A Brief History of The American Legion

The American Legion was founded March 15-17, 1919, by members of the American Expeditionary Forces still stationed in Europe awaiting passage home from World War I. Their experiences in what was called the “war to end all wars” would shape an enduring agenda for what became the nation’s largest organization of veterans.

Many of the Legion’s founders had voluntarily drilled in civilian military camps before the United States entered the war. Trained in the “Preparedness Movement,” several future Legion founders were commissioned as officers in the war and discovered firsthand the nation’s deficiencies in defense, citizenship and education. Soon after the war’s end, they also realized how poorly prepared the United States was to assist a wave of disabled and unemployed veterans who faced uncertain futures in their communities, states and the nation.

The American Legion’s emergence and rise to prominence was based on a mission to strengthen the nation through programs, services and advocacy that helped millions throughout the organization’s first century.

The American Legion built its legacy with a vision to make the nation prouder, stronger, smarter and more respectful of those who have sacrificed some, or all, in defense of the nation. Following are some The American Legion’s achievements during its first century.

Veterans

Formed a network of service officers in 1919 that now exceeds 3,500 to help disabled veterans, free of charge, file for government benefits
Successfully campaigned to put all veterans services under one federal authority, the Veterans Bureau in 1921, predecessor to the Veterans Administration in 1930 and the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989
Assisted millions of veterans in pursuit of rewarding careers

National Security

Lobbied persistently for a better-funded and more efficient national system of defense
Called for the establishment of a separate service branch for aeronautics as early as 1919, which helped give birth to the U.S. Air Force in 1947
Pushed Congress for “universal military training” for decades, culminating in the Reserve Forces Act of 1955
Conducted thousands of troop-support programs, including deployment ceremonies, welcome-home events and provision of needed items in theater
Established and staffed thousands of local first- response units and civil patrols during World War II
Provided financial and volunteer aid for military parents through American Legion Temporary Financial Assistance and Family Support Network programs established during the Gulf War
Began The American Legion Blood Donor Program in 1942, and became the largest organizational blood donor to the Red Cross in the nation
Re-established the Blue Star Banner program to recognize military families with deployed loved ones after 9/11
Launched a program to provide comfort items for U.S. military personnel recovering from wounds in DoD hospitals or transition units, ultimately named Operation
500,000 veterans in permanent jobs and 200,000 more in temporary positions
Successfully lobbied Congress to protect veterans benefits, VA hospitals, training programs and services on the federal budget chopping block over the decades
Developed programs and advanced research into what became post-traumatic stress disorder as early as 1921, when it was mischaracterized as “shell shock”
Produced studies that led to official diagnosis of PTSD in 1980 and proved that service-connected exposure to Agent Orange and atomic radiation caused diseases that demanded government accountability
Achieved Veterans Preference Hiring for federal jobs
Drafted, presented, promoted and pushed to passage the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the original GI Bill that transformed U.S. economy and culture in the second half of the 20th century
Worked to improve the GI Bill for post-9/11 veterans, including the 2017 Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, the “Forever GI Bill”
Comfort Warriors in 2008; has distributed millions of dollars of goods, games, books, music, recreational equipment and event passes for troops and their families
Provided emergency grants for members of the U.S. Coast Guard who had pay delays due to the January 2019 federal government shutdown
Fought to protect military retirement benefits and TRICARE insurance
Stood as a national leader in the recovery and repatriation of all U.S. POWs and MIAs
Passed and reaffirmed national resolutions, beginning in 2005, supporting the troops and their mission in the global war on terrorism

Americanism

Actively promoted responsible U.S. citizenship and patriotic awareness beginning in 1919
By January 1920, began providing U.S. citizenship and naturalization programs for immigrants, with support from Congress
Led flag conferences in 1923 and 1924 that established the first standard rules for treatment and respect of the U.S. flag, adopted in 1942 as U.S. Flag Code
Established official retirement ceremonies for worn-out U.S. flags, most often a joint activity with Boy Scouts of America units
Began American Legion Boys State in Illinois in 1935 to counter communist- inspired youth camps in the United States and to teach the way government operates in a democracy, a program that went national in 1946 and ultimately became American Legion Boys Nation
Strongly advocated for active participation in the voting process, conducting thousands of candidate forums and a national Get Out the Vote program
Assembled the Citizens Flag Alliance after the controversial 1989 Supreme Court ruling defining deliberate flag desecration as free speech and began a campaign to seek a constitutional amendment to return to the states the right to pass laws to protect the flag

