Last week we talked about the American Legion’s activities in the 1970s which included being involved in the safety of children at Halloween.
In 1972, the Legion implemented a nationwide Halloween Safety Program for Trick-or-Treaters and created a safety brochure that can be downloaded for parents. Then in 1975, the Legion sponsored Freedom Bell which goes on the Freedom Train that toured the USA in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial.
The bell was donated and dedicated to the USA and is at its permanent home in Columbus Plaza in Washington D.C. We also learned that in 1976, an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia occurred at the Legion Convention in Philadelphia. This pneumonia killed 34 people at the convention and later became known as Legionnaire’s Disease.
This week we move into the 1980s where we find in August 1982, The Legion presents a $1 million check to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund for the construction of the Wall in Washington D.C. becoming the largest single contributor to the project. In July 1983, The Legion announced it sponsorship of an independent study on the effects of Agent Orange on Vietnam War Veterans.
Congress received the results of the American Legion – Columbia University Study of Vietnam-Era Veterans in 1989.
In January 1989, the Veteran’s Administration is finally elevated to Cabinet-Level status as the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA). The Legion fought hard for this change, arguing that veterans deserve representation at the highest levels of U.S. Government.
Then in October 1989, the long-standing objective of the Legion to improve adjudication procedures for veteran’s claims is achieved when the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals becomes operational. Most of the provisions contained in the law creating the court were originally included in the Veteran’s Reassurance Act, written by the Legion and introduced in Congress in 1988.
Next week we move into the 1990s where we find that the Legion files suit against the Federal Government for failing to take action on a previous project.
More information is to come next week.
The Blanchard American Legion Post 261 meets every second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. All honorably active or discharged veterans are invited.
The address is 103 S. Main Street in Blanchard, next to the Senior Citizens Center.
