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American Legion

20K views 58 replies 44 participants last post by  Hawk1252 
#1 ·
Who is a member ??

Not much of a joiner type , but I get applications every year , and round file them

Any Legion Riders ??

JtB
 
#29 ·
Post 701 for 10 yrs. Joined when I moved here. I can see the post from my house. Good people and a good kitchen. No ALR.
 
#32 ·
legion riders

i'm a member of the legion riders post 554 in league city texas and have been since we formed the riders group about 5 years ago. we have almost 60 riders now and will be sponsoring the american legion legacy run from indiana this august. we are expecting 4-600 riders from across the country in august when the national american legion ralley is in houston. it's a great bunch of guy's and gal's and like others have said it's got the cheapest beer in town.
 
#35 ·
i'm a member of the legion riders post 554 in league city texas and have been since we formed the riders group about 5 years ago. we have almost 60 riders now and will be sponsoring the american legion legacy run from indiana this august. we are expecting 4-600 riders from across the country in august when the national american legion ralley is in houston. it's a great bunch of guy's and gal's and like others have said it's got the cheapest beer in town.
We had the National Convention here last year. Those Legacy Riders are a great group! We are Proud to be sending them your way from Post 64 Indianapolis In. this year!
 
#33 ·
I was a member for a few years. The magazine was useless. I contacted the local chapters regarding "Legion Riders". Was told they would get back to me. Never heard a thing. I look at it this way -- I'm just not giving my dollars to organizations that are clearly too big and focus on mostly "press coverage" issues instead of growing local strength.
DOOF
 
#34 ·
Sorry you got less than a warm welcome--a little surprising since Chapter 177 (Fairfax,) hosts a big annual gathering for Rolling Thunder in D.C. My local chapter in Dover, DE is great. We have around 60 members, around 30 actively participate in various rides, probably 10 members and wives sorta "carry the flag (organize things, road captains, send out emails, etc.)"--I'm one of the "30 group".

I would hope that, while you've perceived a "brushoff" from ALR, it's more of a reflection of their philosophy to never "lean on" or "pressure" riders to either join or participate. (This is one of the things I like best about ALR, even though it is admittedly at odds with consistently "reaching out".)

Please give them another shot--simply inquire about next meeting/ride, then show up to see what they're about. I'm confident your first impression, while understandable, doesn't accurately represent the ALR.
 
#39 ·
I honestly didn't know about the Legion till my father brought me in. He's a vet and I am also but in the USAR now, working towards retirement, I'm 35 so few more years to go. Didn't even know they had a motorcycle group to ride with, will probably look that up also.
 
#40 ·
When I got back from Nam, and out of the Army, My pop (who was a vet also) said i should go join the A. legion.
So one night I showed up at their place and after sitting through it all (the meeting ) and feeling as welcome a whore in church, I finally asked what it took?
Answer- when .where. etc.
I answered.
They said, "they were not sure if they were ever going to let Viet Vets join up!"
Ok! Another kick in the face.
They can go FK themselves forever with a Red Hot Crowbar.
I have always have heard they were very few Viet vets part of the Legion....i wonder why?
Now they are getting low on numbers and trying amp up the membership.
It seems like they are not quite so choosey now?
Maybe they will or will not tell the Middle East Vets that they might not let them join also?
 
#41 ·
kingglide549 i don't know what year you had that experience in but i'm a viet vet and have been with american legion since the late 70's, most of our members at post 554 in league city tex. are nam vets, and we have a lot of desert storm vets, and afgan vets, and even a few grenada vets, the only place i ever got turned down was the vfw, i was in the navy and was offshore in nam and the vfw told me since i never set foot on nam soil i couldn't join. i was not a foreign veteran, guess they didn't consider all the crew and pilots on the carriers or the sailors on the destroyers and cruisers or the battle ships were foreign veterans.
 
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#43 ·
ever since the end of nam they have allowed anyone enlisted during any conflict doesn't have to be a declared war and you don't have to have been in country, anyone enlisted or honorably discharged
 
#44 · (Edited)
Rolling Thunder

When I got out of the Navy in 1985, I sought to join American Legion with my Korean Vet Dad. Of course, they didn't accept Cold War veterans back then. My Dad died in 1994. They weren't available when I wanted to join with my Dad. It is now too late for apologies.
I thought it odd - that after what Vietnam Veterans went through, that American Legion would reject Veteran applicants.
I joined Rolling Thunder and found a great organization.
Dad was 1st Cav, Intelligence and Recon
I served in US Navy as a Reactor Operator 3383/3393 on USS Long Beach, USS Enterprise, and USS Carl Vinson.
 

