Signing of LEGION Act Allows Thousands of Vets to Join American Legion

President Trump signed S. 504 – known as the LEGION Act – on July 30 in the Oval Office. The act extends the ongoing declared period of war back to December 7, 1941. Congress approved the act as a way to honor thousands of veterans who were killed or wounded on duty during periods not previously considered a time of war.
The Let Everyone Get Involved in Opportunities for National Service (LEGION) Act, sponsored by Arizona Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema, recognizes veterans who previously couldn’t join, such as those who served during the Cold War.

As a congressionally-chartered organization, eligibility for the country’s largest veterans service organization, with nearly two million members, is established by Congress. It had been open to veterans who served during declared wars, such as World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Prior to this bill, there were seven smaller eligibility periods, beginning with World War I and concluding with the current period – August 2, 1990, to the present. Now, there are two periods designed to be more inclusive. They are: April 6, 1917, through Nov. 11, 1918, and Dec. 7, 1941, to the present.

“Finally Congress has acknowledged the service and sacrifice of at least 1,600 veterans who died or were wounded in previously undeclared periods of war,” said American Legion National Judge Advocate Kevin Bartlett. “This new law honors the memories of those veterans, while allowing other veterans from those previously undeclared eras to receive all the American Legion benefits they have earned through their service.”

Bill 504 states:

(2) In between those recognized periods of war, during so-called peacetime eras, the United States military has been involved in not fewer than 12 known eras, which are unrecognized by the United States Government as periods of war, resulting in numerous United States personnel combat casualties.
(3) Those 12 unrecognized war eras occurred at the direction of the then President of the United States, with full knowledge and consent of the then Congress.
(4) The first of those 12 unrecognized war eras involving active United States military personnel was the Greek Civil War, fought in Greece from 1946 to 1949 between the army of the Government of Greece, supported by active military personal of the United States and the United Kingdom, and the Democratic Army of Greece, the military branch of the Communist Party of Greece.
(5) During the Greek Civil War, one member of the Armed Forces of the United States sacrificed his life in service to the United States, and five others suffered non-combat deaths.
(6) The second of those unrecognized war eras involving active United States military personnel was the Chinese Civil War, which occurred during the aftermath of World War II.
(7) During the Chinese Civil War, the United States military equipped, trained, transported, and supplied the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China with approximately $4,430,000,000 in its resistance to the Communist Party of China.
(8) During the Chinese Civil War, 14 members of the Armed Forces of the United States sacrificed their lives in service to the United States, 150 non-combatants of the United States lost their lives in the war, and 51 were wounded, resulting in 215 United States military casualties.
(9) The third unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel is known as the Cold War.
(10) The Cold War was a period spanning from approximately 1947 until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
(11) Although no direct large-scale military fighting occurred between the militaries of the United States and the Soviet Union, active United States military personnel served in multiple regional conflicts during the Cold War, resulting in the deaths of not fewer than 32 members of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States and not fewer than 12 additional casualties.
(12) The fourth unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel is known as the China Cold War.
(13) The China Cold War started when the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China retreated to the island of Taiwan and lasted until 1972, after President Richard Nixon conducted a landmark state visit to China.
(14) During the military operations of the China Cold War, not fewer than 16 members of the Armed Forces of the United States sacrificed their lives in service to the United States.
(15) The fifth unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel was the Lebanon Crisis of 1958, which involved more than 14,000 United States personnel and resulted in the death of one member of the Armed Forces who sacrificed his life in service to the United States and five non-combat deaths.
(16) The sixth unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel was the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961.
(17) The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by a United States military group sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency that resulted in not fewer than one death of a member of the Armed Forces who sacrificed his life in service to the United States and 19 non-combat deaths.
(18) The seventh unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel was the Cuban Missile Crisis, which took place between October 16 and October 28, 1962.
(19) The Cuban Missile Crisis directly related to homeland protection against the deployment of a Soviet ballistic missile in Cuba.
(20) During the Cuban Missile Crisis, one member of the Armed Forces sacrificed his life in service to the United States and 19 others died as non-combatants.
(21) The eighth unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel was the Dominican Civil War in 1965.
(22) Operations during the Dominican Civil War resulted in the deaths of 27 members of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States, 20 non-combat-related deaths, and 283 wounded.
(23) The ninth unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel was the Iran Hostage Crisis, which lasted from November 4, 1979, through January 20, 1981.
(24) The Iran Hostage Crisis involved military intervention by the United States which resulted in the deaths of 8 members of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in service to United States.
(25) The tenth unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel was the Salvadoran Civil War.
(26) The Salvadoran Civil War lasted more than 12 years, through the terms of two Presidential administrations of the United States, and resulted in the deaths of 22 members of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States, 15 non-combat deaths, and 35 other casualties.
(27) The 11th unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel started on April 5, 1986, when the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany, was bombed, killing two United States soldiers and wounding 79 other members of the Armed Forces, which triggered what became known as the Libyan Conflict.
(28) The military operations of the Libyan Conflict included numerous air strikes by United States military forces and resulted in the deaths of two members of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States.
(29) The Libyan Conflict led to the 12th unrecognized war era involving active United States military personnel, known collectively as the Persian Gulf Conflicts, which lasted from July 24, 1987, through September 26, 1988.
(30) The Persian Gulf Conflicts involved United States military missions to protect Kuwaiti-owned oil tankers which represented the largest United States naval convoy operation since World War II.
(31) The Persian Gulf Conflicts resulted in numerous military operations and the deaths of not fewer than 39 members of the Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States and 31 wounded.
(32) Since the armistice that ended the hostilities of the Korean War on January 31, 1955, nearly 100 active United States military personnel have sacrificed their lives in service to the United States in South Korea, and more than 132 people of the United States have been wounded in-country.
(33) Since January 1, 1947, through all of the unrecognized war eras involving active United States military personnel, not fewer than 778 combat and non-combat members of the Armed Forces have sacrificed their lives in service to the United States and not fewer than 797 have been wounded.

