Members of the Department of Ohio take part in 2.2-mile USA 250 Challenge walk at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ahead of INDYCAR race.
On July 3, American Legion National Commander James A. LaCoursiere Jr. announced the start of the USA 250 Challenge, a year-long initiative that will culminate with the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026.
And shortly after the initiative’s announcement, a group of Ohio American Legion Family members kicked off the USA 250 Challenge at one of the holiday weekend’s busiest venues: the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington ahead of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’s Honda INDY 200.
More than a dozen Legion Family members joined with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal for a 2.2-mile USA Challenge 250 walk along the racecourse. It was a visible start to the challenge, which offers three categories — fitness, mental wellness and community service — to engage more American Legion Family members and others to participate. (Register for the USA 250 Challenge here)
One of last Thursday’s participants was Department of Ohio Second Vice Commander Gary Cox Jr., who served in the U.S. Marines from 2002 to 2010. Cox, who deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, from 2004 to 2005, said the USA 250 Challenge is the type of program in which younger veterans want to participate.
“Our generation … the (post-911) generation, some of the Desert Storm (veterans), we are a group of individuals that are asking for that type of outside environment,” Cox said. “We’re trying to, especially here in Ohio, push away from the stigma of the canteen. We want the outdoor. We want the ability to get on our phones, get on social media and have this presence where we’re out there in the limelight, in the community, being seen and … having that out there front and center. That’s what this type of youth movement and the younger generation is looking for.”
Cox spent the weekend at Mid-Ohio, including attending Sunday’s race. It gave him a lot of opportunities to interact with both veterans and non-veterans – and to share information about the Legion’s Be the One veteran suicide prevention mission. “Between Thursday and Sunday, it’s been … eye-opening. Not only for myself, but also for a lot of the fans I was able to interact with and talk to,” he said. “A lot of them came up because they are veterans or they knew somebody who had served, and they had that connection. But then you had those that just wanted to come up because they supported The American Legion.
“And when you talk to them about the pledge to Be the One and explain it to them … they all want to help in some way. It’s always trying to get that outreach. And then it leads on to ‘What is The American Legion?’ And that’s where the stuff comes out with the Legion side.”
A Columbus, Ohio, native, Rahal shared during Thursday’s walk that his grandfather, Michael Rahal, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, earning a Purple Heart while serving on a destroyer in the South Pacific.
“Most of you know I’m a super proud patriot,” Rahal said during an interview with American Legion media. “The Fourth of July we’re here at my home race at Mid-Ohio, and I am so excited to be here for the USA 250 Challenge.”
The American Legion’s presence at the INDYCAR race didn’t end with the USA Challenge Walk. Over the course of the weekend, the Legion’s Be the One activation display also served as a venue for fans to meet with both INDYCAR and INDY NXT drivers, hosting autograph sessions on July 4 and 5.
Brad Beatty, assistant sergeant-at-arms at American Legion Post 764 in Grove City, said the USA 250 Challenge walk was an opportunity to promote what is considered the Legion’s most important mission: reducing veteran suicide.
“We’re here promoting Be the One, most of all,” Beatty said. “Where we want to listen to people, we want to hear what they say, what’s going in their lives. And just be someone that they can talk to. Get things out. We want to help prevent future PTSD issues, suicide issues, things of that sort.
“So we’re looking for wellness. And that brings us another great thing (the USA 250 Challenge). Go do something that’s going to help with your fitness. Do things that are going to help you be a well person. And then let’s reach out to others and bring them into that health and that fitness as well.”
- USA250 Challenge