The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans organization.
American Legion is a community service organization which now numbers nearly 2 million members -- men and women -- in nearly 12,000 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 order to join the American Legion you will have to show your proof of service. In most cases this means producing a copy of your Form DD214. The following form from the National Personnel Records Center (Request for Military Records Form 180, Front and Back) can be used to obtain a copy of your DD214 or other military records.**
In order to read the form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.
**Please note that the NPRC form can be used for a number of requests, such as: verification of all (or issuance of) awards, corrections to your DD-214, or a copy of your records. Send NPRC the completed form along with a copy of your DD-214, and spell out exactly what actions you want them to do. For example, upon review of your records and verification of awards entitlement, they will respond to you. Every veteran is entitled to ONE replacement set of awards. Since they receive many requests, it may take them some time to reply.
Download the latest version of the freeAdobe Acrobat PDF Reader here.
Follow the link below to download SF-180:
The American Legion wants you!
Eligibility in The American Legion is based on honorable service with the U.S. Armed Forces between April 6, 1917, to Nov. 11, 1918, and from Dec. 7, 1941, to present.
*Because eligibility dates remain open, all members of the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible to join The American Legion at this time, until cessation of hostilities as determined by the U.S. Government.