Shreveport Times
February 29, 2008
"You've got to tell the story. ...If you don't, who will?" American Legion National Commander Marty Conatser
By John Andrew Prime
Marty Conatser, national commander of the American Legion, told several hundred Legionnaires and supporters at local Post 14 Thursday to be proud and get the national veterans' group message out loud and clear to the public.
"The American Legion has great vision," he said, after listing instances where it has stepped in to provide financial and moral support for the families of soldiers deployed overseas in the War on Terror.
He noted the American Legion, alone among the nation's veterans groups, is growing in membership, but warned those listening to him in the newly remodeled second-floor ballroom of the Lowe-McFarlane Post on the point of Cross Lake on South Lakeshore Drive they can't rest on their laurels.
"Have you identified the active-duty soldiers in your community?" he asked rhetorically. "Have you identified the activated National Guard members? Have you made it clear to members and military alike what the local American Legion does, and what it offers? Think about it."
He noted the three major areas the American Legion helps families, through a legacy program that guarantees college money for the children of military members killed in combat, temporary assistance through grants to help military families with mortgage payments, utilities and other major bills, and its emergency relief fund.
"You've got to spread the word," he said, noting that speakers who preceded him at the luncheon talk, including 8th Air Force Director of Staff Col. Michael Shoults, Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker and Shreveport District A Councilman Calvin B. Lester had noted instances where the Legion had materially helped people in the community.
"You've got to tell the story," he said. "If you don't, who will?"
Lester, a last-minute substitute for Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, in particular provided poignant examples of how the American Legion and the military, through Barksdale Air Force Base have impacted the area. He noted the Legion sent him to Boys State when he was young, helping to direct him into public life.
Conatser, of Champaign, Ill., was elected in August to head the 2.7 million-member organization. He has served as district, division and department membership director and commander.
The Legion he heads was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, wartime veterans organization and now boasts about three million members in some 15,000 posts worldwide, including 55 departments in the United States, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.
Conatser, accompanied by Legion Louisiana Department Commander Edwin Grow, is a Vietnam War-era Army veteran who retired a decade ago as a sergeant major.
He eschewed talking about national politics, and didn't address the coming presidential race, which will likely pit a Republican veteran, former prisoner-of-war and third-generation Naval officer against a Democrat non-veteran.
Instead, his needling was limited to poking a little fun at the sea of officers he saw in the crowd he addressed.
"I'm a little concerned about the Air Force," he said. "Three bird colonels and not an NCO to supervise them."
After the laughter from that subsided, he boosted the Marine Corps Reserve, which provided a color guard for the event.
"The Marines send four enlisted men, two first sergeants and a major," he quipped. "How can that be bad?"
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February 29, 2008
"You've got to tell the story. ...If you don't, who will?" American Legion National Commander Marty Conatser
By John Andrew Prime
Marty Conatser, national commander of the American Legion, told several hundred Legionnaires and supporters at local Post 14 Thursday to be proud and get the national veterans' group message out loud and clear to the public.
"The American Legion has great vision," he said, after listing instances where it has stepped in to provide financial and moral support for the families of soldiers deployed overseas in the War on Terror.
He noted the American Legion, alone among the nation's veterans groups, is growing in membership, but warned those listening to him in the newly remodeled second-floor ballroom of the Lowe-McFarlane Post on the point of Cross Lake on South Lakeshore Drive they can't rest on their laurels.
"Have you identified the active-duty soldiers in your community?" he asked rhetorically. "Have you identified the activated National Guard members? Have you made it clear to members and military alike what the local American Legion does, and what it offers? Think about it."
He noted the three major areas the American Legion helps families, through a legacy program that guarantees college money for the children of military members killed in combat, temporary assistance through grants to help military families with mortgage payments, utilities and other major bills, and its emergency relief fund.
"You've got to spread the word," he said, noting that speakers who preceded him at the luncheon talk, including 8th Air Force Director of Staff Col. Michael Shoults, Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker and Shreveport District A Councilman Calvin B. Lester had noted instances where the Legion had materially helped people in the community.
"You've got to tell the story," he said. "If you don't, who will?"
Lester, a last-minute substitute for Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, in particular provided poignant examples of how the American Legion and the military, through Barksdale Air Force Base have impacted the area. He noted the Legion sent him to Boys State when he was young, helping to direct him into public life.
Conatser, of Champaign, Ill., was elected in August to head the 2.7 million-member organization. He has served as district, division and department membership director and commander.
The Legion he heads was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, wartime veterans organization and now boasts about three million members in some 15,000 posts worldwide, including 55 departments in the United States, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.
Conatser, accompanied by Legion Louisiana Department Commander Edwin Grow, is a Vietnam War-era Army veteran who retired a decade ago as a sergeant major.
He eschewed talking about national politics, and didn't address the coming presidential race, which will likely pit a Republican veteran, former prisoner-of-war and third-generation Naval officer against a Democrat non-veteran.
Instead, his needling was limited to poking a little fun at the sea of officers he saw in the crowd he addressed.
"I'm a little concerned about the Air Force," he said. "Three bird colonels and not an NCO to supervise them."
After the laughter from that subsided, he boosted the Marine Corps Reserve, which provided a color guard for the event.
"The Marines send four enlisted men, two first sergeants and a major," he quipped. "How can that be bad?"
