|
|
American Legion National HeadquartersPage Created on February 07, 2008 |
In addition to organizing commemorative events and volunteer activities, the American Legion is active in U.S. politics. While its primary political activity is lobbying for the interests of veterans, including support for veterans benefits such as pensions and the Veterans Affairs hospital system, it has also been involved in more general political issues, generally taking a conservative position. Most criticism of the Legion is based on its political activities.
The state American Legions run an annual civic training event for high school juniors called Boys State. Two members from each Boys State are selected for Boys Nation. The American Legion Auxiliary runs Girls State and Girls Nation. The American Legion also hosts many social events.
The American Legion is an organization of veterans of the United States armed forces who served in wartime. The Organization was founded in 1919 by veterans returning from Europe after World War I and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. As of July 2007, the group has nearly 3 million members.
Contents |
The American Legion's Post Officers Guide recounts the organization's founding, indicating that:
The George Washington Post 1 in Washington DC, organized March 7th, 1919, obtained the first charter issued to any Post of The American Legion on May 19th, 1919. Originally, the Post was named the "General John Joseph Pershing Post Number 1" in part to its members' sincere admiration of Pershing as a man, as well as their appreciation for his career as a soldier in the United States Army. However, at the St. Louis caucus that same year, members decided that Posts of the American Legion should not be named after living persons, and therefore the "Pioneer Post" was given its new and current name. It completed the constitution and made plans for a permanent organization. It set up temporary headquarters in New York City, and began its relief, employment, and Americanism programs.
Congress granted the Legion a national charter in September 1919. American Legion Post No.1 is in Memphis, Tennessee.
From the diary of Alvin C. York:
The first national convention of the American Legion was held from November 10-12, 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at which time the attendees adopted a permanent constitution and elected officers to head the organization. The original purpose of the Legion was to "preserve the memories and incidents of our association in the great war". Prior to World War I, few rural, working class, or even middle class Americans traveled to Europe. For a majority of urban Americans, their understanding of Europe had been acquired through the European immigrants they knew. Thus the two million Americans who had served in the American Expeditionary Forces had had very different experiences than their families, friends and neighbors. The American Legion allowed these young men and women who had served "Over There" to re-integrate into their hometowns and to still remain in contact with others who had been abroad. The Legion served as a supportive group, a social club and a type of extended family for former service men and women. In 1919, a new American Legion group in Washington was involved in the Centralia Massacre (Washington).
The American Legion was very active in the 1920s. It was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau, now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Legion also created its own American Legion Baseball Program. Commander Travers D. Carmen awarded Charles Lindbergh its "Distinguished Service Medal," the medal's first recipient, on July 22, 1927.
August 1921 -- The U. S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of the Veterans Administration, is created as a result of efforts by The American Legion.
At its January 1923 Convention, Commander-in-Chief of the American Legion, Alvin Owsley endorsed Benito Mussolini and Fascism. Saying "If ever needed the American Legion stands ready to protect our country's institutions and ideals as the Fascisti dealt with the destructionists who menaced Italy."
Asked whether that meant taking over the government, he replied "Exactly that. The American Legion is fighting every element that threatens our democratic government-Soviets, anarchists, I.W.W., revolutionary socialists and every other Red ... Do not forget that the Fascisti are to Italy what the American Legion is to the United States."
Owsley also invited Mussolini to speak at almost every yearly convention of the Legion during his time at its helm.
The first Flag Code, adopted by Congress in 1942, is drafted during a conference called in Washington by The American Legion.
In 1930, the American Legion Memorial Bridge in Traverse City, Michigan, was completed. In that year, the Traverse City city commission decided to purchase dedication plaques for $100 at the request of the American Legion.
By 1931, membership of the American Legion had reached 1 million.
The Sons of the American Legion was formed at the American Legion's 14th National Convention in Portland, Oregon on September 12-15, 1932. Membership is limited to the male descendants of members of the American Legion or deceased individuals who served in the armed forces of the United States during times specified by the American Legion. In 2007 The Sons of the American Legion celebrates seventy-five years of service to God and Country. The organization has over 300,000 members.
According to congressional testimony in the 1930s, several of the American Legion's leaders, including its original bankroller Irénée du Pont, plotted a fascist coup against the Government of Franklin D. Roosevelt called the Business Plot. According to testimony the plot was averted because Major General Smedley Butler warned Roosevelt of the plan.
In 1935, the first Boys' State convenes in Springfield, Illinois.
The American Legion's first National High School Oratorical Contest was held in 1938.
The final round of The Americn Legion's first annual National High School Oratorical Contest is held in Norman, Okla.
The Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion is changed for the first and only time since its creation in 1919; the word "War" is changed to "Wars".
In 1942, the original charter of the American Legion was changed in order to allow veterans of World War II to join. Throughout the 1940s, the American Legion was very active in providing support for veterans and soldiers who fought in World War II.
