The American Legion, the world’s largest patriotic veterans organization, commemorates its centennial year at American Legion posts around the country from now until Veterans Day. 

The Georgia Department of the American Legion will hold its centennial year annual convention June 27-29 at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center. 

The event is supported locally by Post 13 of Valdosta with the help of other area posts within the Georgia 12th District, post representatives said. The American Legion national convention will be held in August in Indianapolis near the national headquarters.  

The Great War of 1914-18 which had devastated Europe for more than four bloody years officially ended November 11, 1918, when military leaders from Imperial Germany signed the Armistice near Paris ending hostilities with the Allies: France, Great Britain, Belgium and the United States. 

Fighting had already ended in the Italian Alps, the Balkan states, Russia and the Middle East. Then known as the “War to End All Wars.” it cost an estimated 40 million military and civilian lives from 26 countries involved, of which about 117,000 were Americans who died from combat or diseases contracted in the trenches.

The United States had been a relative newcomer to the conflict, not becoming a belligerent until April 1917 when Congress declared war against Germany after it resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on American ships crossing the Atlantic. 

At the time, the U.S. Army had only about 125,000 regular soldiers. Volunteers, and later, conscripts, soon began filling the growing ranks needed for the large American Expeditionary Force led by Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing. 

AEF troops were first integrated into the trenches alongside British and French soldiers in October 1917. The first major offensive with an independent U.S. field army did not occur until May 1918 but tipped the balance in favor of the Allied forces. 

This set in motion the Allies’ 100-day campaign from July to October 1918 that finally broke the German lines on the Western Front and forced them to sue for peace. 

Some 2 million U.S. servicemen sailed “over there” to Europe and Asia out of almost five million who were called up to serve, making it the largest expansion of the U.S. military up to that time.

In March 1919, about 1,000 officers and non-commissioned officers representing more than 1 million American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines still serving in Europe were gathered at a hotel in Paris. 

Originally planned by the AEF staff to improve troop morale, it was proposed by Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, that the group form an organization of U.S. war veterans to address common concerns about continuing care for wounded and sick veterans, re-employment of veterans upon return to the States and how to better prepare the country’s military for future conflicts. 

This first caucus lasted three days and eventually adopted a temporary constitution along with the name “The American Legion.”

The second caucus of the newly minted American Legion was held in May 1919 at St. Louis where a completed constitution was crafted and plans made for a permanent organization. Although previously nominated to be the first national commander of The American Legion, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. declined the honor in order to keep the organization non-partisan and non-political. 

After Congress granted a charter in September 1919, The American Legion held its first national convention in Minneapolis in November 1919, when it adopted its permanent constitution and elected national officers.

The Preamble to the Constitution of the American Legion, as adopted in 1919 and which is recited by Legion members at all Legion post meetings, reads as follows:

"For God and country, we associate ourselves together for the following purposes: 

• To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America;

• To maintain law and order;

• To foster and perpetuate a 100 percent Americanism;

• To preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in the Great Wars;

• To inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation;

• To combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses;

• To make right the master of might;

• To promote peace and goodwill on earth;

• To safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy;

• To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness."

The only change made to the Preamble since 1919 was to pluralize “Great War,” thus commemorating the Second World War and other major conflicts the U.S. has since endured.

Meeting the stated purposes, the American Legion operates on four pillars of service and advocacy: veterans, military personnel, youth and patriotic values, members said. 

"It was instrumental in the creation of a number of major institutions of American society, including formation of the Department of Veterans Affairs, creation of the U.S. Flag Code, passage of the GI Bill and more," they said. "Legion posts around the country engage in trademark programs designed to improve the lives of veterans." 

Accredited veteran service officers provide free expert assistance to aid veterans with their VA benefits claims. They also provide information, referrals and resources on education, employment and business, death benefits and other support to veterans and their families. 

Operation Comfort Warriors provides “nonessential” items to wounded warriors recovering at military hospitals and transition facilities, they said. 

"Post members encourage our youth to become productive citizens through programs such as Boys State and Boys Nation, the Legion Oratorical Contest and various scholarship programs," members said. "Post members present 8,000 Junior ROTC medals annually to high school cadets for either military or scholarship excellence. American Legion baseball programs teach sportsmanship, good health, equality and teamwork."

Current American Legion national membership is about 2 million spread out in 13,000 local posts worldwide led by 55 departments in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Mexico and France. 

Membership is open to military personnel and veterans who have served their nation on active duty during wartime. Eligibility has been open to all who have served on active duty since Aug. 2, 1990, the beginning of continuous U.S. armed conflict in the Middle East and other locations around the planet. 

The American Legion family includes the American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion Riders.