How do I donate an item to the museum?

Please contact us if you have an item or items you would like to donate to the Emil A. Blackmore Museum.  Please note that all items donated become the property of The American Legion, and we cannot accept temporary or conditional donations.

Where can I find information on the issuance or replacement of military service medals, decorations, and awards?

Information on the issuance or replacement of military service medals, decorations, and awards can be found at:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/replace-medals.html

Can we find information about building a memorial to residents from our town who died during wartime service?

There are many partial sources of information. Online, go to the American Battle Monuments Commission website. Here, the commission maintains a listing of those interred at U.S. military cemeteries overseas, and those missing in action from World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Additionally, it has a listing of veterans buried at the Corozal American Cemetery. This site does not contain the names of Americans returned to the United States for burial.

The National Archives and Records Administration maintains an online listing of those who died during the Korea and Vietnam wars, organized by state and with hometown of record.

The records in the Korean Conflict Casualty File are for persons who died as a result of hostilities in Korea, from 1950-1957, including those who perished while missing or captured. The Combat Area Casualties Current File, as of December 1998, includes final records for persons who died as a result of either a hostile or non-hostile occurrence in the Southeast Asian Combat Area, from 1956-1998, including those who died while missing or captured.

In print, try: World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing, U.S. War Department, 1946, published by the War Department for the information of public officials, press, radio and interested organizations. It contains data on military personnel who were killed or died, or became and remained missing, between the president’s declaration of unlimited national emergency on May 27, 1941, and Jan. 31, 1946.

Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, Casualty Section, Office of Public Information Department of the Navy, 1946. A state-by-state summary taken from casualty lists released by the Navy Department. Casualties listed represent only those on active duty in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, resulting directly from enemy action or from operational activities against the enemy in war zones from Dec. 7, 1941, to the end of the war.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names (December 1982). Chronological listing of those who were killed or died or remain unaccounted for from July 1959 until May 1975. Gives date of casualty and hometown of record.

Also, local newspapers very often published lists of local residents who served during a war shortly after the end of hostilities. A local library may have copies of these newspapers on microfilm. Check dates as much as six months after the end of hostilities. Possibly, state organizations have made similar efforts on behalf of a state monument or memorial. Check with your state government.

I have an American Legion School Award medal/medallion. What were these medals given for and how many were made?

The American Legion School Award originated with posts in Pennsylvania and spread throughout the country. It was given each year to the outstanding boy graduating from the eighth grade of a local public school or the equivalent grade at a private school. The award was based on five points: honor, courage, scholarship, leadership and service. Many Auxiliary units created a similar award for girls on the bases of courage, character, service, companionship and scholarship. This practice became an officially recognized national activity in 1926, when 1,046 medals were distributed and soon were being awarded to high school students.

The first medals available from The American Legion National Emblem Sales Catalog appeared in 1927. They were made in two different designs: one for boys, and a similar medal, smaller in size and appropriately designed, for girls. In 1951, a new design was implemented for boys and girls. In 1962, the qualifications for both genders were made the same: honor, courage, scholarship, leadership and service. The following year, patriotism was added.

Today, the medal is applicable for award to either boys or girls in the graduating classes of elementary, junior and senior high schools and colleges. For better citizenship and Americanism, posts present the official American Legion School Award medal to a number of boys and girls in graduating classes of public and private schools. Recipients best represent outstanding qualities of character and ability. Award is based on courage, honor, leadership, patriotism, scholarship and service, which if cultivated, result in better citizenship.

Medallion Type of Award: 2 1/2 inches, suitable for either boy or girl; Medal: 1 1/4 inches, identical in design to the large medal; American Legion ribbon with pin and catch (available through American Legion Emblem Sales).

What information on individual members may be found at National Headquarters on a current or former Legionnaire?

National Headquarters maintains biographical files on those Legionnaires who have attained a certain level of participation, including national commanders, National Executive Committeemen, national officers, department commanders, department officers, department adjutants and Legion staff members. We do not maintain biographical information on members at the local level, such as post commanders, post officers, post members, county officers and district officers.

Our earliest resource for membership verifications is American Legion Magazine subscription records from 1968. These only show name, address, post, department, years of continuous membership and membership number. Due to its confidential nature, this list is not available to the general public.

We do offer a letter-forwarding service as a benefit to members. Legionnaires may submit a name to be checked against our membership listing. The only information contained in the listing is the current names and addresses of members. We do not have access to a member’s former branch of service, rank, service number, telephone number or Social Security number.