Past National Commander Harry W. Colmery writes in longhand on hotel stationery the first draft of what will later become the "GI Bill of Rights," later regartded as the most important piece of social legislation enacted in the 20th century, which educated and made homeowners of millions of veterans, effectively inventing the American middle class.
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 -- The GI Bill -- is signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt.
The American Legion was active in campaigning for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II in relocation camps.
The first Boys Nation program was held in 1946.
May 1946 -- A $50,000 grant from The American Legion and The American Legion Auxiliary is presented to a small, struggling organization, the American Heart Association, to inaugurate a nationwide program for the study, prevention, and treatment of rheumatic heart disease.
August 1946 -- Membership reaches 3 million.
September 1949 -- The American Legion elects its first World War II veteran as National Commander.
The American Legion asked for a congressional investigation into the ACLU for their petitioning to end loyalty-oath laws for public workers such as school teachers during the red scare.
The American Legion votes to contribute funds to the field of mental health with the provision that the three major mental health organizations then in existence become one. The National Association for Mental Health is born later that year.
Veterans of the Korean War were approved for membership in The American Legion in 1950.
The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation was formed in 1954, a program that in time will distribute over $5 million for youth programs and projects.
September 1966 -- Vietnam War veterans are approved for membership.
August 1969 -- The National Executive Committee establishes the National Emergency Fund in the aftermath of Hurricane Camille.
On May 30, 1969, the Cabin John Bridge, which carried the Capital Beltway (I-495) across the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C., was officially renamed to the " American Legion Memorial Bridge" in a ceremony led by Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, director of the U.S. Selective Service System.
The American Legion launches a Halloween safety program, the only national program of its kind.
1976, an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia occurred among those attending a convention of the American Legion at The Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This form of pneumonia became known as Legionnaires' disease, or Legionellosis. The bacterium that causes the illness was later named Legionella.
The American Legion presetns a $1 million dollar check to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to help build "The Wall" in Washington. Member donations make The American Legion the single largest contributor to the project.
July 1983 -- The American Legion announces its sponsorship of an independent study on the effects of exposure to Agent Orange on Vietnam War veterans. The results of "The American Legion - Columbia University Study of Vietnam-era Veterans" were presented to Congress in 1989, which led to an angoing effort to provide benefits and compensation for affected veterans.
August 1983 -- The American Legion elects its first Korean War national commander.
September 1988 -- A Vietnam War veteran is, for the first time, elected national commander of The American Legion.
The longstanding objectives of The American Legion to improve adjudication procedures for veterans' claims are achieved by the creation of the U. S. Court of Veterans Appeals. Most provisions contained in the law are included in the Veterans Reassurance Act, which was written by The American Legion and introduced in COngress in 1988.
The Veterans Administration, with strong Legion support, becomes the Department of Veterans Affairs, a Cabinet-level division of teh federal government.
After a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the American Legion launched and funded an unsuccessful campaign to win a constitutional amendment against harming the flag of the United States. The Legion formed the Citizens' Flag Honor Guard and it later became Citizens Flag Alliance.
August 1990 -- The American Legion files suit against the federal government for failure to conduct a congressionally mandated study of the effects of Agent Orange on the health of Vietnam War veterans.
October 1990 -- The Family Support Network is formed by The American Legion to assist the families of military personnel deployed during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in the Middle East. A year later, it becomes a permanent program.
October 1990 -- Veterans of Lebanon, Grenada and Panama hostilities are approved for membership.
June 1991 -- The American Legion's first annual Junior Shooting Sports National Air Rifle Championships are conducted at the Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, Colo.
December 1991 -- Veterans of Desert Shield/Desert Storm area approved for membership.
1993 -- American Legion Riders chapters begin to form through various posts across the country.
April 1993 -- The first class of recently discharged veterans begins training in Sterling, Va., for weventual placement in well-paying jobs in the construction industry. The landwark training and job-placement program is a joint effort of The American Legion and the Laborers' International Union of North America.
In 1993, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts renamed a bridge in the city of Chicopee to the "American Legion Memorial Bridge".
August 1994 -- The American Legion announces creation of teh Citizens Flag Alliance, a coalition of organizations and individual citizens, to work for a constitutional amendment to give Congress the power to protect the American Flag from physical desecration, following a 5-4 1989 Supreme Court Ruling defining flag desecration as a form of free speech.
1996 -- The American Legion WEB Site is launched.
May 1997 -- Departments and Posts are encouraged to work with their local Children's Miracle Network-affiliated children's hospitals.
In a letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton in May 1999, the American Legion urged the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Operation Allied Force in Yugoslavia. The National Executive Committee of The American Legion met and adopted a resolution unanimously that stated, in part, that they would only support military operations if "Guidelines be established for the mission, including a clear exit strategy" and "That there be support of the mission by the U.S. Congress and the American people".
October 2001 -- The American Legion revives the Blue-Star Banner program to acknowledge homes with loved ones fighting terrorism for the U. S. Armed Forces.
October 2001 -- The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 2001, lead the National Executive Committee to establish the American Legacy Scholarship Program to provide college funds for the children of servicemembers killed in action on or after the attacks.
