Tuesday marks the Legion's 97th birthday

March 15, the birthday of The American Legion, is the day in 1919 when the first Legion caucus, held by members of the American Expeditionary Force, convened in Paris.

Each year, Legion posts across the country hold events – public, private or both – to commemorate this anniversary. A guidelined speech has been drafted by the Legion’s Media & Communications Division staff as a way for Legionnaires to emphasize what the organization represents, to both themselves and the community at large. The speech is not necessarily meant to be recited verbatim; members are encouraged to amend it to taste and audience. The birthday speech can be downloaded here.

Members of The American Legion Amateur Radio Club will operate a special event station on March 12 to commemorate the Legion’s 97th birthday. Operating from the radio room at National Headquarters in Indianapolis, ham radio operators at club station K9TAL will communicate with both member and non-member amateur radio operators around the world; learn more about the event station here.

Posts are encouraged to upload recaps and photos of their birthday celebrations (and other community activities) online at www.legiontown.org. Legiontown is a place for Legionnaires to tell their stories and see the stories of other Legionnaires; Carey Bavis Post 180 of Georgetown, Ohio, posted a story after their 2015 celebration.

In the same vein is the Centennial Celebration website; some posts, such as Post 46 of Custer, S.D., in 2015, include birthday celebrations as timeline eventsor photo albums. The start of the formal Centennial Celebration is slated for the 2018 National Convention in Minneapolis.