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History of the |
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CHAPTER
TWELVE |
(136) When a group of Civil War veterans of Illinois met in 1866 and conceived the idea of a fraternal organization of the men who fought with Grant through the long years of civil strife, they scarcely foresaw the magnitude of the work of the Grand Army of the Republic which they founded. Yet, for more than half a century that great organization has wielded an influence throughout the Republic that can never be measured.
Neither could that small group of World War veterans who gathered at Paris in the winter of 1919 have foreseen the future of the American Legion. It must have been beyond their fondest dreams to expect that within four years after the signing of the Armistice, the American Legion would have become one of America's greatest organizations, with local units established in every community throughout the land. Nor could that small group of men who gathered at Lincoln in the spring of the same year have dreamed that within the same short span of time, their own state would contain a branch of the American Legion that held within its ranks twenty thousand members and cast its influence into every community throughout the great commonwealth of Nebraska.
Yet that is what the American Legion has accomplished during its first four years. It has (137) grown so rapidly that in almost every community throughout the state the name "American Legion" has come to stand for high ideals and unselfish service. It may be possible that some members or posts of the organization have not as yet found themselves. It may be possible that others have made mistakes or have been misunderstood, and have not caught the real spirit of the American Legion. But even so, these things will eventually right themselves and the American Legion will come to be one of Nebraska's greatest assets; an organization that will take its place among the finest things that came out of the great war.
The growth of the American Legion in Nebraska, as elsewhere, has been phenomenal. Such a thing has never happened before in this country or in any other country. Posts have sprung into being almost over night, and not hundreds but thousands of men have caught the spirit of the Legion and within a few months have become enthusiastic workers for its great cause. When one pauses to consider that the American Legion, at the end of its first four years, has as many members in Nebraska as had the great Grand Army of the Republic in America at the end of its first ten years, he can to some extent appreciate the rapid growth of the younger organization. Let it be understood that this comparison with the Grand Army is not meant to be depreciatory in any sense of the word, but merely to give the reader an idea of the astounding growth of (138) the American Legion. It must be remembered that the Grand Army did not have the potential strength of the Legion and that it had many problems to face which the Legion did not have.
This great growth of the American Legion has been due, primarily, to the fact that its ideals are not only right and just but that they are sane and practical. It is due, secondly, to the fact that there was a spontaneous desire on the part of nearly every World War veteran to keep alive the splendid spirit of service to his country and to his comrades which he found during his tour of duty in the war. And thirdly, this growth has been brought about by virtue of the fact that the leaders of the organization could profit by the experience of the Grand Army of the Republic and avoid the many shell-holes in the road which that organization encountered.
The success of the Legion during these first four years has been built around the word "service." The organization has set out from the very beginning to serve. The post that has served the most reaped the greatest gain. Not only has the organization aimed to serve the disabled veterans of the war, and its own members, but it has served its country as well. The greatest single service rendered to the disabled during the first four years has been in the championing of his cause before the Government and the obtaining for him the fair and just treatment to which he is entitled. And the greatest single service rendered to the country during that time has been the (139) virile stand to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and to maintain law and order. Those months following a great world upheaval must necessarily be trying. At its best, the world must go through a certain stage of readjustment. Empires cannot fall, billions of dollars of wealth be dissipated and millions of lives lost without the entire world being profoundly affected. It so happened that this particular period of readjustment was aggravated and complicated by the clashing of fundamental ideas regarding a republican form of government. This brought the situation much closer to our own nation, and threatened its institutions and traditions. It became a time when men must be peace-loving, sane and practical. It was no hour for experimenting. The nation must stand firmly for its established form of government and patiently and courageously solve the many difficult problems that were the inevitable result of a world catastrophe. The American Legion, composed exclusively of those men who best knew how to use force were the most opposed to such a means of readjusting conditions. They stood firmly for the peaceful settlement of all world problems, and for the strict maintenance of established law and order. The American Legion made it plain to all that it would never tolerate any changes in American government that were not brought about in an orderly manner under those provisions set forth in the national constitution.
After service to country, came service to the (140) disabled. The American Legion began early in its history to espouse the cause of the disabled man, who, most unfortunately, was left in the wake of the war in a most deplorable condition. Although the war had been over nearly a year, thousands of these men who gave so much in war were merely objects of private charity, without substantial aid from the Government for which they had fought so well. During these four years the American Legion has justified its existence in its accomplishments for these men alone. Con structive legislation was framed and passed and then properly and efficiently put into practice. Nebraska stands high among the states for its adequate and efficient care for the human wrecks of war.
But the American Legion has served even further than this. It has reverently honored the memories of those who made the supreme sacrifice. The first four years of the Nebraska American. Legion's history contains an illustrious page upon which is written, "they shall not have died in vain." Not only has the organization always stood ready to pay the last respects to those veterans who have passed on to their reward, since the war, but it has faithfully paid homage and honor to the memory of those whose bodies were returned from foreign lands. Day after day and month after month, the American Legion has stood before a flag-draped tomb and paid its greatest honor to one who gave much for humanity. It has sent to France, England and Italy (141) thousands of wreaths each Memorial Day to be placed on the tombs of those who still sleep where they fell.
The first four years of the Nebraska American Legion are bright and full ones. It has served its country; it has served the disabled; it has served the dead. The organization has grown from a small group to a mighty army of over a million workers.
So much for the past. Now let us turn to the future and see what lies ahead.
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