The DAV is a nonprofit association of veterans who suffered some degree of disability while serving in time of war or armed conflict.

Founded in 1920, the DAV is totally funded by dues and contributions, receiving no federal funding.With National Headquarters offices in Cincinnati and Washington D.C. and California's Headquarters offices in Santa Fe Springs, the DAV focuses strictly on serving veterans and their families. A nonpolitical organization it has no political action committees (PACS) and endorses no political candidates.

Today there are more than 1.25 million members of the DAV with more than 116,000 residing in California.

Founded in 1920 and chartered by congress in 1932 as the primary advocate for America's service-connected disabled veterans, their dependants and survivors.

The DAV is made up exclusively of men and women disabled in our nation's defense. The DAV is dedicated to one, single purpose: building better lives for all of our nation's disabled veterans and their families. This mission is carried forward by:

-Providing free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) and other agencies of government;

-Providing outreach concerning its program services to the American people generally, and to disabled veterans and their families specifically;

-Representing the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before congress, the White House and the judicial branch, as well as state and local government;

-Extending DAV's mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level departments and local chapters;

-Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs.