SCOUTING YESTERDAY | Legacy of American Legion organization, baseball rooted in South Dakota

This week in South Dakota history: May 30 - June 5

1919 St. Louis Caucus. Photo: The American Legion

With 502 members, Codington county post No. 17 of The American Legion is the largest post in South Dakota, according to the June 4, 1924, edition of the Argus Leader. The post hoped to reach 600 members by the state convention, to be held later that summer in Hot Springs.

The Legion, according to the organization, was established by members of the American Expeditionary Force in Paris, who held the first caucus in the spring of 1919. Later adopting “The American Legion” as their official name, Congress would charter the organization Sept. 16, 1919.

Vermillion Post Number One would become South Dakota’s first branch of the American Legion established in May of 1919, after state delegates returned from the preliminary national meeting held weeks earlier in St. Louis, according to the Rapid City Journal.

The nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, the Legion’s mission is, “To enhance the well-being of America’s veterans, their families, our military, and our communities by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.”

With that mission in mind, the Legion has successfully lobbied for a variety of issues in support of their communities and fellow veterans throughout their history including the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau, precursor to the Veterans Administration, the first “Flag Code,” the formation of the American Legion Boys State and the G.I. Bill, or Serviceman’s Readjustment Act.