The American Legion

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, wartime veterans organization. Currently, the American Legion numbers nearly 3 million members -- men and women -- in nearly 15,000 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. Thousands of volunteers serve in leadership and program implementation capacities in local communities. The national organization has a regular full-time staff of about 300 employees.

The Duxbury Post 223  is located in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a coastal community of 15,000 inhabitants. It is the only veterans group in the town. The post  has 266 members. It  recently reached the 100% enrollment mark which placed them in the upper echelon of posts in the District 10 membership drive. The majority of Post 223  members live in Duxbury. The remaining members come from other nearby  towns as well as from several other states.

Post 223 is involved within the local community. It sponsors a Legion baseball team, a cub scout pack, a little league team, and a men's softball team. They offer scholarships to local students who are related to members of its post and/or its Auxiliary. Each year the post sponsors four boys from the junior class at Duxbury High School to the American Legion Boys State program. They also sponsor four Duxbury High School students to the American Legion Student Trooper program which is run by the Massachusetts State Police. Each August the post holds an Honors To Youth Banquet. This event honors all youths who participate in any of the post's activities or who receive awards from the post.