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VeTerAnS
500,000 veterans in permanent jobs and 200,000 more
in temporary positions
Successfully lobbied Congress to protect veterans
benefits, VA hospitals, training programs and services
on the federal budget chopping block over the decades
Developed programs and advanced research into what
became post-traumatic stress disorder as early as 1921,
when it was mischaracterized as “shell shock”
Produced studies that led to official diagnosis of PTSD
in 1980 and proved that service-connected exposure
to Agent Orange and atomic radiation caused diseases
that demanded government accountability
Formed a network of service officers in 1919 that now
exceeds 3,500 to help disabled veterans, free of charge, Achieved Veterans Preference Hiring for federal jobs
file for government benefits
Drafted, presented, promoted and pushed to passage
Successfully campaigned to put all veterans services the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the original
under one federal authority, the Veterans Bureau in GI Bill that transformed U.S. economy and culture in the
1921, predecessor to the Veterans Administration in second half of the 20th century
1930 and the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989
Worked to improve the GI Bill for post-9/11 veterans,
Assisted millions of veterans in pursuit of rewarding including the 2017 Harry W. Colmery Veterans
careers; by June 1922 had already placed more than Educational Assistance Act, the “Forever GI Bill”
nATionAL SecUriTY
Lobbied persistently for a better-funded and more
efficient national system of defense
Called for the establishment of a separate service
branch for aeronautics as early as 1919, which helped
give birth to the U.S. Air Force in 1947
Pushed Congress for “universal military training” for
decades, culminating in the Reserve Forces Act of 1955
Conducted thousands of troop-support programs,
including deployment ceremonies, welcome-home
events and provision of needed items in theater
Established and staffed thousands of local first-
response units and civil patrols during World War II Comfort Warriors in 2008; has distributed millions of
dollars of goods, games, books, music, recreational
Provided financial and volunteer aid for military
equipment and event passes for troops and their
parents through American Legion Temporary Financial
families
Assistance and Family Support Network programs
established during the Gulf War Provided emergency grants for members of the U.S.
Coast Guard who had pay delays due to the January
Began The American Legion Blood Donor Program
2019 federal government shutdown
in 1942, and became the largest organizational blood
donor to the Red Cross in the nation Fought to protect military retirement benefits and
TRICARE insurance
Re-established the Blue Star Banner program to
recognize military families with deployed loved ones Stood as a national leader in the recovery and
after 9/11 repatriation of all U.S. POWs and MIAs
Launched a program to provide comfort items for U.S. Passed and reaffirmed national resolutions, beginning
military personnel recovering from wounds in DoD in 2005, supporting the troops and their mission in the
hospitals or transition units, ultimately named Operation global war on terrorism
