[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S6883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       COMMEMORATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, as we enter the twilight of the 
Twentieth Century, we can look back at the immense multitude of 
achievements that led to the ascension of the United States of America 
as the preeminent nation in modern history. We owe this title as 
world's greatest superpower in large part to the twenty-five million 
men and women who served in our armed services and who defended the 
principles and ideals of our nation.
  Before we embark upon the Twenty-First Century, the American Legion 
will celebrate its 80th anniversary serving our nation's veterans. 
Since the first gathering of American World War I Doughboys in Paris, 
France on March 15th, 1919, the American Legion has upheld the values 
of freedom, justice, respect and equality. The American Legion 
eventually was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-
help, war-time veterans organization. A community-service organization 
which now numbers nearly 3 million members--men and women--in nearly 
15,000 American Legion Posts worldwide.
  The American Legion's support for our nation's veterans has been 
exemplary over the last eighty years. Shortly after it's founding, the 
American Legion successfully lobbied for the creation of a federal 
veterans bureau. With the American Legion's support, the agency 
developed a veterans hospital system in the 1930s. In 1989, another 
American Legion plan became reality: the elevation of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs as a cabinet-level agency. The American Legion also 
successfully advocated for the compensatory rights of veterans, victims 
of atomic radiation, PTSD, Agent Orange, and Persian Gulf syndrome.
  Over the past eighty years, the American Legion also has been active 
in promoting the values of patriotism and competition with our nation's 
young people. There are many sons and daughters participating in 
American Legion sponsored programs such as American Legion Boys and 
Girls State, Boys and Girls Nation, the National High School Oratorical 
Contest, and the Junior Shooting Sports and American Legion Baseball.
  Throughout my service in Congress, I have long appreciated the 
leadership of the South Dakota American Legion for its input on a 
variety of issues impacting veterans and their families in recent 
years. The American Legion's insight and efforts have proven very 
valuable to me and my staff, and I commend each and every one of them 
for their leadership on issues of importance to all veterans of the 
armed forces.
  Mr. President, as Americans, we should never forget the men and women 
who served our nation with such dedication and patriotism. I close my 
remarks by offering my gratitude and support for all the achievements 
performed by the American Legion. For eighty years now, the American 
Legion has been the standard bearer in the representation of our 
veterans. I want to extend my sincerest appreciation to the American 
Legion for its continued leadership.

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