For God and Country

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, servicemembers and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at over 2 million in more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.  

Over the years, the Legion has influenced considerable social change in America, won hundreds of benefits for veterans and produced many important programs for children and youth.

For God and country, we associate ourselves together for the following purposes:  

to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America;    

to maintain law and order;  

to foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent  Americanism;  

to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars;  

to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community,state and nation;  

to combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses;  

to make right the master of might;  

to promote peace and goodwill on earth;  

to safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy;  

to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.

The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans.