The YLC program of the Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) was begun when a Florida chapter decided to take students to the youth program of the Freedom Foundation, Inc. at Valley Forge, PA in the early 1980s. The program was deemed to be both important to the youth and future leaders of our nation, and that it could be done on a local basis. This would save the cost of transporting students from Florida to and from Pennsylvania.
The MOWW formed a committee and thus began the program within the MOWW. The general guidelines of the Freedom Foundation, Inc. program were adopted to include the following three areas of concentration:
Other areas of the country established YLCs to include Monterey, CA and Oklahoma City, OK. By the middle of the 1980s, the number had grown to around 10 YLCs around the country. The north Texas chapters of the MOWW were supporting the YLC at Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City, OK. However, that program ceased in 1997.
Region VIII of the MOWW comprises the states of Texas and Oklahoma. At the region meeting in November 1997, the decision was made to create YLCs within the region and to also create a foundation to assist in the funding of the YLCs. The Texas Patriotic Education Foundation, Inc., (TX PEF, Inc.) was established on 18 November 1997 and the region held the first YLC in June 1998 at Fort Hood, Texas.
Since the first Southwest YLC at Fort Hood in 1998, 63 additional YLCs have been held at eight additional locations (5 additional at Fort Hood):
