NY post using anniversary as 'teaching event'

The 100-year anniversary of the death of Samuel Young American Legion Post 620’s namesake took place this week. But rather than honor the World War I casualty quietly with a small post ceremony, Post 620 is opening its doors to the public to share the story of Young, World War I and the 100 years of The American Legion.

Post 620 – located in the Bronx, N.Y., neighborhood of Pelham Bay – will host events Oct. 5-7 at its facility at 1530 Hutchinson River Parkway. Post 620 Commander Owen Mangan said the anniversary of Young’s death tied in well with an effort to commemorate the end of World War I and the establishment of The American Legion.

“We all thought that because history isn’t really taught any more, this would be an opportunity to tell the people in the neighborhood (and) the schools about what World War I was – especially as the post is named after a kid who went over there and died,” Mangan said. “We figured people should know about that. People should know about The American Legion. It’s more of a teaching event for us than anything else.”

On Oct. 5 at 7 p.m., the post will kick off the celebration with a screening of the World War I film “Johnny Got His Gun” as a way to celebrate the end of World War I in November 2018 and the ensuing founding of The American Legion by veterans of the war.

From 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 6 and 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 7, the post will host audio-visual exhibits that highlight different aspects of World War I and World War I reenactors. The post will screen what is considered by many to be the best film about World War I, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” at 7 p.m. Oct. 6.

And at 6 p.m. on Oct. 7, actor Alex Morf will read the letters Young wrote to his family and friends while training and then after being deployed to Europe.

Morf told the Bronx Times that he is preparing for his role by reviewing the letters, noting that Young’s New York roots were evident in his language and colloquialisms that were typical of someone from the city at that time. “You can hear New York in the way he writes,” said Morf.

Sunday will also include a rededication of the post named for Young, who was wounded and died in France on Oct. 3, 1918, making him the first and youngest neighborhood soldier to be killed in World War I.

Mangan said Post 620 serves an important purpose in its neighborhood, both for the veterans it represents and the community as a whole. He noted that the post just recently hosted local high school students participating in a mentoring program as an example of how the Legion opens its door to its neighbors.

“We’re always welcoming people,” he said. “We have other schools that use the place for various events such as award ceremonies and stuff like that. And anytime we do anything like a barbecue it’s open to the community.

“We do still have some people come in and say ‘I lived in the neighborhood my whole life and I never knew this place was here.’ And it turns out they were in the (military). There’s another member. It’s good publicity for us, and it’s good relations for us and the community.”