American Legion

American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, in turn, made up of local posts. The organization was formed on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, by a thousand officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.), and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the United States Congress.
The Legion played the leading role in drafting and passing the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the "G.I. Bill". In addition to organizing commemorative events, members assist at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals and clinics. It is active in issue-oriented U.S. politics. Its primary political activity is lobbying on behalf of interests of veterans and service members, including support for benefits such as pensions and the Veterans Health Administration. It has also historically promoted Americanism, individual obligation to the community, state, and nation; peace and goodwill.
History
The American Legion was established on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, by delegates to a caucus meeting from units of the American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.), which adopted a tentative constitution. The action of the Paris Caucus was confirmed and endorsed by a similar meeting held in St. Louis, Missouri, from May 8 to 10, 1919, when the Legion was formally recognized by the troops who served in the United States. The Paris Caucus appointed an Executive Committee of seventeen officers and men to represent the troops in France in the conduct of the Legion. The St. Louis caucus appointed a similar Committee of Seventeen. These two national executive committees amalgamated and were the initial governing body of the Legion. The temporary headquarters was located in New York.
List of founding members
The men who initiated the formation of the Legion:
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., of the First Division
Colonel Henry D. Lindsley, formerly Mayor of Dallas, Texas
Colonel Horatio Nelson Jackson, US Army first person to drive an automobile across America
Sergeant John J. Sullivan, of Seattle
Lieutenant Colonel Franklin D'Olier, of Philadelphia
Ex-Senator Luke Lea, of Tennessee
Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Huidekoper, of Washington, D.C.
Major Redmond C. Stewart, of Baltimore
Wagoner Dale Shaw, of Iowa
Lieutenant Colonel George A. White, of Oregon
"Bill" Donovan, of the "Fighting 69th"
Major Thomas R. Gowenlock, of Illinois
Lieutenant Earl B. Dickerson, of the 92nd Division
Sergeant Alvin York, of Tennessee
Colonel John Price Jackson, of the S. O. S.
Lieutenant Colonel "Jack" Greenway, of Arizona
Sergeant Roy C. Haines, of Maine
G. Edward Buxton, Jr., of Rhode Island
Eric Fisher Wood, of Pennsylvania
Chaplain John W. Inzer, of Alabama
Lieutenant Colonel David M. Goodrich, of Akron
Chief Petty Officer B. J. Goldberg, of Chicago
"Tom" Miller, of Delaware
Major Alex. Laughlin, Jr., of Pittsburgh
Major Henry Leonard, of the Marine Corps
Dwight F. Davis, of the 35th Division
Corporal Charles S. Pew, of Montana
Brigadier General William G. Price, of the 28th Division
Bishop Charles H. Brent, Senior Chaplain of the A. E. F.
Major General John F. O'Ryan, of the 27th Division
Stewart Edward White, of California
Private Jesus M. Baca, of New Mexico
Brigadier General Charles H. Cole, of the 26th Division
Sergeant E. L. Malsbary, of Nevada
Lieutenant Samuel Gompers, Jr., of New York
Colonel Henry L. Stimson, Ex-Secretary of War
Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Whittlesey, Commander of the "Lost Battalion"
Roy Hoffman, of Oklahoma
Lieutenant Colonel A. Piatt Andrew, of the American Ambulance in France
Brigadier General Harvey J. Moss, of the State of Washington
John MacVicar, Mayor of Des Moines before the War
Sergeant George H. H. Pratt, of New Orleans
Colonel F. W. Galbraith, of Cincinnati
Corporal Joseph H. Fountain, of Vermont
Devereux Milburn, of the 78th Division
Lieutenant Colonel Wilbur Smith, of the 89th Division
Sergeant Theodore Myers, of Pennsylvania
Colonel Bennett C. Clark, son of Champ Clark
Robert Bacon, Ex-Secretary of State
Headquarters
The national headquarters, informally known as American Legion headquarters, is located on the Indiana World War Memorial Plaza at 700 North Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the headquarters for the National Commander of The American Legion and also houses the archives, library, Membership, Internal Affairs, Public Relations, and The American Legion magazine's editorial offices. The national headquarters has expanded multiple times since its establishment.
Emblem
The World War I Victory Button on a narrow circular band of blue enamel, containing the words "American Legion" in gold letters, forms the central element of the American Legion Emblem. The Legion emblem or "button" was officially adopted by the National Executive Committee of The American Legion on July 9, 1919.
