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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN LEGION
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HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize the 100th
anniversary of The American Legion, the nation's largest wartime
veterans' service organization.
Through the years, The American Legion has evolved from a group of
World War I veterans into one of the most influential nonprofit groups
in the United States. Today, membership stands at over two million in
more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55
departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines.
The Legion is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization, with a
strong grassroots involvement in politics and the legislative process.
The Legion's success depends entirely on active membership,
participation, and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people
it serves and the communities in which it thrives.
The Legion stands behind the issues most important to our nation's
veterans, backed by resolutions passed by volunteer leadership.
Legionnaires' sense of obligation to their community, state, and nation
drives their advocacy for veterans and their needs.
On March 15, 1919, members of the American Expeditionary Force
convened in Paris for the first American Legion caucus. Congress
chartered the group that September. That November, delegates to The
American Legion's first National Convention established the Legion's
values of service to community, state, and nation. Those values would
form the Legion's four pillars upon which this great organization of
men and women still stands: Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, National
Security, Americanism, and Children & Youth.
These pillars remain in place to support veterans, national security,
patriotism, and the children and youth of America, the future of our
great nation. Based on these pillars, the Legion has built programs
with an unparalleled impact on American society during its first
century of service.
The Legion has influenced considerable social change in America and
won substantial victories for veterans, advocating for the
establishment of the Veterans Administration, the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and the G.I. Bill. The G.I. Bill helped make higher
education, home ownership, and future employment possible for veterans;
it also provided an opportunity for veterans to dispute the
characterization of military discharge, which had been at the
discretion of the commanding officer without an explanation.
Eventually, this policy led to the founding of the Board of Veterans
Appeals.
For decades, the Legion also fought to strengthen the nation through
a non-mandatory ``Universal Military Training'' so our country would be
prepared in the event of war. Out of this belief came the Reserve
Forces Act of 1955, which launched the modern Reserve component of our
military, as well as the National Guard.
The Legion has also produced or supported many important programs for
children and youth. Some of these are well-known to many Americans,
including American Legion Baseball, one of the nation's most successful
amateur athletic programs; Boys I Girls State and Girls I Boys Nation;
the National Oratorical Contest; The American Legion Veterans &
Children Foundation; the Boy Scouts; and scholarships. Around the
country, the Legion has also sponsored the Junior ROTC, youth law
enforcement academies, and a Junior Shooting Sports program.
Since 1989, victims of disasters have received tens of millions of
dollars from the Legion's National Emergency Fund. The Legion has also
funded research to help veterans who have suffered from post-traumatic
stress disorder, Gulf War Illness, burn pits, and other service-
connected problems and diseases. In the 1980s, the Legion partnered
with Columbia University to prove Agent Orange killed thousands of
Vietnam War veterans, made many more sick, and caused birth defects
among their children. Eventually, the Legion sued the federal
government so that affected veterans and their families could get the
necessary care they needed and were owed.
These are just some of the accomplishments and programs The American
Legion provides for our veterans and youth. Our country would not be as
strong as we are today without the Legion's advocacy, services, and
compassion for its fellow Americans during times of war and times of
peace.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating and
thanking The American Legion for its 100 years of exemplary leadership,
dedicated service, and outstanding commitment to ensuring our country
remains strong for generations to come.
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