Legion birthday speech available

March 15 is the designated birthday of The American Legion. On that date in 1919, the first American Legion caucus, held by members of the American Expeditionary Force, convened in Paris. Much as the birthday of the United States is celebrated on July 4 – for the date in 1776 when patriots declared the independence of the British colonies and the spirit of America was born – March 15 is the date when The American Legion came to life.

Each year, posts across the country hold events to commemorate this anniversary. In advance of the 93rd birthday on March 15, a guidelined speech has been drafted by the Legion’s Public Relations staff and is now available to download free of charge here (http://www.legion.org/sites/legion.org/files/legion/publications/legion_...), or on the Publications page (http://www.legion.org/publications) on Legion.org, in the Public Relations section.

The staff drafts and releases speeches for patriotic national holidays, as well as for the Legion’s birthday, as a way for Legionnaires to connect with their communities, or just observe the day with post ceremonies, and emphasize what The American Legion represents. They are not meant to be recited verbatim; members are greatly encouraged to amend them to taste and audience.

All posts are encouraged to upload recaps and photos of their Legion birthday celebrations and other community activities to the blog Legiontown USA (http://www.legiontown.org/). Legiontown is a place for Legionnaires to tell the stories of all the good they do, every day, and to see how other Legionnaires across the country are doing the same.