National constitutional officers appointed for 2022-23

The following national constitutional officers were appointed Sept. 1 during The American Legion’s 103rd national convention in Milwaukee. www.legion.org/constitutional

National Chaplain: Mark Antal is a member of American Legion Post 156 in Edinburg, N.D. Antal is veteran of the U.S. Army, Army Reserve and National Guard, who served in various chaplain positions throughout his 26 years of military service. He also served as chaplain for the Department of North Dakota for seven years. As an American Legion Rider, Antal has traveled by motorcycle to all U.S regions, totaling more than 250,000 miles. He is a graduate of Valley City State College in North Dakota and the Association Free Lutheran Bible School and Seminary in Plymouth, Minn.

National Historian: Deborah “Deb” Davis is a member of Colorado’s first all-female American Legion Post 206 in Aurora. She joined the U.S. Army in 1975 and retired in 2001. As a 2017 National American Legion College graduate, Davis served as secretary for the National Association of Department Historians of The American Legion, and chair of the Department of Colorado Female Veterans Action Committee and Centennial Committee. She also has served as the commander, adjutant, finance officer and historian for Post 206. She is the Auxiliary DEC for District 6 and historian of Unit 1 in Denver. Davis is involved in the United Veterans Coalition of Colorado Legislative Committee and is a is a peer mentor for the 1st Judicial District of Veterans Treatment Court – Drug and Alcohol Convictions. 

Sergeant-at-Arms: Michael T. Byrnes is a member of American Legion Post 859 in Suffern, N.Y. Byrnes served in the U.S. Navy (1980-89) and was trained as a nuclear propulsion engine room supervisor, serving aboard the USS Scamp SSN-588, USS Trepang SSN-674 and USS Fulton AS-11. He is a 2019 National American Legion College graduate who has served as post commander, county vice commander, district membership chairman and department membership vice chairman. He was appointed to the National Americanism Council and the Veterans Employment and Education Commission.