The Democrats Abroad (DA) Global Veterans and Military Families (VMF) Caucus recently submitted a draft resolution to the DA Resolutions Committee on the topic of Pershing Hall, a five-story facility in Paris, France, owned by the U.S. federal government and controlled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The resolution calls for VA to return Pershing Hall for veterans’ purposes, functions and events, in addition to urging for the National Park Service (NPS) to officially recognize it as worthy of preservation.
For most of the last century, Pershing Hall was a primary meeting location for veterans service organizations and their family members. The facility was adorned with works of art, commemorative plaques, thousands of books, and other military and war memorabilia. Unfortunately, in the 1990s, VA evicted veterans from Pershing Hall and instead signed a 99-year lease with a private company who in turn subleased it out to numerous foreign enterprises.
Pershing Hall today resembles nothing like its glory years of being a venue for U.S. veterans. WWI and WWII veterans and family members used to occupy the building and regularly hold veterans’ events, offer a library for Americans, have war memorabilia on display, and provide a unique and adequate meeting space for veterans. Its floor space in 2025, sadly, is now taken over by luxury shops, a café, and more. VMF’s resolution recognizes the historical significance of this historic building and urges for VA to correct this travesty by allowing for at least the fifth floor to be available primarily for U.S. veterans. It also encourages NPS to officially include Pershing Hall in the National Register of Historic Places and to designate it as a National Historic Landmark.
Please note that only DA’s DPCA voting representatives are able to vote on resolutions. The annual DA Global Meeting is set to occur from June 6-8 online. VMF urges all DPCA voting representatives to cosponsor this important pro-veterans resolution, and for individuals who are not DPCA voting representatives, please contact your country committee’s DPCA voting representatives to encourage them to support VMF’s resolution on Pershing Hall.
DPCA Voting Representatives can read the full text of the proposed resolution here, and the form to add your name as a cosponsor can be accessed here. DA members without log-in credentials may contact the VMF Caucus with a request to view the draft resolution.
U.S. citizens living abroad, both civilian and military, are highly encouraged to check your voter registration status and request your ballot for any upcoming elections in your home voting state that you are eligible to vote in.
The VMF Caucus, proudly consisting of veterans, military family members, and strong allies of veterans and military family causes, has a membership of approximately 1,300 members located in dozens of countries.
For questions pertaining to this statement, please reach out to