Eligibility
Membership in The American Legion was originally restricted to soldiers, sailors, and marines who served honorably between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918. Eligibility has since been expanded to include personnel who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States or armed forces associated with the U.S., between December 7, 1941, through a date of cessation of hostilities as determined by the federal government, and was an American citizen when they entered that service or continues to serve honorably. U.S. Merchant Marines who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, are also eligible. Honorary, associate, social, or guest memberships in the Legion are not permitted. Members must be eligible through the nature and timing of their military service.
The following is a list of eligibility dates the American Legion uses to determine membership eligibility.
Publication
The official publication, originally known as The American Legion Weekly, launched on July 4, 1919. In 1926, the Legion Weekly reduced the frequency of publication and was renamed The American Legion Monthly. In 1936, the publication's name and volume numbering system changed again, this time to The American Legion.
The American Legion Digital Archive online offers scans of "American Legion magazine, national meeting digests, newsletters, press releases, and other publications published by the national organization."
Notable members
Notable members of The American Legion have included:
List of national commanders
Franklin D'Olier, of Pennsylvania, 1919–1920
Frederic W. Galbraith, Jr., of Ohio, 1920–1921
John G. Emery, of Michigan, 1921
Hanford MacNider, of Iowa, 1921–1922
Alvin M. Owsley, of Texas, 1922–1923
John R. Quinn, of California, 1923–1924
James A. Drain, of Washington, 1924–1925
John R. McQuigg, of Ohio, 1925–1926
Howard P. Savage, of Illinois, 1926–1927
Edward E. Spafford, of New York, 1927–1928
Paul V. McNutt, of Indiana, 1928–1929
O. L. Bodenhamer, of Arkansas, 1929–1930
Ralph T. O'Neil, of Kansas, 1930–1931
Henry L. Stevens, Jr., of North Carolina, 1931–1932
Louis A. Johnson, of West Virginia, 1932–1933
Edward A. Hayes, of Illinois, 1933–1934
Frank N. Belgrano, of California, 1934–1935
Ray Murphy, of Iowa, 1935–1936
Harry W. Colmery, of Kansas, 1936–1937
Daniel J. Doherty, of Massachusetts, 1937–1938
Stephen F. Chadwick, of Washington, 1938–1939
Raymond J. Kelly, of Michigan, 1939–1940
Milo J. Warner, of Ohio, 1940–1941
Lynn U. Stambaugh, of North Dakota, 1941–1942
Roane Waring, of Tennessee, 1942–1943
Warren H. Atherton, of California, 1943–1944
Edward N. Scheiberling, of New York, 1944–1945
John Stelle, of Illinois, 1945–1946
Paul H. Griffith, of Pennsylvania, 1946–1947
James F. O'Neill, of New Hampshire, 1947–1948
S. Perry Brown, of Texas, 1948–1949
George N. Craig, of Indiana, 1949–1950
Erle Cocke, Jr., of Georgia, 1950–1951
Donald R. Wilson, of West Virginia, 1951–1952
Lewis K. Gough, of California, 1952–1953
Arthur J. Connell, of Connecticut, 1953–1954
Seaborn P. Collins, of New Mexico, 1954–1955
J. Addington Wagner, of Michigan, 1955–1956
Dan Daniel, of Virginia, 1956–1957
John S. Gleason, Jr., of Illinois, 1957–1958
Preston J. Moore, of Oklahoma, 1958–1959
Martin B. McKneally, of New York, 1959–1960
William R. Burke, of California, 1960–1961
Charles L. Bacon, of Missouri, 1961–1962
James E. Powers, of Georgia, 1962–1963
Daniel F. Foley, of Minnesota, 1963–1964
Donald E. Johnson, of Iowa, 1964–1965
L. Eldon James, of Virginia, 1965–1966
John E. Davis, of North Dakota, 1966–1967
William E. Galbraith, of Nebraska, 1967–1968
William C. Doyle, of New Jersey, 1968–1969
J. Milton Patrick, of Oklahoma, 1969–1970
Alfred P. Chamie, of California, 1970–1971
John H. Geiger, of Illinois, 1971–1972
Joe L. Matthews, of Texas, 1972–1973
Robert E. L. Eaton, of Maryland, 1972–1973
James M. Wagonseller, of Ohio, 1974–1975
Harry G. Wiles, of Kansas, 1975–1976
William J. Rogers, of Maine, 1976–1977
Robert C. Smith, of Louisiana, 1977–1978
John M. Carey, of Michigan, 1978–1979
Frank I. Hamilton, of Indiana, 1979–1980
Michael J. Kogutek, of New York, 1980–1981
Jack W. Flynt, of Texas, 1981–1982
