A 2007 visit to an American Legion post in West Virginia with his father helped turned things around for Legionnaire Rick Crumm after his U.S. Army deployments to Afghanistan.
Rick Crumm was in a difficult place in 2007. He had just finished up more than seven years in the U.S. Army, deploying twice to Afghanistan as both a Black Hawk crew chief and door gunner.
When he came home to West Virginia, he felt the emotional and psychological toll of his combat service. But a visit to American Legion Post 46 in Benwood with his father Rich helped turn things around for the younger Crumm, to the point where he began to heal while launching what is now his 20th year as a part of the organization.
Before his first visit to Post 46, Rick was struggling with adapting to the civilian world. “Lost isn’t quite the right word for it,” he said. “But the camaraderie and brotherhood that you have and develop in the service wasn’t there. I came home and I didn’t really know anybody anymore. I hadn’t been in the area for eight years. I felt so alone.
“There were things that I had seen and done that I didn’t walk to talk to my wife about. Things she didn’t just really need to know.”
Rich, who served as West Virginia department commander from 2025 to 2026, knew his son was struggling. “He was dealing with some stuff he had seen over there,” Rich said. “He had seen men not come back. It was the typical, ‘Why am I still here and not them?’”
The elder Crumm had been a member of the Legion for three decades but had not been active. But when his son suggested the pair go to the post, Rich immediately thought doing so could help. “I had talked with guys at the post before, and some of them I knew from high school and all,” he said. “Hearing them talk with each other, I thought they might be able by talking to him, and that just talking might be able to help.”
Dad was right.
“Just being able to talk to people who had been in similar situations and how they’d adjusted helped,” Rick said. “I learned I wasn’t alone, I guess, in how I felt. There were others who had been through it and had come out the other side.”
Rich noticed the difference immediately. “He did start talking with one guy in particular who was a Korean War helicopter maintenance guy,” he said. “They got to be pretty good friends, and they talked quite a bit. He also started going to some group therapy at the local Vet Center.”
Their second trip to Post 46 happened to fall on officer election night – something neither of the two were aware of when they showed up at the post. But by the time the night ended, Rick had been elected first vice commander and Rich second vice.
That launched Rich on an American Legion career that led to leadership positions at the post, district and department level before being elected department commander in 2025.
Rick – who still serves as first vice commander – remains married with three daughters ages 18 to 26. He’s far different than the man in his early 30s who was struggling 20 years ago.
And he would recommend to anyone in a similar position he was in to check out The American Legion. “So many people see The American Legion as a bar. And it’s so much more than that,” Rick said. “A lot of people don’t even realize it.”
Rick also joined the American Legion Riders just over a year ago. “It’s been great,” he said. “I ride alone a lot. But being part of the Riders, we get together at least one Sunday, if not two Sundays a month, and just go ride or go have lunch somewhere. I went on the state ride this year that raised money for the Honor Flights that take veterans to Washington, D.C.”
Rich is proud to see how an organization he’s been a part of for more than 40 years was able to turn things around for his son. “I think it’s helped a lot,” he said. “And it continues to.”
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