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A moment in time
What historical anniversary coincided with the Legion’s first national convention?
The first anniversary of the end of World War I – on the 11th day of the 11th month, proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson as Armistice Day. This was deliberate – after a busy eight months of caucuses and the new organization’s chartering by Congress, the Legion scheduled its national convention on Nov. 10-12 in Minneapolis.
After that, the date of the national convention moved to earlier in the fall. In fact, it has started in November only one time since 1919: Nov. 18-21, 1945, in Chicago, in the immediate aftermath of World War II. But the commemoration of the end of the “Great War” has always remained important to the Legion. A resolution was passed supporting the federal holiday’s 1958 name change to Veterans Day, to honor veterans of all wars. The Legion’s website currently has a dedicated landing page to Veterans Day combining news, events and special offers for veterans and their families: www.legion.org/veteransday.
