3. It was founded in Paris in 1919, and the first national convention was held later that year in Minneapolis, Minn. At this year’s convention, 9,000 veterans and their family members are in attendance.
4. The most famous American Legion convention occurred in 1976, when 130 people came down with flu-like symptoms after attending the convention in Philadelphia and 25 died. Health officials eventually traced the outbreak to a bacterium found in the cooling tower of the hotel’s air-conditioning system. The resulting illness came to be known as Legionnaires Disease.
5. This year’s convention will host the two major party presidential candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton today and Republican Donald Trump on Thursday. Although the organization is not political, it advocates strongly for military and veterans issues. A paper released by the organization says, “Today’s servicemembers are some of the finest men and women ever to put on uniforms, yet they are over-deployed and under-paid. Working with the Commander in Chief, Congress and the Department of Defense, the American Legion seeks to ensure that the military’s pay, benefits and force readiness needs are met.”
About the Author