The American Legion
The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans
organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members, and communities,
the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into
one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership
swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country.
Today, membership stands at over 2.4 million in 14,000 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.
Over the years, the Legion has influenced considerable social change in
America won hundreds of benefits for veterans and produced many important
programs for children and youth.
It is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization,
committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship wholesome programs in our
communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national
security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans.
Hundreds of local American Legion programs and activities strengthen the
nation one community at a time. American Legion Baseball is one of the nation’s
most successful amateur athletic programs, educating young people about
the importance of sportsmanship, citizenship, and fitness. The Heroes to
Hometowns program connects local Legionnaires with recovering wounded warriors
and their families, providing a variety of support activities. The Legion
raises millions of dollars in donations at the local, state, and national
levels to help veterans and their families and to provide college scholarship
opportunities.
The American Legion is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization with
great political influence perpetuated by its grass-roots involvement in
the legislation process from local districts to Capitol Hill. Legionnaires’
sense of obligation to community, state, and nation drives an honest advocacy
for veterans in Washington. The Legion stands behind the issues most important
to the nation’s veterans community, backed by resolutions passed by
volunteer leadership.
The American 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.
