One for the history books

One for the history books

A historic year for The American Legion wrapped up with a historic national convention in Charlotte, N.C. Less than four months after American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger called for the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and his top two undersecretaries, thousands of Legionnaires traveled to Charlotte.

There, President Barack Obama – in his only public appearance at a veterans service organization’s national convention in 2014 – told delegates that while work had been made to correct the problems at VA, more must be done. New VA Secretary Robert McDonald told convention-goers that their contributions to VA reform have “been of great help.” And Dellinger himself said that VA continues to be a “system worth saving,” and that Legion town hall meetings and Veterans Crisis Command Centers staged across the nation since the VA crisis broke have helped in the reform process. One such center opened in Charlotte during the convention, assisting 283 veterans and family members.

During the national convention, U.S. Army and Marine Corps personnel from Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, Ga., as well as Marine Corps bases at
Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, were able to meet face to face with prospective civilian employers during an American Legion employment summit and career fair.

The convention concluded with the election of Nebraska Legionnaire Mike Helm as 2014-2015 national commander. A Vietnam War-era Army veteran, Helm urged Legionnaires to stay true to the ideals of the organization’s founders and use them to chart a course for its future.

As he wrapped up his eventful year as national commander, Dellinger echoed the call for continued growth, saying that there would be a huge gap for America’s veterans and military families if the Legion were to vanish. “Who would serve as role models, instilling traditional American values into the next generation?” he asked. “Who would advocate for the next generation of troops, just as we have for veterans since World War I?”

To see more convention coverage go to www.legion.org/convention.