With the outbreak of World War II, Vander Veen enlisted in the United States Navy in January 1941 and served until 1946, seeing active duty in the South Pacific Theater.

In 1958, Vander Veen made an unsuccessful bid as the Democratic Party candidate to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Gerald Ford in Michigan's 5th congressional district.

He stopped campaigning directly against his opponent, and instead took out newspaper advertisements "in which he promised to do his utmost to dislodge Nixon and turn the presidency over to Ford, a political folk hero in the district.

[4] (see also 1974 Midterm Senate and House elections) Vander Veen was reelected in November 1974 to a full term in the 94th Congress, but lost his seat in 1976 to Republican Kent County prosecuting attorney Harold S. Sawyer.

In 1978, Vander Veen ran for the United States Senate, but lost his bid for the Democratic nomination to Carl Levin, who went on to win the general election in November.