Veterans of Future Wars (VFW) was a satirical political organization initially created as a prank by Princeton University students in 1936. The group was conceived as a parody of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the movement for early payment of a bonus to veterans of World War I that had been originally scheduled for disbursement in 1945 when the World War Adjusted Compensation Act was passed in 1924. The group jokingly advocated the payment of a similar $1,000 "bonus" (plus 30 years' of interest) to future veterans of a coming European conflagration while the recipients were young enough—and alive—to enjoy it. The erstwhile parody organization became a national sensation, gaining upwards of 60,000 adherents on college campuses across the United States. The members nationwide were strongly anti-war and cared little for the anti-bonus motivation of the leaders, all of whom were Princeton students. The deep contradiction led to an overnight disintegration late in the 1936–37 academic year. Organizational history Background In March 1936, Princeton University roommates Lewis Gorin, Jr. and Urban Rushton attended a movie at which they saw a newsreel reporting plans for an early payout of $2 billion in bonus money to veterans of World War I which had been originally scheduled for disbursement in 1945 as part of the World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924. The pair's sensibilities were offended that such a massive payout was being so readily granted by Congress in the midst of the Great Depression, due mostly to the lobbying efforts of special interest groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion. With war in the wind in Europe, the two collegians penciled out plans for a parody organization that would lobby for immediate payment of $1,000 "war bonuses" to every American man of military age, including 30 years of future interest—which would bring the total to $2,400—while they were still alive to cash the checks and young enough to enjoy the money. This organization would be known as the Veterans of Future Wars (VFW), in obvious parody of the national veterans organization using the same acronym since 1899. The group's satirical manifesto, written by Lewis Gorin, explained the rationale for such a payment: The group's manifesto also noted that American women would "suffer no less than the men in the coming strife" and therefore advocated immediate payment of a pension of "$50 per month during