2024 -- H 8064

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

JOYOUSLY CELEBRATING THE 105TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

ON MARCH 15, 2024

     Introduced By: Representatives Vella-Wilkinson, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Perez,
Batista, Azzinaro, Kennedy, Ajello, Shallcross Smith, and Corvese

     Date Introduced: March 14, 2024

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, The American Legion is a nonprofit organization representing the interests

and needs of America's war veterans. Formed on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, and chartered

by an Act of Congress on September 16, 1919, today the American Legion is comprised of nearly

two million members, with more than 12,000 posts across the United States, France, Mexico,

Puerto Rico and the Philippines; and

     WHEREAS, In the aftermath of World War I, with more than two million Americans

serving in the military, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., son of President Theodore Roosevelt, felt it was

time to create a national organization to represent America's many war veterans; and

     WHEREAS, Through the years, the American Legion successfully lobbied to attain the

passage of many initiatives that made the lives of countless war veterans better and has made the

nation stronger militarily, economically and socially. In 1921, the American Legion led the

campaign to create the U.S. Veterans Bureau, which later became the Veterans Administration.

The first Flag Code was drafted during an American Legion conference and was later adopted by

the United States Congress in 1942; and

     WHEREAS, Perhaps the most famous piece of legislation enacted, thanks to the efforts

of the American Legion, was the famous GI Bill, also known as the "Servicemen's Readjustment

Act", which was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Six months prior to being

enacted, the American Legion wrote the first draft of what would become the "GI Bill of Rights".

This landmark legislation was a monumental achievement which benefited our nation

immeasurably as it allowed eight million veterans to attend an institution of higher learning,

thereby allowing our veterans to attain better jobs, quality housing and raise families; and

     WHEREAS, Additional examples of the American Legion's civic support of war

veteran's issues included their donation of $1 million to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial fund, the

largest single contributor to the project, which helped enable the construction of the wall in

Washington, and their sponsorship of an independent study to examine the effects of exposure to

Agent Orange on Vietnam War Veterans; and

     WHEREAS, Thanks to the American Legion, every veteran receives assistance when

they file and pursue benefit claims before the Department of Veterans Affairs. Since 1919, the

American Legion has sponsored more than 2,500 Scouting Units across the nation, and annually

honors an Eagle Scout of the year with a $10,000 scholarship. One of the more popular endeavors

the American Legion provides to our nation is its famous American Legion baseball program,

which was created in 1925, and today registers more than 5,400 teams in all 50 States, Canada

and Puerto Rico; and

     WHEREAS, Countless great Americans have been members of the American Legion

including, Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy,

Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, and

George W. Bush, as well as Generals Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, Theodore Roosevelt,

Jr., Medal of Honor winner Sergeant Alvin York, famous aviator and war veteran, Captain Eddie

Rickenbacker, and actors, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, and Clark Gable, all military

veterans; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

joyously celebrates the 105th Anniversary of the American Legion on March 15, 2024, and

thanks them for all the great work they do daily on behalf of America's veterans and in

maintaining the freedoms and national security of our great nation; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Daniel J. Seehafer, National Commander of the

American Legion.

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