To be eli­gi­ble for mem­ber­ship in AMVETS, you must have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, includ­ing the National Guard and Reserves, any­time after Sept. 15, 1940. Addi­tion­ally, unless still serv­ing, your dis­charge must have been under hon­or­able con­di­tions. If you served as an Amer­i­can cit­i­zen in the armed forces of an allied nation, under hon­or­able con­di­tions, between Sept. 15, 1940 and May 8, 1975, you are also eli­gi­ble, as are wartime mem­bers of the Mer­chant Marine. Proof of eli­gi­bil­ity can take the form of a DD-214, an hon­or­able dis­charge cer­tifi­cate or other appro­pri­ate document. To obtain DD214 records online through National Personal Records Center (NPRC) Here 

Do you have to serve in combat to be a member?

You do not have to be a com­bat vet­eran to join. All active duty and hon­or­ably dis­charged mil­i­tary per­son­nel are eli­gi­ble to become AMVETS members.