Post 30 in Edgefield, S.C., met with the school board to create a partnership and share how post members wanted to be involved in the classroom.
The American Legion National Executive Committee passed Resolution No. 6, Restoring Civic Knowledge and Patriotism through Education, during the 2026 Spring Meetings. In part, the resolution calls for students to gain a better understanding of the U.S. Constitution, separation of powers, civil liberties and the responsbilities of citizenship. And it encourages Legionnaires to get in the classrooms to educate students on this important endeavor.
Hezzie Griffis American Legion Post 30 in Edgefield, S.C., answered the call.
During Constitution Week last month, members of Post 30 handed out over 200 pocket-sized U.S. Constitution booklets to eighth graders at Merriwether Middle School and Fox Creek Middle School.
“This was part of The American Legion’s commitment to patriotism and community service,” said Post 30 Commander Winston Boddie. “We spent a few minutes talking about this magnificent document, then gave students a chance to ask questions before we tested them with a fun Constitution pop quiz. Tables of students recorded their answers on dry erase boards and held them overhead.”
Post 30 members also engaged the students with information on the Legion’s Oratorical Contest, a U.S. Constitutional speech contest for high school students that provides scholarship opportunities.
This is not the first time Post 30 members have visited classrooms to educate the students in Edgefield. They have:
- Visited four elementary schools during April, Children & Youth Month, to hand out The American Legion’s “Our Country’s Veterans” and “Our Country’s Flag” comic books, and the American Legion Auxiliary’s “America the Beautiful” coloring book with crayons.
- Read books to elementary students such as “Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhoods,” “What is a Veteran, Anyway?” and “What Does it Mean to Be an American?”
- Provided flag education and etiquette, including how to raise, lower and fold the U.S. flag.
- Conducted the Missing Man Table ceremony during a Veterans Day ceremony at W.E. Parker Elementary School.
- Sponsored high school juniors to American Legion Boys State and Auxiliary Girls State. This past summer, the post sponsored 10 students to attend Palmetto Boys State and Girls State and the Nathan M. Wolfe Law Cadet Academy.
“Their participation was made possible through the support of local individuals, businesses, civic organizations, schools and American Legion posts working together to invest in young leaders,” Boddie said.
How did Post 30 make this happen? Boddie and District 17 Commander Jerome Childs spoke with the school board last fall. “We got on their agenda, we went in, we had some talking points, and we laid out everything that we would like to partner with the Edgefield County Schools on,” Boddie said.
That partnership has led to Post 30 having a standing invitation into Edgefield schools to uphold Resolution No. 6.
- Dispatch