Fred Hamilton is a native Montanan, born in Whitefish and graduated from Whitefish High School in 1968.  After graduation he enlisted in the Air Force where he spent 20 years as an aircraft flight engineer.  His assignments included Iceland, Viet Nam, Philippines, and was an initial cadre flight engineer on the KC-10 refueling airplane. Fred earned his eligibility in the VFW while stationed in Viet Nam in 1971.  Fred joined VFW Post 276 in 1996 and became the Post Commander in 2018, a position he holds today.  Through his leadership, the Post was selected as the Business of the Year by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce.  Because of this involvement the Post was awarded the National VFW Community Service Post Award.   He was an All-State Commander in 2018 and 2019 and became an All- American Commander in 2019. He was elected District Commander of Montana’s District 1, the largest in the state, and has held this position since 2019.  Fred was also appointed as the National Aide-de-Camp in 2018 and the State Budget Committee in 2020.  Fred is married to his wife, Brenda, for 35 years and resides in Columbia Falls, MT