W

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
AMERICAN LEGION

CHAPTER I

Foreword

'hatever else war is—and it has been described in every way, from

one slightly profane word to countless pages of histories and novels— it is a unique and memory-stirring experience for those who were most intimately involved as merabers of the armed forces. From the shared experiences and the quickened feeling of kinship have sprung many organizations of ex-servicemen.

While George Washington's army was still in the field, officers of the Continental Army formed the nation's first veterans' association—the Society of the Cincinnati.

Today there is no accurate record of the total number of veterans' organizations, but among them all, none has grown so large or has exercised such wide influence as has The American Legion. None is so intimately identified with the word "veteran." Since its origin in 1919 this largest of all veterans' organizations has become as integral and accepted a part of the American scene as hot dogs, baseball, and Presidential elections.

How did The American Legion achieve such a meteoric rise? With pictures and words, the following pages will trace the story of this giant of veterans' organizations from its conception on a foreign soil.

I. Cradle Days

THE

he American LEGION was born at a caucus of the first American Expeditionary Force, March 15-17, 1919, in Paris, France. This caucus was the result of a proposal previously offered by Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., to a group of representatives of A. E. F. divisions and service units. Roosevelt assisted in planning the Paris caucus, March 15-17, 1919, and called to order the subsequent caucus in the United States, May 8-10, 1919, in St. Louis, Missouri. His outstanding service during these vital periods of organization won for him the affectionate title "Father of The American Legion."

As the weary, homesick delegates assembled for the Paris caucus, they brought with them the raw materials with which to build an association of veterans whose primary devotion was to God and Country. In the minds of those men of the A. E. F. were a number of lofty ideals, uppermost among which were:

14

The title "Father of The American Legion" belongs to Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., who not only contributed a large portion of the initiative which resulted in the Paris Caucus but also served as temporary chairman of the St. Louis Caucus.

1. Creation of a fraternity based upon firm comradeship, born of war service, and dedicated to equitable treatment for all veterans, particularly the disabled, their widows, and their orphans;

2. National security for America, including a universal military training program for the prevention of future world conflicts;

3. Promotion of patriotism and the combating of materialistic and totalitarian ideologies which recognize neither the honor nor the dignity of the individual. It was at this Paris caucus that The American Legion received its name. The distinction of naming the new organization went to Maurice K. Gordon, then a major in the 36th Division and later a judge in Kentucky. A controversy had developed concerning the name, and it was Gordon who made the successful motion to label the infant group The American Legion.

While lofty principles had been expounded at the Paris caucus, it was decided to leave the definition of permanent policies for a later and more representative meeting to be held in the United States. An executive com

16

HISTORY AND OrganizaTION

mittee of 100 members was named to complete the organization in the A. E. F. while a sub-committee of 17 returned to the United States to promote interest among those who had already returned to the States.

Even though The American Legion was formed overseas, it was realized that members of the armed services have no choice as to where they serve -in the United States or overseas. Accordingly, it was decided that membership in The American Legion should be open to all veterans who had served honorably in the armed forces in World War I. (Eligibility requirements for membership have since been revised to permit veterans who served honorably in the armed forces of the United States in World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam era to join The American Legion.)

St. Louis Caucus

"A representative democracy in a federal republic" was the plan adopted by the Paris caucus for the formation of The American Legion. Advance committees of two members from each state met May 6, 1919, in St. Louis, Missouri, to prepare for a general caucus May 8-10, 1919, there. This St. Louis caucus, attended by some 1,100 delegates, produced the blueprint of The American Legion, approved the principles set forth at the Paris caucus, adopted a tentative constitution, and created the machinery to provide for a permanent organization.

It was at the St. Louis caucus that the now famous Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion was put into final form. A short preamble had been written at Paris by a sub-committee consisting of Frank White, William H. Curtiss, and Redmond C. Stewart. In St. Louis the now immortal Preamble was conceived by the fertile minds of John C. Greenway of Arizona, Hamilton Fish of New York, and George N. Davis of Delaware.

Organization work proceeded rapidly after the St. Louis caucus. Temporary offices were opened in New York City. On September 16, 1919, the Congress of the United States chartered The American Legion, thus giving official sanction to the Constitution adopted in St. Louis.

The charter convention of The American Legion met November 10-12, 1919, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The rapid pace with which The American Legion was building its organization was evident by the presence of many delegates still in the uniforms of the armed forces. The Minneapolis convention of 1919 approved the acts of the temporary organization and adopted a permanent structure. The first American Legion National Convention parade-which was to set the pace for what has become the utmost in pageantry, color and martial music-was on the first anniversary of Armistice Day, November 11, 1919. Included in the line of march were the 648 delegates representing the infant organization's membership of 648,000.

A somber note was injected at this first convention with the arrival of news that four Legionnaires of a newly formed post at Centralia, Washington, while marching in the Armistice Day parade in their home city, were

shot down in cold blood by members of the Industrial Workers of the World, a radical group incited by propaganda based on class hatred. Thus did The American Legion receive its first challenge by un-American elements, some of which to this day classify the Legion as their greatest enemy.

Franklin D'Olier of Pennsylvania became the first National Commander, and Lemuel Bolles of Washington, the first National Adjutant. D'Olier later became president of the Prudential Insurance Company, and performed sev eral non-salaried tasks for his country during World War II.

Representatives of five cities-Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Washington, D. C.-vied to gain the new organization's permanent national headquarters. Indianapolis won, and the national headquarters of The American Legion were moved in late 1919 from their temporary location in New York City to the Hoosier capital.

II. Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation

THE

'HE FOUNDERS OF The American Legion, when they met at the St. Louis caucus, recognized that a major concern of the organization would be the plight of the disabled veteran. The extent of the concern for these men is evident in the final phrase of the Preamble, "to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness."

The D'Olier administration completed organization of the National Service Bureau, which worked with state service bureaus and service officers of individual posts to assist veterans with problems of war risk insurance,

The organization of The American Legion was completed May 8-10, 1919, at this Continental Caucus in St. Louis, Missouri. Three delegates drafted the Constitution and By-Laws, and bere the Preamble was written.