The American Legion offers answers to the most commonly asked questions about the change:
Question: How does this change the eligibility requirements for The American Legion?
Answer: The only change is that Congress has reduced the number of eligibility periods from seven to two. They are April 6, 1917, to Nov. 11, 1918, and Dec. 7, 1941, and continuing. No other restrictions are changed.
Question: What’s the impact on veterans who previously were not eligible for American Legion membership?
Answer: Veterans who were honorably discharged but whose service did not fall into the previous defined war eras may now join The American Legion immediately. To do so, eligible members may sign up at www.legion.org/join.
Question: I am among the veterans who were not allowed to join previously, so why do you want me now?
Answer: The American Legion’s founding fathers believed, “a veteran is a veteran,” an axiom that has held true throughout the organization’s more than century of service. Some veterans were ineligible to join because of the war eras that were defined by Congress. The recent bill passage and President’s signature changed that.
Question: So how does this differentiate The American Legion from AMVETS?
Answer: The American Legion’s eligibility criteria states that veterans must have served during “wartime.” When Congress decides the U.S. is no longer in a state of war, the Legion’s membership eligibility period will close, while AMVETS will still be open to those who served.
Question: How does this affect the Sons of The American Legion (SAL)?
Answer: The Sons’ eligibility criteria will change along with that of The American Legion. Any son or grandson of a living American Legion member will be able to join the SAL program. (Sons and grandsons of deceased veterans are also eligible.) For example, a son of a veteran who served between 1985 and 1988 previously would not have been eligible. With the extension of the war period, that veteran would immediately be eligible for The American Legion and the son would be able to join the SAL.
Question: How does this affect the eligibility for the American Legion Auxiliary?
Answer: This follows the same concept as the SAL, as noted previously. Membership in the American Legion Auxiliary is currently open to grandmothers, mothers, sisters, wives, and direct and adopted female descendants of eligible veterans.
Question: How does this affect membership for departments, districts and posts?
Answer: This change opens up American Legion membership to thousands more veterans who likely live in your communities. They may become members immediately.
Question: How does this change the Paid Up For Life program?
Answer: There are no changes to the PUFL program, though the newly eligible members would be able to become PUFLs. To learn more about the program, visit https://www.legion.org/PUFL
Brett Reistad National Commander for the American Legion, said the Legion Act is “a victory for veterans who until now have not had their service to our nation fully recognized. These veterans and their family members can now enjoy all the benefits of their service, which they so richly deserve.”