'Legacy & Vision' celebrated on Legion centennial platform
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. speaks on the floor of the St. Louis Caucus in 1919

'Legacy & Vision' celebrated on Legion centennial platform

A new digital media platform to celebrate The American Legion’s legacy and vision in honor of the organization’s 100th anniversary is now live at www.legion.org/centennial on the web.

The “Legacy & Vision” site traces The American Legion’s history through a timeline (https://centennial.legion.org/timeline) of events dating back to the formative Paris Caucus in March 1919. The timeline, which is designed to continue growing long past 2019, contains historical images up to 1970, with more photos to be installed in the coming weeks.

Among the features are “Centennial Moments” and “Every Post has a Story” indexes that show the ways in which the organization has made impacts in local communities through the decades.

The site offers digital access to such “Centennial Collections” as the Legion’s Digital Archives, Art & Artifacts, Video Vault, PNC Perspectives (a video series featuring past national commanders of The American Legion), a video vault, a database of memorials and monuments and awards listings.

The Legacy and Vision Series is an initial set of historical accounts of The GI Bill story, Americanism, Disaster Relief and Children & Youth. Additions to the series in the coming weeks and months will include Mutual Helpfulness (service for veterans), Employment and National Security.

The site, which was introduced five years ago to offer posts the ability to create historical profiles, continues to offer that “workshop” opportunity and ways for local Legionnaires to tell their stories online and share with others. Another feature is a centennial event calendar, which aims to give visitors a clear idea of events around the country to celebrate the centennial.

Media tools are also available on the “Legacy” side of the site to help posts present their stories in their local communities – through news releases, proclamations and special events.

The “Vision” side of the site aggregates stories and videos about innovative American Legion posts and post-9/11 veterans, including Student Veterans of America, Team Red White and Blue, The Mission Continues and Team Rubicon.

American Legion centennial merchandise can easily be purchased online through the platform, and news related to the 100th anniversary is also compiled.

The platform is a work in progress and will expand as the centennial year unfolds. New material is welcome and will be promoted regularly on legion.org, in social media and through the organization’s e-newsletters.