The American Legion

Posted by Gary O'Rielly 
on Dec 09, 2012
 
Our guest speaker December 7th was Loren (Bud) Sperry who is the Washington State Commander of the American Legion. Bud was born in Bellingham, graduated from Bellingham High School and attended Everett Community College. In 1969, Bud was drafted into the U.S. Army and later joined the U.S. Army and completing his basic training at Fort Lewis, AIT in Fort Belvoir in Virginia with training in Heavy Equipment Repair. He served in Vietnam 1969-70 and served out his enlistment at Ft. Hood in Texas. Married to Janet Ross in 1968. They have three boys--one of whom seerves in the Coast Guard and is currently stationed in Everett, three wonderful daughters-in-law and five grandchildren.

The American Legion was charted by Congress in 1919 and is based on four pillars: Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, National Security, Americanism and Children & Youth. Each of these pillars encompasses a variety of programs that benefit our nation's veterans, its service members, their families and the youth of American as well as ordinary citizens. There are numerous programs under the Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation and National Security pillars. Under the Americanism pillar they are involved in flag protection, illegal immigration, voter registration and participation, Boy Scouts of America, the Pledge of Allegiance, establishment clause lawsuits, Legacy Run, Boys Nation and American Legion baseball. There are 117 baseball teams in Washington state under the American Legion Program. Other programs under this pillar are high school oratorical scholarships, Evergreen Boys State, Junior Shooting Sports and Girls State.

The last pillar--Children & Youth are involved in child pornography, catastrophic illness, intellectual disabilities, immunization and a host of other programs. The American Legion represents 2.5 million wartime veterans and their families. These programs and the men and women who take the time to perform them allow the American Legion to make a difference at the local, state and national levels. There are 2,000 professional, accredited represenatives in the American Legion network. No wonder their motto of "It's who we are and what we do" that makes them so effective.