March 15, the birthday of The American Legion, is the day in 1919 when the first Legion caucus, held by members of the American Expeditionary Force, convened in Paris.
Each year, Legion posts across the country hold events – public, private or both – to commemorate this anniversary. A guidelined speech has been drafted by the Legion’s Media & Communications Division staff as a way for Legionnaires to emphasize what the organization represents, to both themselves and the community at large. The speech is not necessarily meant to be recited verbatim; members are encouraged to amend it to taste and audience. The birthday speech can be downloaded here.
Members of The American Legion Amateur Radio Club will operate a special event station to commemorate the Legion’s 96th birthday. Operating from the radio room at National Headquarters in Indianapolis, ham radio operators at club station K9TAL will celebrate the Legion’s 96 years of service to America’s veterans with both members and non-member amateur radio operators around the world on March 14. Learn more about the event here
Posts are encouraged to upload recaps and photos of their birthday celebrations (and other community activities) online at www.legiontown.org. Legiontown is a place for Legionnaires to tell their stories and see the stories of other Legionnaires. In the same vein is the Centennial Celebrationwebsite; some posts are posting their event plans ahead of time using the site’s calendar. For example, Post 148 of Colonial Beach, Va., is planning a dual Legion Birthday-St. Patrick’s Day party on March 14.