Eric Fisher Wood Eric Fisher Wood , Sr . ( 1889 – 1962 ) was an American civil engineer , architect , author , and officer in the United States Army , retiring with the rank of Brigadier General . Wood is best remembered as one of the key founders of the American Legion veterans ' organization in 1919 . Biography . Early years . Eric Fisher Wood was born in New York City in 1889 . As a boy Wood was educated in private schools . He later enrolled at Yale University in New Haven , Connecticut , from which he graduated with degrees in Economics , English , and a PhD degree in civil engineering . Wood did additional post - graduate course work studying architecture at Columbia University in New York City , as well as the École des Beaux - Arts in Paris . Activity during World War I . At the time of the eruption of World War I , Wood was an American in Paris . Wood volunteered his services at the American Embassy in France as an attaché , joining the Embassy staff to help handle the greatly increased workload that was associated with the war . Later Wood would join the American Ambulance Corps , serving in that capacity for a few months . Wood maintained a journal during his time in Europe which he published in book form in 1915 as " The Note - book of an Attaché : Seven Months in the War Zone . " Wood subsequently returned to the United States , where he became Vice - President of the National Security League , an organization dedicated to fostering so - called " military preparedness " in the face of the vast and spreading European War . Wood was also involved from a year from 1915 to 1916 as part of the Plattsburgh Training Camp Executive Committee . He found time to publish a second book during this interval dealing with the topic of military preparedness , " The Writing on the Wall . " In 1917 Wood returned to Europe , where he served in the British Army with the rank of Major . In this capacity he was wounded at Arras on April 9 , 1917 . Follow American entry into the war in 1917 , Wood was commissioned as a Major in the U . S . Army on August 14 , 1917 and served as assistant chief of staff for the 88th Infantry Division . Wood was wounded again , this time by poison gas during the Meuse - Argonne Offensive that same fall . By the end of the hostilities in November 1918 Wood had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel . Founding the American Legion . On February 15 , 1919 , Wood was ordered by Gen . John J . Pershing to join with 19 of his fellows in a special committee headed by Theodore Roosevelt , Jr . given the task of providing a set of recommendations aimed at curbing the serious problem of declining morale . A series of proposals resulted from the day - long session , including elimination of restrictive regulations , organization of additional athletic events and recreational opportunities , and the expansion of leave time and entertainment programs . Lt . Col . Roosevelt had an additional purpose unbeknownst to Wood , however , and in the evening the group retired to an Allied Officers Club , where the eldest son of the former President unveiled his proposal for a new veterans ' society — a group which would ultimately emerge as the American Legion . A provisional executive committee of four people emerged from the February 15 " Roosevelt dinner " , headed by Roosevelt himself , who was to return to the United States and obtain his military discharge when able , and then to gather assistants and promote the idea of the new veterans ' organization among demobilized troops there . Roosevelt ' s close associate in the project George A . White , who was to travel France touring the camps of the AEF explaining the idea in person . The European center of operations was to be manned by Wood , together with former Ohio Congressman Ralph D . Cole . The pair were to establish a central office and to maintain contact by mail and telegram with the various combat divisions and headquarters staffs , as well as to publicize activities to the press . Wood also served as the first temporary chairman of the April 1919 Paris Caucus of the American Legion , as well as the Secretary of the two subsequent gatherings which formally established the organization , the St . Louis Caucus and the Minneapolis National Convention . Interwar career . During the 1920s Wood moved to Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , where he established himself as a prominent architect . He also continued his military career as commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard . With the outbreak of World War II , Wood was recalled to active duty . He served for the duration of the war , rising to the rank of Brigadier General . During the course of his military career Wood would earn the Legion of Merit , the Purple Heart with oak leaf , and the Croix de guerre , in addition to 20 ribbons and 10 battle stars . Death and legacy . Eric Fisher Wood , Sr . died in 1962 , preceded in death by his eldest son , Eric Fisher Wood , Jr . , who was killed during World War II at the Battle of the Bulge . His papers , consisting of 8 linear feet of correspondence , manuscripts , diaries , and photographs , are housed at the Special Collections Research Center of Syracuse University Library in Syracuse , New York . A finding aid is available on - line . Wood ' s best - known architectural work is the Harding Tomb in the former President ' s hometown of Marion , Ohio . Wood was co - designer of this massive classical white marble structure .