Media resources, sample remarks available to announce plans for the celebration.
Family,
The moment is upon us. The United States of America is about to turn 250 years old! Americanism has been a pillar of The American Legion since our organization’s founding in 1919, and we have been working with the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission since the National Executive Committee passed a resolution authorizing our participation.
Veterans, and especially Legionnaires, love to properly display the colors of our country. That includes waving it at every opportunity. And what occasion is bigger and more special than that of the 250th birthday of the United States of America? Won’t you be a part of the biggest single flag-waving demonstration the world has ever seen? Fly Old Glory at home, gather dozens of hand-held flags for your Legion post and decorate your streets with red, white and blue to add your ripple to America Waves.
Is your American Legion post prepared to celebrate this historic occasion? Have you thought about what you might like your future or current grandchildren to know about the celebration a half-century from now when they commemorate America’s tricentennial? What about our descendants and the citizens of this land during America500? It starts here with the impact that you can have on your family, neighbors and community.
Media advisories and other tools, including these suggested remarks are available. You can invite your local media by using the tips offered in Sections 3 and 4 of the PR toolkit or customizing one of our sample press advisories, which can be found on the Publications platform, under Media & Communications.
Record a message about your thoughts about our nation and why we celebrate this momentous occasion. Or maybe write an essay listing the reasons you love this country and ask local media outlets to disseminate it. You can post your stories on the national Legiontown site and share them with others on social media.
Generations yet to be born will want to know why America was such a special place in 2026 and worthy of such celebration. If you sometimes wonder what makes America exceptional, I offer you the speech of President Calvin Coolidge, delivered in Philadelphia a century ago, on July 4, 1926.
“Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken,” Coolidge said.
Wise words then. Wise words today.
Some ideas, just like the experiment in democracy that our founders called the United States of America, continue to resonate over time. Let’s add to that great legacy.
American Legion Past National Commander Daniel J. Seehafer is chairman of the American Legion Ad Hoc Committee on the 250th Anniversary of America.
- USA250