May 2002 -- The American Legion becomes actively involved in the Capital Asset Realiugnment for Enhanced Services (CARES) poroject, the most comprehensive effort to realign VA health-care services and facilities since World War II.
November 2003 -- The "I Am Not a Number" campaign is launched to show the frustration thousands of veterans experience over lack of access to VA health-care facilities. The campaign leads to "A System Worth Saving", an annual VA facility site-inspection and reporting program headed by the Legion's Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation division.
August 2005 -- Delegates at the National Copvention in Honolulu adopt Resolution 169 "Support for the War on Terrorism" that calls for people everywhere "to stand united in the global war on terrorism, and united in their support of the troops who are engaged in protecting opur values and way of life".
On August 30, 2005, Thomas P. Cadmus, National Commander, stated in an address to the Legion's National Convention that terrorism should be stopped by "any means necessary." In reaction, the Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), announced that he planned to eliminate the annual congressional hearings for Veterans Service Organizations that was established by Eisenhower. National Commander of the American Legion Thomas L. Bock had the following to say:
"I am extremely disappointed in Chairman Buyer's latest effort to ignore the Veterans Service Organizations. Eliminating annual hearings before a joint session of the Veterans Affairs Committees will lead to continued budgetary shortfalls for VA resulting in veterans being underserved."
Fall 2005 -- The American Legion distributes nearly $2 million in cash grants, which is restored within a year by member donations, to help veterans and their communities recover from the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma along the Gulf Coast.
May 2006 -- The American Legion participates in "Salute Our Heroes: The Veterans Job Fair and Career Expo" held in Chicago, the first in a series of partnerships with public and private entities to help veterans find good jobs or pursue dreams of business ownership.
Any person will be eligible for membership who was a member of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force of the United States and assigned to active duty at some time during any of the following periods (this includes those that are currently active and maintain honorable status):
The Post is the basic unit of the Legion and usually represents a small geographic area such as a single town or part of a county. There are roughly 14,900 posts in the United States. The Post is used for formal business such as meetings and a coordination point for community service projects. Often the Post will host community events such as Bingo, Hunter breakfasts, holiday celebrations, and etc. It is also not uncommon for the Post to contain a bar open during limited hours.
Each Department is divided into Divisions and/or Districts. Each District will oversee several Posts, generally about 20, to help each smaller group have a larger voice. Divisions are even larger groups of about 4 or more Districts. The main purpose of these "larger" groups (Districts - Divisions) are to allow one or two delegates to represent an area at Conferences, Conventions, and other gatherings, where a large numbers of Legionnaires may not be able to attend...
The Posts are grouped together into a state level organization known as a Department for the purposes of coordination and administration. There is a total of 55 Departments; one for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines. The 3 Departments located overseas are intended to allow active duty military stationed and veterans living overseas to be actively involved with the American Legion similar to as if they were back in the states. The Department of France consists of 29 Posts located in 10 European counties, the Department of Mexico consists of 22 Posts located in Central America, and the Department of Philippines covers Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The main American Legion Headquarters is located on the Indiana War Memorial Plaza in Indianapolis. It is the primary office for the National Commander and also houses the historical archives, library, Membership affairs, and the Magazine editorial offices. The Legion also owns a building in Washington D.C. that contains many of the operation offices such as Legislative, Veterans Affairs, Media Relations, and etc.
Editted from the Dept website --- "The American Legion, Department of Texas is made up of over 90,000 Legionnaires in approx. 526 Posts all across Texas. The Department is Divided into four (4) Divisions, with a Division Commander elected annually in the Spring to serve a one year term, to work on membership and to coordinate the activities of the Posts and Legionnaires within that geographical area. Each Division is divided into Districts with a total of twenty-three (23) Districts in The Department of Texas, each with a District Commander and other such officers as determined by each District."
May we also suggest you visit the Four Chaplains website: ( The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation)
The American Legion Department of Virginia is comprised of 215 posts divided into 17 Districts. Currently we have over 54,000 members. The Department Headquarters office is located in Richmond, VA
George Washington DC Post 1 - George Washington DC Post 1
John Dos Passos included in his U.S.A. trilogy a detailed description of the Centralia Massacre, taking the IWW side in this affair.
The 1949 story "The Long Watch", by Science Fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, was commissioned by the American Legion and published in the Legion's magazine. However, the story was reportedly "heavily edited" before being published - presumably because its theme - a one-man rebellion by a future space officer who sacrifices his life to foil a military coup and the use of nuclear weapons on civilian populations - can be read both as extolling patriotic self-sacrifice and as extolling rebelliousness and disobedience.
On their 1989 album, Key Lime Pie, the alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven referenced the American Legion in their song "When I Win The Lottery", with the lyrics,
And when I win the lottery, gonna buy the house next to Mr. Red, White and Blue, and when I win the lottery, gonna buy Post 306 American Legion, paint it red with five gold stars.
In chapter 9 of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it's revealed that Jay Gatsby was a member of the American Legion.
