Sunshine prevails during Florida walk
Photo by John Raughter

Sunshine prevails during Florida walk

Rain was in the forecast but Mother Nature worked some American Legion magic and cleared the skies during a Walk for Veterans which featured an eclectic group of participants in Dunedin, Fla., Saturday.

National Commander Dale Barnett led the 2-mile round trip journey from Post 275 to Purple Heart Park where a wreath-laying ceremony was made memorable by a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace" from local middle school students.

“As a retired school teacher, I love seeing young people at our walks and other Legion events,” Barnett said. “The American Legion is a family organization and these walks are an opportunity to remind the public of that.”

While Barnett and Florida Department Commander Jim Ramos were the titular leaders of the walk, they still trailed Post 275 Commander Sid Damsgard who rode his 1887 “High Wheeler” bicycle. The 129-year-old bicycle is similar to another antique that Damsgard rode from San Francisco to Boston during a 69-day journey that he made in 1984 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first U.S. coast-to-coast ride made by Thomas Stevenson.

“I’ve had offers but I wouldn’t trade this bicycle for anything,” said Damsgard. "It’s not easy to ride but there is a lot of history behind it.”

Damsgard and his post are also seeing historical growth, increasing its membership by 5 percent annually over the last 10 years. He said they currently have 809 Legion members and more than 400 Auxiliary and 400 Sons of The American Legion members.

Barnett believes growth like Post 275 and Lady Lake, Fla., Post 347 are a reflection of their community visibility. “The Lady Lake post has more than 6,000 members and is the largest in The American Legion,” Barnett said “They are highly visible and very generous with their donations. They make sure that people understand that when they give their money to an American Legion program – 100 percent of that donation goes toward that cause. They also know what it means to be part of a winning organization.”

While The American Legion has many top fundraisers in the organization, 9-year-old Alan Landers of St. Petersburg might be the youngest. A member of Sons of the American Legion Squadron 275, Landers founded a Superheroes Fun Run in Pinellas Park. So far, Landers has raised more than $30,000 for the central Florida Honors Flight program, granting opportunities for dozens of World War II veterans to visit their national memorial in Washington, D.C.

But even the creator of the Superheroes Fun Run decided that he couldn’t pass up a chance to participate in The American Legion Walk for Veterans. “I like to do everything I can to support veterans,” Landers said. “The fun run is another way to do this. People can dress up as their favorite Superhero or wear a shirt. I picked a Captain America shirt.”

The Dunedin event marked the 24th American Legion Walk for Veterans in which Barnett has participated. The Department of Florida, however, held several prior walks prior to the national commander’s visit.

“At first, I was thinking we could hold a walk from the Florida Keys to Tallahassee (approximately 640 miles),” Ramos said. “But then I got a better understanding of what these walks were. They are really local events and do a great job of raising (American Legion) visibility. One walk put a post over the top at 100 percent membership that very day.”

While Barnett was able to visit some of the Legion’s largest posts, Florida National Executive Committeeman Dennis Boland said it was important for the national commander to visit a multitude of posts in the area. “We’re visiting just about every post in the 7th, 15th and 16th districts. When the national commander comes to a local post, it makes a big difference. Even if only eight or nine people are at a small post, it makes a big difference to them when he comes. It is for the betterment of our organization that even small posts get to hear from their national commander.”