Ceremonies at Mount Vernon honor the Army’s first commanding general and the values he upheld.
A small boy in shiny black boots, curly white wig, tricorn hat and blue officer’s jacket stepped up to the iron-gated tomb and placed a red carnation at the base of a floral arrangement before excitedly scurrying back to his parents.
The wreath had been positioned there Saturday by a Sons of the American Revolution honor guard at the crescendo of a morning spent honoring the father of the boy’s country, Gen. George Washington, and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army he led to victory in the American Revolution. A stone was placed under the wreath by the SAR. Engraved in clear, capital letters: PATRIOT.
More than 20 miles removed from the crowds, hubbub and closed streets in the U.S. capital city that bears his name, Washington received a proud and dignified salute from the Sons of the American Revolution and The American Legion at the tranquil Mount Vernon plantation where the nation’s first president lived out his final days and now rests in a tomb he shares with his wife, Martha, and 26 of their family members.
Flags were raised. Folks of all walks of life, many in period colonial attire or uniform, marched in formation, to a fife player’s serenade, along a path that twists behind the iconic mansion at Mount Vernon. They came to a stop just below the tomb and listened to speakers pay respect to the first commanding general and all he meant to the Army and the nation he helped found.
Among the voices was that of American Legion Past National Commander Brett Reistad. “While we recognize this exceptional, heroic and pivotal leadership that Gen. Washington provided during the American Revolution, we also appreciate the ramifications of this humble nature,” Reistad told the crowd. “His popularity and success could easily have led this new nation down the road to military dictatorship. George Washington was not Julius Caeser. He was not Napoleon or Santa Ana. There never was an Emperor Washington. Though many leaders would have been tempted to accept the power that Washington could have seized – if he had chosen to do so – our first president believed in the freedom and liberty for which his soldiers so bravely fought.”
And, Reistad added, “These are the same principles upon which the Sons of the American Revolution, The American Legion and other patriotic organizations continue to espouse through public advocacy, education and community service.”
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith, keynote speaker and the 66th Inspector General of the Army, told the group that Washington faced his share of adversity and many failures before winning critical battles that secured the nation’s independence from the British. “Like Washington, the Army’s 250-year history has been full of adversity. But also like Washington, the Army has always learned from moments of failure to become stronger, more capable and closer to the nation’s ideals. Washington’s leadership created a model of military command rooted not in personal ambition but in selfless service, where character and competence are valued more than rank or personal gain. Perhaps his most important action came not in battle, but after it, when he decided to return to private life, right here in Mount Vernon, at war’s end.”
The spirit of Washington, he explained, continues to inspire today’s Army. “Our soldiers don’t serve for personal gain, but for one another, for something greater than themselves.”
Lt. Gen. Smith explained that Washington did not let his ego stand in the way when he needed help, especially in the darkest times in the Revolutionary War. “Effective leadership is humble, willing to transform and empower others to succeed. Washington could have refused to admit that the Army at Valley Forge was on a path to failure. He could have pressed down on a path that would have killed the revolution. Instead, he had the ability to see that the Army needed transformation and the humility to seek help.”
He added that Washington’s service as a civilian president was “just as consequential to the course of the nation’s history” as his military victory. “It is a reminder that while the Army is our first institution, it is just one of the many that we depend on to preserve our values.”
Lt. Gen. Smith thanked those in the crowd for continuing to serve their communities, regardless how they do it. “Service need not end when you leave uniform. We must foster a culture of service, military or civilian, in every generation – whether in the military, in our schools, hospitals, in assembly, in our local communities. The next 250 years of our nation’s history will rely on Americans who believe in contributing to something bigger than themselves.”
National SAR Secretary General Michael Elston recited a proclamation outlining the organization’s vision in celebration of the “decade of the American Revolution” (2023-33) and how The American Legion is a valued ally.
“The goals and objectives of the Sons of the American Revolution and The American Legion are complementary, and the two organizations join together in this commemoration (the 250th anniversary of the Army) … as one of the celebrations leading up to our nation’s semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026, now, therefore, the President General of the Sons of the American Revolution encourages all citizens to join with the Sons of the American Revolution, The American Legion and other patriotic community and veterans organizations on the 14th day of June, 2025, to commemorate this important event in the history of our country.”
During his remarks, Reistad echoed the importance of the alliance with the SAR. “The American Legion and the Sons of the American Revolution will stand shoulder to shoulder in celebrating these magnificent milestones,” he said. “We do this not just out of gratitude but because we want future generations to be blessed in the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Not far from where the little boy dressed as George Washington placed a flower at the tomb, Vienna, Va., American Legion Post 180 Sergeant at Arms Alyson Stapleton, a post-9/11 U.S. Marine Corps veteran, explained why such remembrances matter to her.
“For me, as a young (32-year-old) veteran, I think it is very important that we continue to live the values that we were taught – of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she said. “And once we are handed our DD-214, our service doesn’t end there. It’s incumbent upon us as veterans to pass the torch to continue the mandate of our founding fathers, that we will uphold this great nation.”
George Washington, she said – and the little boy who placed a flower at the tomb would undoubtedly agree – “was larger than life. But that didn’t stop him from serving with humility and honor. The mandate he gave us, to uphold values he instilled in his troops, I think that is very important that we continue to honor that.”
- USA250