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#45 ·
if you have a father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother that was a veteran durring ww1, ww2, korea, veitnam, grenada, or either gulf war or afganistan, you can join the american leagion as a son of the legion even without ever having served yourself. any woman with the same including spouse can join the american legion auxillary, they do not have to have been on foreign soil as in the vfw, as long as they were enlisted you can get their dd-214 discharge certificate and join.
 
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#46 ·
When I got out of the army in 1968 I received a free one year membeship to the VFW & AL, during my first visit to the VFW I got in a shoving match with a WWII guy, Yelling "We won our war!" Also my last visit, I did go to the AL in another state because it was across the street from my house and if my wife and I wanted to see her dad he was there.
I have been out for over 50 years and if I feel the need to join a club I think it will be the Eagles Their only requirement is to be an SOB and be able to prove it.
my 2 cents.

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#49 ·
When I got out of the army in 1968 I received a free one year membeship to the VFW & AL, during my first visit to the VFW I got in a shoving match with a WWII guy, Yelling "We won our war!" Also my last visit, I did go to the AL in another state because it was across the street from my house and if my wife and I wanted to see her dad he was there.
I have been out for over 50 years and if I feel the need to join a club I think it will be the Eagles Their only requirement is to be an SOB and be able to prove it.
my 2 cents.
my dad has the same attitude towards viet vets. just don't understand how they can make the case that it doesn't count. fuck em lol
 
#47 ·
As a member of the Al and the ALR, I can say that it is a great veterans service organization. With the recent passage of revisions to service, anyone who is serving, or who served honorably, is eligible to join. Now, I will not try and diminish the bad side of this, or any other organization, that there are some folks who look at it as their own little private group, and act like they get to set the rules, but they don't. There are those "bar flys" that denigrate anyone who didn't serve in the great one, but they need to understand that things change, and their way is rapidly dying out. Not all posts are the same, not all are good, bad or whatever, but there is good to be had in the Legion.
 
#48 ·
I am a member of AL & ALR post 194 Mason Dixon in MD.
As with any group and organizations, there are good member and there are some no so good members.
Some Legion / VFW are very active and some have a small membership.
In general its a pretty good group.
When I first joined the Legion I did not quite understand the restrictions to be a member.
I soon found out that the Joining requirements / restrictions are dictated by congress.
The American Legion itself could not change them,
Last year (2019) Congress changed the requirement that anyone with a honorable discharge is eligible.
 
#51 ·
The American Legion Post 86, Ripley Tennessee is being Reactivated.
We meet every Third Saturday at 10 AM in the Ripley City Hall.
All Veterans are encouraged to attend!

Veterans Helping Veterans!

I’m the Service Officer of this Post.
 
#52 ·
I joins the riders at post 217 in Warsaw Mo. about 1.5 years ago..

I did it to try and reintegrate and …. But my riding style didn’t chive. 45mph on a 55curved back road on breakfast runs.. I would just break out.

900 raffles. I’m a social guy. I have my neighbors. I’m not gonna push crap on them, so I just bought all the tickets.

then the political shit happened.

quit going.

cheers to the riders though. They do good things….
 
#53 ·
A friend took me to dinner at the American Legion, he is not a vet but they take about anyone. So i sat and listened to them rag on the new non-veteran members for this and that and whatever, then tried to draw me into the discussion. I stated, as a visiting guest I had no standing and did not know any of the people involved so I could not comment one way or the other. One member persisted so I asked if the was any formal training or orientation for new members and if there wasn't any, then they can't immediatly jump to accountability if the new people don't know or understand what is expected of them. And then I finished my drink and went home.

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#54 ·
JtB - thank you for what is clearly some magic in this group. Glad you're here ang glad I found ROADGLIDE.ORG. Copying some of this from another chain you were in re VFW and ALR. I'm Army 71Romeo. American Forces Korea Network. Cold War. Legion since 2018 but I joined to get to the American Legion Riders. Active at Hollywood Post, No. 43. Working on accepting the things I cannot change and changing the things I can. At this point, I'm happy to be of service and if I can avoid or simply not acknowledge the BS and I'm on my Road Glide at the same time, it's a win. You've posted so much here over the years and I'm really appreciating the tone, the information, the spirit...all of it.
 
#55 ·
HEY AMERICAN LEGION! I'M DOING THE TOUGH RUCK IN APRIL RUNNING IN HONOR OF THE 4 CHAPLAINS (WHO WENT DOWN WITH THE DORCHESTER IN WWII). WHO'S GONNA BE THERE IN BOSTON WITH ME?
 
#57 ·
ALegion and Riders Director Post 104
 
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#59 ·
I'm a Paid UP For Life member of both the VFW and the Legion. Don't spend much time at either post anymore. Started with the Legion Riders in 2007 here in PA Gold Star Post 820. Have family members that are members as well. I served as President of the Riders in 2009 and 2010. Good place to stop for refreshments on a ride.
 
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