Who We Are

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans organization. A community-service organization which now numbers nearly 3 million members -- men and women -- in nearly 15,000 American Legion Posts worldwide. These Posts are organized into 55 Departments -- one each for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines.

The American Legion's national headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana, with additional offices in Washington, DC. In addition to thousands of volunteers serving in leadership and program implementation capacities in local communities to the Legion's standing national commissions and committees, the national organization has a regular full-time staff of about 300 employees.

Membership eligibility in The American Legion is based on honorable service with the U.S. Armed Forces between --

World War I

 

Apr 6, 1917 and Nov 11, 1918

World War II

  

Dec 7, 1941 and Dec 31, 1946

Merchant Marine

  

Dec 7, 1941 - Aug 15, 1945

Korean War

  

Jun 25, 1950 and Jan 31, 1955

Vietnam War

  

Feb 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975

Lebanon/Grenada

  

Aug 24, 1982 and Jul 31, 1984

Operation Just Cause
Panama

  

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Dec 20, 1989 and Jan 31, 1990

Operation Desert Shield
Desert Storm

  

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Aug 2, 1990 and Present* * *

* * *Until the date of the end of hostilities as determined by the government of the United States.
* * *Because eligibility dates remain open, all members of the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible to join The American Legion at this time.