The Wisconsin Veterans Council was organized in Milwaukee in 1934-35 to act as a lobby for all legislation relating to veterans and their dependents in Wisconsin. Any organization in the state that represented veterans was eligible to belong; early members were the United Spanish War Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Army and Navy Union, the Disabled American Veterans, and the American Legion. Since no action of the Council was final without the affirmative vote of all member organizations, it was especially effective during World War II when there was unanimity among the member organizations. In 1943 the Wisconsin legislature enacted almost 75 bills that related to veterans or their families.
