A group of twenty officers who served in the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in France in World War I is credited with planning the Legion. A.E.F. Headquarters asked these officers to suggest ideas on how to improve troop morale. One officer, Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., proposed an organization of veterans. In February 1919, this group formed a temporary committee and selected several hundred officers who had the confidence and respect of the whole army.
When the first organization meeting took place in Paris in March 15-17, 1919, about 1,000 officers and enlisted men attended. The meeting, known as the Paris Caucus, adopted a temporary Constitution and the name The American Legion. It also elected an executive committee and named a subcommittee to organize the veterans at home in the US. The Legion held a second organizing caucus in St. Louis, Missouri, in May of 1919. It completed the constitution and made plans for a permanent organization. It set up temporary headquarters in New York City, New York, and began its relief, employment, and Americanism programs.
Congress granted the Legion a national charter in September 1919. The first National Convention, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, adopted a permanent constitution and elected officers to head the organization.
This is where all of us, as American Legionnaires, began.
March 15-17, 1919
American Legion is founded in Paris by members of the American Expeditionary Force.
June 16, 1919
First Kansas charter of The American Legion issued to Topeka Capitol Post 1.
Sept. 16, 1919
The U.S. Congress charters The American Legion.
Nov. 10-12, 1919
First national convention of The American Legion convenes in Minneapolis, Minn.
Organization’s Constitution and Preamble are adopted. Resolution adopted supporting the Boy Scouts of America as first youth program.
Nov. 26, 1919
Moore Post 197 founded in WaKeeney, KS at the Trego County courthouse.
August 9, 1921
U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of the Veterans Administration, is created as a result of efforts by The American Legion.
June 15, 1923
First “Flag Code” is drafted during conference called by The American Legion. Congress adopted the code in 1942.
July 17, 1925
American Legion Baseball program is created.
June 23, 1935
First American Legion Boys State convenes in Springfield, Ill.
June 1, 1938
First American Legion National High School Oratorical Championship held in Norman, Okla.
Sept. 19-21, 1942
Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion is changed for the first and only time since it was written in 1919. The word “War” is changed to “Wars.”
Dec. 15, 1943
Harry W. Colmery, past national commander of The American Legion, writes in longhand on hotel stationery the first draft of what will become the “GI Bill of Rights.”
June 22, 1944
President Franklin Roosevelt signs The GI BILL into law.
May 29, 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.
May 4, 1950
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 be amalgamated into one. They accepted this provision and the National Association for Mental Health was born.
July 9, 1954
The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation is formed.
Sept. 1, 1966
The American Legion voices great concern over the fate of POWs in Vietnam.
Aug. 26, 1982
The American Legion presents a $1million check to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund toward the construction of ‘The Wall’ in Washington, D.C.
July 21, 1983
The American Legion announces its sponsorship of an independent study of the effects of exposure to Agent Orange on Vietnam veterans. (The results of “The American Legion Columbia University Study of Vietnam-era Veterans” were presented to Congress in 1989.)
Jan. 1, 1989
The Department of Veterans Affairs begins operations. The American Legion fought for the VA to become a cabinet-level department.
Oct. 16, 1989
Longstanding objective of The American Legion is achieved as the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals begins operations.
Oct. 11, 1990
The Family Support Network of The American Legion is formed to assist the families of military personnel deployed during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
June 15, 1991
The American Legion’s first Junior Shooting Sports National Air Rifle Championships are held at the Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, Colo.
Aug. 24, 1994
The American Legion announces creation of the Citizens Flag Alliance to work for a constitutional amendment to protect the American flag from physical desecration.
Sept. 24, 1994
The American Legion announces partnership with the Smithsonian Institute’s Air and Space Museum to develop an exhibit for the bomber Enola Gay, which dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Previous museum plans had drawn intense criticism from veterans, scholars and the public.
Jan. 30, 1995
The American Legion announces acceptance of scaled-down exhibit “without political commentary” for the Enola Gay, ending the greatest controversy in the Smithsonian Institute’s 149-year history.
Oct. 1, 1995
The American Legion forms a Persian Gulf Task Force to enhance the organization’s service to these veterans.
Sept 16, 1996
The first $20,000 postsecondary scholarship in the Samsung-American Legion High School Scholars program are granted to 10 students.
June 11, 1997
The American Legion National Emergency Fund exceeds the $1 million mark in grants to flood victims in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
Sept. 3, 1997
The first National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award is presented during the 79th National Convention in Orlando, Fla.
March 28, 2000
The American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of The American Legion donate $2.7 million to the World War II Memorial Fund. Donations exceed 3.4 million by year end.
Sept. 5, 2000
The American Legion presents the first “Spirit of Service” Awards to active duty service members for their off-duty volunteer activities.
Aug. 28-30, 2001
The American Legion passes resolution to rekindle Blue Star Service Banner program.
Sept. 12, 2001
The American Legion reactivates the Family Support Network following terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Oct. 10-11, 2001
The American Legion creates the American Legacy Scholarship Fund for children of military members killed on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
Sept. 11, 2002
The American Legion takes lead in conducting “A Day To Remember” events to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the nation.
