S 0693  Resolution, By Alexander
 A SENATE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE THE AMERICAN LEGION UPON THE OCCASION OF
 ITS ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY AND TO COMMEND THE ORGANIZATION FOR ITS MANY
 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
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   03/21/19  Senate Introduced and adopted (Senate Journal-page 6)

TO CONGRATULATE THE AMERICAN LEGION UPON THE OCCASION OF ITS ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY AND TO COMMEND THE ORGANIZATION FOR ITS MANY YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate are pleased to learn that The American Legion is celebrating its centennial in 2018-2019; and

Whereas, The American Legion has been a staunch advocate for veterans and their families since 1919, when it was founded in Paris by United States World War I military personnel stationed there; and

Whereas, the organization was founded on four pillars: care for veterans, a strong national defense, Americanism, and children and youth; and

Whereas, over the years, The American Legion has played a leading role in initiatives and breakthroughs that have affected the lives of Americans in every community, including the formation of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Flag Code, and the GI Bill; and

Whereas, The American Legion today consists of fifty-five departments in each of the fifty states, as well as in the District of Columbia, France, Mexico, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. There are approximately thirteen thousand local posts worldwide; and

Whereas, about two million military personnel and veterans who have served their nation on active duty during wartime are members of The American Legion, and the American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion bring the total membership in the American Legion Family to over three million; and

Whereas, The American Legion posts annually donate more than 3.7 million hours of volunteer service in their communities, provide assistance on more than one hundred eighty-one thousand VA benefits claims and cases, donate more than eighty thousand pints of blood, award more than eight thousand medals to Junior ROTC students, sponsor more than two thousand five hundred Scouting units, and award more than four million dollars in college scholarships; and

Whereas, The American Legion's one hundredth anniversary mantra is "Legacy and Vision," which aims to both celebrate past accomplishments and renew the organization's resolve to serve communities, states, and the nation for a second century; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate greatly appreciate the service of The American Legion to local communities, the State of South Carolina, and the United States of America. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, congratulate The American Legion upon the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary and commend the organization for its many years of dedicated service to the United States of America.