Legion commander speaks about service at chamber luncheon

Robert Boyd Steward American Legion Post 11 commander Jim Thomas was the speaker at the Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on August 17 and explained the role, history and future of the organization to luncheon attendees.

Thomas began by explaining the difference between the Legion and the VFW – the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said the Legion was organized in 1919 and has no requirement for active duty in an arena of war like the VFW. Rather, he said, “to join the American Legion one only has to have served at least one day in any branch of military service during eligible periods and have an honorable discharge or continue to serve.”

Like many volunteer organizations, the American Legion is dedicated to service, noting that the preamble to the Legion’s constitution includes as one of the organization’s purposes the words “to inculcate (instill by repetition) a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation.”

“Our post is a tight knit group, and we worry about each other,” Thomas added.

One of the main events the Legion holds each year is a program on Flag Day during which American flags are honorably burned and some U.S. and/or flag history is given. The 30-minute event is sparsely attended, Thomas noted, which led to some discussion in the organization about “why even do it?” while prospective attendees say they simply forgot, Thomas said.

Membership in volunteer organizations across the board is also declining, Thomas said, noting that Governor Mark Gordon on August 11 issued a plea for Wyomingites to serve on boards and commissions.

“These important positions are filled with volunteers,” Thomas said. “This epidemic of not having individuals who are enough to volunteer is widespread.”

Research has been done into why fewer people volunteer than in the past, Thomas said, including a project entitled “The Crisis Killing Service Organizations” initiated by the Rotary Club organization.

An “incidental and non-scientific” observation from the research project concluded that people are too busy or don’t care to remember things that were important to those who formed the organizations and their work, Thomas said.

Many people don’t know American history or the Constitution, he said, adding, “I blame the education system.” Noting the upcoming POW/MIA Day on September 18 as one example, he added, “81,000 service men and women never came home. We don’t think about them, even on a day dedicated to them, but some hit close to home.”

Thomas also spoke of gold stars placed on a home signifying the loss of a family member while serving their country, adding, “When we forget them, we lose them. One of the goals of the American Legion is to not let that happen.”

Another reason cited for people not joining an organization, Thomas said, is a feeling that they won’t make a difference, but he said veterans can make a difference through the Legion. The Legion has a suicide prevention program, he said, and locally, Post 11 provides honor guard services at veteran funerals, as well as programs for Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

“The tearful expression of appreciation by a family member at a recent funeral punctuates the fact that what we do does make a difference,” he said. “We serve people.”

Post 11 meets for just 30 to 45 minutes once a month, Thomas said, so except for the occasional military funeral, being a member doesn’t take a lot of time.

Citing President John F. Kennedy’s well known words “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” Thomas said one of the Legion’s goals is trying to find ways to increase volunteerism, hoping to overcome the societal change brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic when people stopped meeting others face to face and made social media their primary method of contact with others.