Sons of the American Legion

HISTORY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

Born in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930's, and almost killed by the one-two punch of two wars, the Sons of The American Legion lives on. The idea of a junior American Legion organization was first discussed at the Legion's 3rd National Convention in 1922. Because so few Legionnaires had yet become parents, the idea had little national appeal. But by the late 1920's, Legion Posts around the nation were enrolling Sons of Legionnaires in junior organizations on their own. These groups were variously known as Legion-Heirs, the Junior Legion, Sons of American Legionnaires, and Sons of World War Veterans.

The Legion's 1930 National Convention created a committee to study the feasibility of a junior Legion. The establishment of the Sons as a non-profit, nonsectarian civilian organization was authorized by action of The American Legion's 14th National Convention in Portland, Oregon in September 1932. The 1933 National Convention officially changed the name of the organization to "The Sons of The American Legion," authorized the abbreviation "S.A.L." and set annual national membership dues at 25 cents.

The first Squadron chartered was Bruce P. Robison Post #133 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The very first membership card was issued to John P. Ragsdale; his brothers Edward and Robert were also charter members and received cards #2 and #3. John was killed in an aerial mission over Germany in 1943. In 1946, the name of the Post was changed to Robison-Ragsdale Post 133. By 1934, the S.A.L. expanded to 24 Detachments, 170 Squadrons, and 524 members. In the late 1930's, Sons were closely involved with Legionnaires in nationwide radio programs and printed a monthly national newspaper called "The Legion Heir." There were over 60,000 members in 1938 when Paramount Pictures released a film entitled "Sons of The Legion" starring Donald O'Connor, William Frawley, and Evelyn Keyes. The movie played in thousands of theaters around the country where local S.A.L. musical units furnished live entertainment.

The S.A.L. had over 70,000 members in the late 30's and was growing rapidly. But World War 11 erupted and most Sons marched off, many of them never returned. Sons who remained on the home front also did their part working in civil defense, helping to operate aircraft warning posts, participating in war bond drives, collecting scrap metals and working in defense plants.

When Sons returned home after World War 11, they found their military service had made them eligible to join the ranks of The American Legion. In the decade between 1946 and 1956, an era, which included the Korean War, millions of ex-servicemen and women, joined The American Legion. Paradoxically, as the ranks of The Legion swelled, membership in the Sons dropped to fewer than 6,000 and the organization flirted with extinction.

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