Nov. 8, 2002
The American Legion launches national “I Am Not A Number” campaign to identify and document the delays veterans face in obtaining earned medical care benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Oct. 17, 2003
American Legion efforts on Capitol Hill break the deadlock on the Disabled Veterans Tax when Congress creates a 10-year phase-in for service-connected disabled retirees to receive military retired pay and VA disability compensation without subtraction from either. Legion efforts also result I passage of the Military Family Tax Relief Act.
Sept. 3, 2004
American Legion lobbying leads to more progress in elimination of the Disabled Veterans Tax with passage of PL 108-375 that eliminates the 10-year phase-in for 100 percent service- connected retirees, allowing them to immediately begin receiving both retired pay and VA disability payments.
Sept. 19, 2004
The American Legion launches a national program, the Blue Star Salute, where posts across the country hold public events to recognize troops, their families and local businesses on Armed Forces Day.
May 7, 2005
The American Legion lobbied successfully to remove from VA funding legislation administration-proposed increases in VA prescription co-payments and institution of user fee for Priority Group 8 veterans using VA health facilities. Efforts focus on legislation to provide mandatory, vice discretionary, funding of VA health care.
June 30, 2008
President George W. Bush signs the Post-911 Veterans Education Assistance Act, a modern GI Bill strongly supported by The American Legion, which lobbied on its behalf.
Oct. 22, 2009
President Obama signs the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform Act of 2009, guaranteeing “advance funding” for VA appropriations, a formula that The American Legion has strongly supported for many years. The new law sets funding for VA one year in advance.
Feb. 1-28, 2010
The entire Legion family bands together and wins $250,000 for Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW) in PepsiCo’s Refresh Everything Project, submitting the most votes in an online contest and beating out hundreds of other groups and charities to take first place in the contest’s first month. A big part of getting the word out was the American Legion Online Update e-newsletter. This is an early example of the still growing power of online and social media to augment everything the Legion does.
October, 2010
Continuing a long-standing tradition of advocating for timely and adequate medical care for veterans, the Legion forms a PTS-TBI Ad Hoc Committee to both examine current methods by VA and the Department of Defense of treating the two conditions, and investigate potential alternatives.
December, 2010
The Legion officially begins a relationship with United Services Automobile Association (USAA), making the veteran-founded insurance company “The American Legion’s preferred provider of financial services.” The purchase of USAA products gains money for Legion programs. USAA representatives often give members helpful financial information and tips through Legion media.
May 5, 2011
The National Executive Committee authorized establishment of The American Legion Amateur Radio Club (TALARC) to promote emergency communications and disaster preparedness, engage youth in math and science and facilitate public communications with our nation’s federally licensed amateur radio operators who are veterans. TALARC membership opened free for members of The American Legion, The American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion who are FCC licensed ham radio operators.
August, 2011
The American Legion Baseball World Series is held for the first time in the tournament’s new permanent home, Shelby, N.C. Prior to this, the tournament had rotated to different cities. Total paid attendance at the Shelby contests soars to an all-time high of 86,000 total.
October, 2012
VA guarantees its 20 millionth home loan. 1936-1937 National Commander Harry Colmery and 1943-1944 National Commander Warren Atherton escorted the original GI Bill of Rights through Congress in 1944, arguing passionately for veterans educational benefits, government-assured health care and what they called “readjustment allowances.” Today Colmery and Atherton are lauded as the “fathers of the GI Bill” and its successors.
Aug. 30, 2013
National Commander James E. Koutz announced that the American Legion family raised more than $1.1 million for Operation Comfort Warriors during the 2012-2013 fundraising year. It easily surpassed his original goal of $500,000.
2014
in the midst of a VA waiting-list scandal that reached up to the deaths of veterans waiting for care, The American Legion calls for the resignations of several top officials, including VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. The scandal would ultimately engulf multiple facilities and offices; the Legion kept the issue in front of the public and Congress via articles and testimony.
August 2014
National Commander Michael D. Helm announces that Legion Family members and friends donated more than $4 million (his goal) to Legion charities and programs during his year in office.
July 2016
The Legacy Scholarship is expanded to children of post-9/11 veterans who have a combined VA disability rating of 50 percent or greater.
June 2017
Created to hold VA employees more accountable, the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 is passed by Congress in concert with The American Legion. A longtime goal of the Legion, this legislation gives the VA secretary the authority to terminate the employment of VA employees who do not hold the standard of the VA’s missions, to help veterans. The American Legion worked hard with Congress, VA and others to create and pass this much needed veteran-centric legislation.
August 2017
The Legion assists in the creation and eventual passage of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, which modernizes the current appeals process at the Department of Veterans Affairs, forcing VA to render a decision on a veterans claim within one year.
August 2017
The American Legion, in concert with others, creates, advocates for and passes the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2017. Named after the author of the original GI Bill and Past National Commander of The American Legion, the new GI Bill improves upon the great foundation that already existed, removing the burdensome cap to use the education benefit, along with many other great additions to the legislation aimed at improving the lives of veterans and their families.
August 2017
Denise H. Rohan of Wisconsin is elected national commander, the first woman to hold the role in the Legion’s history.