We will forward a letter from you to matching names from our membership list. If you are a member and wish to make use of our letter-forwarding service, contact us and provide your email or mailing address. We will send you an application form detailing the kind of information needed, and the stamps and envelopes required, for this service. Other than postage, letters and envelopes, letter forwarding is free to members. Requests are limited to five searches per year. Non-members may request this service for a fee.

I am searching for military service records for myself or a family member, for genealogical research. What records can I find?

The American Legion does not have military service records. For that you need to apply, with as much information as you know, to:

National Personnel Records Center Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100

Further information about access to military service records is available at:
www.archives.gov/veterans/index.html
www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html

With access to a printer and Adobe Acrobat Reader software, you may download and print a copy of Standard Form 180 – Request Pertaining to Military Records at:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-...

The following is from the National Archives and Records Administration:

Services for Veterans, Next-of-Kin or the Veteran’s Representative General. Copies of most military and medical records on file at NPRC (MPR), including the DD Form 214, Report of Separation (or equivalent), can be made available upon request. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans have the same rights to full access to the record. Next of kin are the unremarried widow or widower, son or daughter, father or mother, or brother or sister of the deceased veteran.

Authorized third-party requesters, e.g., lawyers, doctors, historians, etc., may submit requests for information from individual records with the veteran’s (or next of kin’s) signed and dated authorization. All authorizations should specify exactly what the veteran (or next of kin) is allowing to be released to a third party. Authorizations are valid one year from date of signature.

Information or copies of documents may be released from Official Military Personnel Files within the provisions of the law. The Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act provide balance between the public’s right to obtain information from military service records and the right of the former military servicemembers to protect their privacy. Please review these items for additional information. In all cases, you must sufficiently identify the person whose record is requested, so that the records can be located with reasonable effort.

Preparing Requests for Information from Official Military Personnel Files. Federal law [5 U.S. Code 552a(b)] requires that all requests for records and information be submitted in writing. Each request must be signed in cursive and dated within the last year. For this reason, no requests will be accepted over the Internet.

Requests must contain enough information to identify the record among more than 70 million on file at NPRC (MPR). Certain basic information is needed to locate military service records. This information includes the veteran’s complete name used while in service, service number or Social Security number, branch of service and dates of service. Date and birthplace may also be helpful, especially if the service number is not known. If the request pertains to a record that may have been involved in the 1973 fire at NPRC (MPR), include place of discharge, last unit of assignment, and place of entry into the service, if known. Veterans who plan to file a claim for medical benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs do not need to request a copy of their military health record from NPRC (MPR). The original health records are provided by the center when requested by VA after the claim is filed. Many health records were lent to VA prior to the 1973 fire.

Veterans who filed a claim prior to 1973 should contact VA in order to determine if their records are already on file. VA’s toll free number is (800) 827-1000 and will connect the caller to the nearest VA office.

The Standard Form 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records, although not mandatory, is the recommended method to send a request for military service information. This form captures all the necessary information to locate a record. Provide as much information on the form as possible and send copies of any service documents you have. Requests may also be submitted as a letter, containing the basic information listed above.

Follow the instructions for preparing the SF 180. Check the table to determine the location of the record and submit your request to the appropriate address.

Note: Do not use the addresses on the SF 180 for sending requests related to the issuance or replacement of medals and awards.

Costs: Generally there is no charge for military personnel and health record information provided to veterans, next of kin and authorized representatives. If your request involves a service fee, you will be notified as soon as that determination is made.

Response Times: Response time varies dependent upon the complexity of your request, the availability of records and our workload. Please do not send a follow-up request before 90 days have elapsed, as it may cause further delays.

Do your archives contain a list of founding members of The American Legion?

The founders of The American Legion are considered to be men and women who attended one or both of the first two caucuses, in Paris and St. Louis in 1919. No recognized founders are living today. There is a listing in the archives, but it is known to be incomplete since many delegates at both caucuses attended but did not register. Therefore, it can only be said with certainty that there is no record of any living Legionnaire who attended either of those meetings.

“Charter member of The American Legion” is another term commonly used. When National Headquarters first granted charters to posts, the men who were the original members of those posts were called charter members. Many would sign the application for charter to establish that a sufficient number of eligible veterans was willing to start a post. Often, these men were known in later years as “charter members of The American Legion.” After 80 years, this term is often taken to mean the national organization rather than the local post.