Membership Eligibility to join The American Legion requires the applicant
be a veteran, either on active duty (or with the Guard or Reserve),
or one who has been separated from service with a good conduct or
general discharge (that is, other than punitive) and who has served on
acti ve duty for a minimum of one day for purposes other than training
(weekend drills and summer camps) during a period
of armed conflict
involving U.S. Service overseas or in a hostile fire area
is not a prerequisite to membership. For instance, the Persian Gulf
era, beginning with Desert Storm to the present, is still an open time
frame. As a result, anyone who has served DURING this period is an
eligible candidate. If you have eligible family members, encourage
them to join or give them a gift membership. Call (860)928-2626 or (860) 928-9168 for further information regarding eligibility or for membership
applications. The future of The American Legion depends on new members. History of the American Legion
A group of twenty officers who served in the American Expeditionary
Forces (AEF) in France in WWI is credited with planning
the Legion. AEF Headquarters asked these officers to suggest ideas
on how to improve troop morale. One officer, Lt. Col. Theodore
Roosevelt, Jr., proposed an organization of veterans. In February
1919, this group formed a temporary committee and selected several
hundred officers who had the confidence and respect of the whole
army. When the first organizational meeting took place in Paris in
March 1919 about 1,000 officers and enlisted men attended. The
meeting, known as the Paris Caucus, adopted a temporary constitution
and the name "The American Legion." It also elected an executive
committee to complete the organization's work. It considered each
soldier of the AEF a member of the Legion. The executi ve committee
named a subcommittee to organize veterans at home in the United
States. The Legion held a second organizing caucus in St. Louis,
Missouri in May 1919. It completed the constitution and made plans
for a permanent organization. It set up temporary headquarters in
New York City, and began its relief, employment, and Americanism
programs. Congress granted the Legion a national charter in September
1919. The first national convention in Minneapolis adopted a permanent
constitution and elected officers to lead the organization.
