For God and Country we associate ourselves together for the following purposes:

To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; To maintain law and order; To foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism; To preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars; To inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation; To combat the autocracy of both the classes and masses; To make right the master of might; To promote peace and good will on earth; To safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice freedom and democracy; To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by devotion to mutual helpfulness.

What a powerful statement made by the original members at the convention in Minneapolis in 1919. The Preamble was established my men and women who had seen the horrors of war first hand and now wanted to make sure they stood for the right things in the United States. With the Preamble in place The American Legion moved forward. The Legion knew that it had to get a foothold in the all the States if it was going to be strong enough to lobby for Veterans Rights. The American Legion grew quickly with Legion Posts opening around the country and it quickly grew to 1 million members. At this time there are 2.4 million Veterans that belong to The American Legion, with 14,000 Legion Posts around the world. There are 55 Departments (one for each state along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines). Each State has a Department Headquarters and then is further broke down into Districts, Counties and Posts. This has held true since the start of The American Legion.

We would like to take time to give some History on The American Legion.

6/9/1919-National Committee adopts the “Legion Emblem”

6/16/1919-Congress Charters “The American Legion”.

11/10-12/1919-At the Convention in Minneapolis the Legion Constitution and Preamble are adopted. The delegates vote to make Indianapolis, Indiana the National Headquarters. Resolution passed to support the Boy Scouts of America. Legion Posts still Charter Boy Scout Troops still today.

In Minneapolis one of the biggest decisions The American Legion made was to state that it was going to be a Non-Partisan organization. The Legion thought from the start that being non-partisan would give them more power when lobbying for Veterans Rights. They knew this meant that both political parties would have to listen to the needs of the Legion as it grew in membership and would be a force for Veterans. It also meant that The American Legion would not be withholding to either political party.

8/9/1920-The American Legion helps to establish the U.S. Veterans Bureau the forerunner of the Veterans Administration

6/15/1923-The Legion drafts the first “Flag Code” and Congress finally adopts in 1942. Today the Legion is still the forefront of efforts to pass a Constitutional Amendment to protect the U.S. Flag from physical desecration.

7/7/1925-The Legion creates “American Legion Baseball”

9/1932-The Sons of The American Legion is officially recognized during the 1932 National Convention. To be an SAL member you have to be the son on an Honorably Discharged Veteran (male or female).You have to remember that WWI was to be the war to end all wars. So, the Legion was looking for a way to carry on the traditions of The American Legion and to have them continue the fight for Veterans.   

We have only touched surface of the impact of The American Legion. There will be more to come in future articles.

— Dan O’Brien is the Vice Commander of the Lafayette County American Legion.