UWSP
Vets 550
UWSP History Vets 550 Home Photos 35th Reunion 50th Reunion

Begun in 1955 by a group of Korean War Veterans, the Vets 550's formed a unique college organization. What it would become during the Vietnam Era none of the original members could have foreseen. The club was disbanded in 1984 due to lack of membership.

Earliest Photo From 1957 'Iris'

At its peak, 1968-77, over 100 Vietnam Era members each semester paid their dues, $15.00 and all the beer you could drink, to form one of the closest knit organizations on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's campus. The Alumni Office currently lists over 750 members for this organization. We know that it is in reality well over 1,000 members strong.

Group Photo from 1975-76?

October 13, 1990 saw the first fully organized(?) Reunion (35th)of the club. Curtis Judd, the first president, showed up on Friday night and was pleased. He later wrote:

"When I looked around that group from the picnic table, when we had our picture taken, I felt like the mother hen and its chicks. I felt like the god-father. I have no children so one of the things I started was this “550 club” 35 years ago. Let me tell you about it. This is an elite group of people-they are veterans. I feel anyone who is not a veteran is a 2nd-class citizen. They can still vote and pay taxes and sometimes are nice people but if you’re not a veteran you’re 2nd-class. This group I saw were all veterans many of the Vietnam war yes half of this group saw combat. I didn’t know a person here. I’d never met them before. But we have these things in common.

  1. We're vets.
  2. Went to school at C.S.C., WSU or UWSP probably have a degree or 2.
  3. All belong to the Vets 550 Club.

The upper 10% of the population, the elite. What did I see when I looked around the group of people in Iverson Park on a nice 10-13-90 day? I’ve known a lot of nice people and that's what this group was."

From here you can view photos and read about this organization.

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