Last week we found out that in 1921 The American Legion’s efforts resulted in the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau which was the forerunner of the Veterans Administration (VA) of today. Additionally, we learned about the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) which acts as a liaison between the veteran and the VA in addition to providing resources and services to Oklahoma veterans.
On June 5, 1923, the first “Flag Code” is drafted during a Legion conference in Washington. It is presented to and adopted by the National Flag Conference on June 14-15, 1923. Congress finally adopts the code in 1942.
Today, the Legion is at the forefront of efforts to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the U.S. flag from physical desecration. You can find more information about the flag code at this link: United States Flag Code | The American Legion.
The Legion created the American Legion Baseball program on July 17, 1925, in Milbank, South Dakota. This amateur league is played by 13–19-year-olds in 50 states in the U.S. and Canada. The program is a promoter of equality, making teammates out of young athletes regardless of their income levels or social standing. More than 82,000 youth play on 3,500 teams each year.
The purpose of Legion Baseball is to give players an opportunity to develop their skills, personal fitness, leadership qualities, promote citizenship, and to have “more fun.”
Since its creation, over half of the major league players came from the American Legion Baseball League. In fact, 68 players in the MLB Baseball Hall of Fame came from the American Legion Baseball program. You can read more about this baseball program at American Legion Baseball Wikipedia. For Oklahoma Legion Baseball history check out this link: Oklahoma Veterans - The American Legion Department of Oklahoma (okamlegion.org) On July 11 this year, Post 261 in Blanchard officially became a sponsor to the Bond-Holden Post 261 American Legion Baseball team for our area. Dustin Ott, an assistant baseball coach at Dibble will be the head coach for this team.
Next week we will discuss the “Sons of the American Legion, the first American Legion Boys State, and the Legion’s National High School Oratorical Contest.
