Legionnaires to celebrate centenary

0

SIDNEY — Sidney, Fort Loramie, Anna and Jackson Center American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the Legion members will gather March 16 in the Sidney Veterans Service Center, 1265 N. Fourth Ave., to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the American Legion.

The members-only event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a buffet dinner, a speaker and a dance. Tickets cost $9.

Jim Moorman will serve as master of ceremonies and speak about the history of the organization. The Sidney post was also founded in 1919.

Music for the dance will be provided by the Swing Era Band.

The Legion’s national headquarters are in Indianapolis, Indiana, but the organization was founded, March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, by members of the American Expeditionary Forces after Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and former Oregonian newspaper editor George White lobbied American military officers to do something to boost the morale of servicemen stuck in France when World War I ended. There were too many servicemen in Europe to send home all at once, and all of them were impatient to get back to the U.S.

Today, there are about 2 million members in posts across the country and around the world.

No posts to display