Children & Youth

Urged American Legion support for Boy Scouts of America as the organization’s first youth program supported by resolution, in November 1919
Established an enduring relationship in 1921 with the National Education Association “to cooperate in
securing for America a program of education adequate to meet the needs of the 20th century … which will make all, native or foreign-born, good American citizens.”
Launched American Legion Baseball in 1925 to promote citizenship through sportsmanship, a program that would grow to field thousands of teams over the century
Developed and operated marksmanship competitions that became the national American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Program in 1991
Sponsored thousands of Junior ROTC programs across the country and at American schools overseas
Created and operated a National Oratorical Contest beginning in 1938, continuing today, that requires high school-age orators to speak on the U.S. Constitution
Established a national network of child-support field representatives in the 1920s and operated orphanages throughout the country to assist kids who needed stable homes and mentorship
Formed the Child Welfare Foundation in 1954 to provide grants to support organizations and agencies that assist young people facing challenges not of their making
Provided thousands of scholarships for high school students seeking college educations
Launched an ongoing program in 1926 that recognizes with School Award Medals young people for their character, service and citizenship.
Was chosen by Samsung Corp. in 1995 to administer a
$5 million fund to provide scholarships for Boys State or Girls State participants who are descendants of U.S. wartime veterans
Established an American Legion Legacy Scholarship in 2001 that provides college funds for children of military personnel killed or 50 percent or more disabled

Community Service

Immediately established civil defense as a function of The American Legion and began a century of support in communities wracked by disasters, from mining accidents to tornados, wildfires and hurricanes
Launched a Community and Civic Betterment Bureau in 1923 to help municipalities build and improve parks, playgrounds, health-care facilities, swimming pools, schools and theaters throughout the United States
Served meals, provided housing for refugees and searched for survivors of the massive Mississippi and Ohio River floods of 1927 and 1937
Sponsored soup kitchens at American Legion posts to help destitute citizens during the Depression throughout the country

Honor & Remembrance

Took a lead role in 1920 to formally observe Memorial Day at the graves of U.S. military personnel laid to rest in some 2,400 temporary cemeteries in Europe
Was actively involved in the development of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1923
Backed legislation in 1920 to install the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, dedicated Nov. 11, 1921
Helped dedicate the towering Liberty Memorial in Kansas City during the third national convention, in 1921
Raised funds in 1926 to help build the Ossuary at Verdun, France, to remember the cost of World War I
Pushed for 24-hour guarding for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1937 and purchased lights for the shrine in 1969
Raised over $1.2 million, most by any organization, to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated in a Legion-sponsored 1982 “Salute to Vietnam Veterans”
Passed a resolution in 1985 to open every official American Legion meeting with a prayer for all American POW/MIAs
Raised funds and provided marketing support for the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Helped establish state highway patrols, and supported them, as they emerged across the country
Established the National Emergency Fund in 1989 to formalize The American Legion’s long program to provide disaster relief
Delivered millions of dollars in National Emergency Fund grants for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, Wilma and Rita on the Gulf Coast, and the flooding that followed in New Orleans
Conducted dozens of natural disaster relief efforts, following Superstorm Sandy, Hurricanes Irene, Michael, Maria and others, wildfires in California, devastating flooding in the Midwest and other crises
Raised more than $3 million for the construction of the National World War II Memorial, dedicated in 2004
Pledged funds to help construct a National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Conducted thousands of local memorial services a year at funerals, special events and ceremonies honoring those who served their country and lost their lives
Argued in court, including the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019, to protect veterans and military memorials from removal due to religious symbolism in their design