[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[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

                                 ______
                                 

                       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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