A Brief History

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 legacy for what has become 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 identity 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 3,000 to help disabled veterans, free of charge, file for government benefits
Campaigned to put all veterans services under one federal authority, which led to creation of the VA
Assisted millions of veterans in pursuit of rewarding careers; by June 1922 had already placed more than 500,000 veterans in permanent jobs and 200,000 more in temporary positions
Fought to protect veterans benefits, VA hospitals, training programs and services from federal budget cuts

Developed programs and advanced research into what became post-traumatic stress disorder as early as 1921

Produced studies that led to official diagnosis of PTSD in 1980 and proved that service-connected exposure to Agent Orange and radiation caused diseases
Achieved Veterans Preference Hiring for federal jobs
Drafted and pushed to passage the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the GI Bill that transformed America; worked to improve subsequent renditions, including the 2017 Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, the “Forever GI Bill”
Led efforts to achieve VA recognition for veterans previously denied benefits and health care for conditions caused by exposure to toxic burn pits in the Global War on Terrorism, as well as others who suffered illnesses caused by atomic radiation and Agent Orange
Led a nationwide “Be the One” to reduce and prevent veteran suicide

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 Comfort Warriors in 2008, which 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
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