tremendous strides in our effort to build greater government and public support for important issues affecting disabled veterans and their families.

As a part of our ongoing strategy in this area, we have been even more proactive in influencing public policy regarding veterans issues. And we've been successful on many fronts through our grassroots legislative efforts.

Your National Legislative staff works hard to keep the membership informed of the many proposals in Congress, and the membership really responds to their calls to action when needed.

Thanks in large part to your continued activism, Congress and the Administration have begun to pay more attention to veterans issues.

Politicians who had been dead set against it, are now falling all over themselves trying to take credit for legislation signed into law that partially repealed the prohibition against concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation for some of our more severely disabled veterans.

But we can't--and we won't--stop there.

And we've exceeded our initial expectations with regard to reforming the budget to guarantee full funding for veterans health care. We're not there yet, but we've got their attention in Washington, and the issue has been resonating all around the country.

We need to make sure that sick and disabled veterans have timely access to quality health care provided by the VA, both now and into the future.

We will not let Congress and the Administration turn their backs on sick and disabled veterans and simply walk away from the government's responsibility to fully fund veterans health care. It's not going to happen if we're all united behind the cause.

Next year, there will be a new Congress and maybe a new Administration. But regardless, veterans will face renewed challenges to our benefits and compensation.

There will likely be calls by some in Washington to cut spending, curtail veterans' programs, to break America's promise to veterans.

But you have an opportunity to keep that from happening. Know the candidates who support veterans. Use the power of your vote to send a message to Washington that veterans must be a national priority.

Let Congress know that veterans vote, and we vote for those candidates who have the best interests of veterans at heart.

It is absolutely vital that we exercise our rights as citizens. We must hold Congress and the Administration accountable for their actions on issues that affect our lives and the lives of our families. Because if you don't speak out on the issues and use the power of the vote, politicians will think they can get away with ignoring the rights of veterans. The choice is yours. Vote or lose.

These are worrisome times in our nation's history. Our nation is at war, and thousands of men and women have been injured in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other trouble spots across the world. Regrettably, the ranks of wartime disabled veterans will continue to expand for the foreseeable future.

So, as I assume the awesome responsibility and honor of leading our organization, I do so at a time when the spirit of the DAV is stronger and brighter than at any other time in our history. It also is a time when many more of our comrades will need the DAV for decades to come.

The journey leading up to this day has been very exciting and rewarding for me as a National Officer. I've had the opportunity to travel around the country and meet many of the members and leaders of our great organization.

So, it's a humbling thought to know that you have placed your trust in me to represent our organization to the general public and our lawmakers in Washington. I take this commitment very seriously and hope that I can live up to your expectations.

As your National Commander, I solemnly pledge to continue the fine traditions that Alan Bowers and all Past National Commanders have set for our organization, the DAV's Legacy for the Future.

That future will be filled with enormous challenges, to be sure, but a future that also will present tremendous opportunities, especially for our Departments, Chapters, and individual members.

After all, the future belongs to those who are best prepared for it. And that's just what our strategic plan was designed to do: Create the DAV's Legacy for the Future.

May God bless America, God bless the DAV, and God bless all of you. Thank you.