In Your Own Words
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In Your Own Words

Over the years, The American Legion Magazine Division has received thousands of submissions from readers wishing to see their original stories and creative work published in the national magazine. Due to space limitations, the vast majority of those submissions were turned down. Now readers have a national American Legion venue to shine.

"In Your Own Words" gives readers a platform to share their personal, creative and historical work, such as books, poetry, music, personal experiences and documentaries. The forum already contains several initial submissions, including Linda McCaffery's story of an Army doctor taken prisoner by the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula and how his faith and love of a devoted wife never faltered through nearly four years of separation.

Author John O'Brien, a member of John J. Morris American Legion Post 62 in Peoria, Ariz., wrote "The Hardest Job in the U.S. Navy Seabees," which details the time line of his two tours of duty in Vietnam. The forum also includes a heart-warming documentary about Kaziah Hancock, who has painted more than 865 portraits of fallen troops from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars and has given them as gifts to their families.

The American Legion welcomes you to visit the forum, where you can view current submissions, make comments and submit work. Also, we welcome you to submit a brief biography and photo so visitors can know who made the submission. All work - text, photos, art, poetry, etc. - must be original. Participants can include links to web sites or blogs.

Opinions stated within the forum do not necessarily reflect the positions, resolutions or policies of The American Legion or its employees. Nor is their publication an endorsement of those opinions. It is simply a forum for members and others to share their materials. The Legion is not responsible for the content of external websites linked from the forum. Submissions are subject to an editorial review process that may include length reduction, cropping or rejection of submitted material if it is unsuitable. The American Legion, by constitution, also cannot endorse any political party or candidate. Submissions that are deemed inappropriate, unnecessarily inflammatory, offensive, vulgar or pornographic in nature will be rejected. Comments about submissions will also be subject to removal if they are deemed unsuitable by our editors.