Al Keller, Jr., of Illinois, 1982–1983
Keith A. Kreul, of Wisconsin, 1983–1984
Clarence M. Bacon, of Maryland, 1984–1985
Dale L. Renaud, of Iowa, 1985–1986
James P. Dean, of Mississippi, 1986–1987
John P. Comer, of Massachusetts, 1987–1988
H. F. Gierke III, of North Dakota, 1988–1989
Miles S. Epling, of West Virginia, 1989–1990
Robert S. Turner, of Georgia, 1990–1991
Dominic D. DiFrancesco, of Pennsylvania, 1991–1992
Roger A. Munson, of Ohio, 1992–1993
Bruce Thiesen, of California, 1993–1994
William M. Detweiler, of Louisiana, 1994–1995
Daniel A. Ludwig, of Minnesota, 1995–1996
Joseph J. Frank, of Missouri, 1996–1997
Anthony G. Jordan, of Maine, 1997–1998
Harold L. Miller, of Virginia, 1998–1999
Alan G. Lance, Sr., of Idaho, 1999–2000
Ray G. Smith, of North Carolina, 2000–2001
Richard J. Santos, of Maryland, 2001–2002
Ronald F. Conley, of Pennsylvania, 2002–2003
John A. Brieden III, of Texas, 2003–2004
Thomas P. Cadmus, of Michigan, 2004–2005
Thomas L. Bock, of Colorado, 2005–2006
Paul A. Morin, of Massachusetts, 2006–2007
Martin F. Conatser, of Illinois, 2007–2008
David K. Rehbein, of Iowa, 2008–2009
Clarence E. Hill, of Florida, 2009–2010
Jimmie L. Foster, of Alaska, 2010–2011
Fang A. Wong, of New York, 2011–2012
James E. Koutz, of Indiana, 2012–2013
Daniel Dellinger, of Virginia, 2013–2014
Michael D. Helm, of Nebraska, 2014–2015
Dale Barnett, of Georgia, 2015–2016
Charles E. Schmidt, of Oregon, 2016–2017
Denise H. Rohan, of Wisconsin, 2017–2018
Brett P. Reistad, of Virginia, 2018–2019
James W. Oxford, of North Carolina, 2019–2021
Paul E. Dillard, of Texas, 2021–2022
Vincent J. Troiola, of New York, 2022–2023
List of honorary commanders
Marshal Ferdinand Foch, of the French Army
General John J. Pershing, Commander in Chief of the A. E. F.
List of past national commanders by vote of national conventions
Henry D. Lindsley, of Texas, 1919
Milton J. Foreman, of Illinois, 1921
Bennett Champ Clark, of Missouri, 1926
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., of New York, 1949
Eric Fisher Wood, of Pennsylvania, 1955
Thomas W. Miller, of Nevada, 1968
Maurice Stember, of New York, 1975
Hamilton Fish III, of New York, 1979
E. Roy Stone, Jr., of South Carolina, 1987
Robert W. Spanogle, of Michigan, 2008
USS Liberty survivors
American Legion events have long been off-limits to survivors of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty. Legion leaders forbid Liberty survivors from having a booth at their national conventions and censor any internal discussion about the attack.
On August 24, 2017, American Legion members approved and passed Resolution 40, which called for a full U.S. government investigation of the attack but continues to prohibit Liberty survivors from disseminating information about the attack at Legion conventions. This resolution went unanswered by Legion leadership. Previous resolutions had similarly failed to generate action by Legion leadership.
See also
Freedom Bell, American Legion
List of members of the American Legion
List of American Legion buildings
List of veterans' organizations
References
Citations
General sources
Further reading
External links
Official
General information
American Legion politician members at The Political Graveyard
The American Legion Centennial Celebration
Archives
Washington American Legion Records, 1919–1920. 4 microfilm reels. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
Stephen Fowler Chadwick Papers, 1917–1974. 21.1 cubic feet. At the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
1919 establishments in France
501(c)(19) nonprofit organizations
Advocacy groups in the United States
Aftermath of World War I in France
Aftermath of World War I in the United States
American veterans' organizations
Anti-communist organizations in the United States
Charities based in Indiana
Lobbying organizations in the United States
Magazine publishing companies of the United States
Nonpartisan organizations in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Indianapolis
Organizations established in 1919
Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress
Service organizations based in the United States
United States military support organizations