Veteran wireless operators association

Honoring the skills, service, and sacrifice of the professional wireless operator

a tradition worth remembering

The era of the professional wireless operator has ended. CW communications has all but disappeared from anywhere other than the amateur radio community. The maritime, airline, military, and telecommunications industries no longer employ radio operators. Computers, digital technology, cellular networks, and satellites provide reliable communications capabilities over every inch of the Earth's surface with a reliability and reach that would have been beyond anyone's wildest imaginations ninety years ago. The arcane skills and legendary dedication of of the maritime radio operator, the pioneering spirit of the airborne operators, and the dedication of point-to-point operators if no longer necessary. But at one time, virtually all long-distance communication, most military communication, and all the communication with ships at sea demanded highly skilled and dedicated radio operators -- the "brasspounders." These skilled and dedicated operators often risked danger from sea and storm as well as long and tedious periods of separation from loved ones. They served their employers, their communities, and their nations. Countless lives have been saved, untold disasters averted, thousands of rescues have been facilitated by "ships sparks" during the era of the professional radio operator. For 90 years, the Veteran Wireless Operators Association has the preeminent fraternal organization of these highly-skilled radio operators. In 2015, the Board of Directors of the VWOA formally redefinined the organization. It is no longer a membership organization of active and retired radio operators. Today and for the foreseeable future it is a not-for-profit historic organization dedicated to honoring and preserving the service, history, and sacrifices of all radio operators -- at sea, in the air, and on land.ia.

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From the Constitution of the Veteran Wireless Operators Association
The wireless art, and in particular the transmission and reception of messages by wireless operators, has been from its inception a service of special value to mankind in general, and for this reason is deservedly a source of pride to all who consider themselves privileged to have spent a part of their lives in this service.
Holding that the strong sense of pride and brotherhood thus engendered should be given form and perpetual commemoration by means of an association of those actively linked with this service, the founders of this fraternity and the present members have therefore established themselves as an Association . . .