____________________________________________________________________

 

New National Commander Elected At 2019 National Convention

James W. "Bill" Oxford was elected national commander of The American Legion on Aug. 29, 2019, in Indianapolis, during the organization's 101st national convention. He has been a member of the nation's largest veterans organization since 1986. Oxford has served at every level of The American Legion.

 A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Oxford was an aviation electronics technician for the A-6 Intruder and served in Vietnam during his initial enlistment. 

Click on the commander's picture to see his bio.

 

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

 Ann Arbor Veterans Memorial Park Gets A New Flagpole

The new flagpole was a brainchild of American Legion Post 46 member Doug Harvey and assisted by then Commander Oleg Michajlenko. It took a little over a year of negotions and a $10,000 donation from the American Legion Post 46 and another $10,000 from VFW Post 423. The flagpole groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 9. It was installed by Rocket Enterprises of Warren, Michigan. See the pictures by clicking anywhere on this sentence. The Veterans Memorial Park had previously had no flag dedicated to all veterans.

The Ann Arbor News covered part of the event. Click the link to the right to see the story and pictures. Veterans honored with new flag, plaque in Veterans Memorial Park.

 

===================

 

The next day, August 10, the first official flagraising ceremony was perfomed. It was well attended by members of Legion Post 46, VFW Post 423 and VVA 310 members and family members. The 8' x 12' flag was magnificent to see. See pictures by clicking here

 

 

 

                                        ===================

 

   

 

On September 29, 2019 an official dedication ceremony took place. Mayor Taylor, Kate Melcher, and the commanders and presidents of the four major veterans organizations gave execellent speeches. See the picture album from this event by clicking HERE.

 

 

 

 

____________________________________________________________________

                                 

Legion Department of Michigan

 

Barry Wood is our new Department Commander. Mr. Wood went toe to toe with Marilyn Britton and he won very handily. Mr. Wood has a long list of accomplishments including Post 45 Commander, Department Vice Commander and Zone Commander. He's been married to his wife for 49 years, has two adult children and grandchildren- all are Legion Family members.

The rest of the officers elected were Skipper Townes- Finance Officer, Historian- Richard Tracy, Sgt At Arms- Danny Crisp, NEC- John Knox and Alternate NEC winner- Jerry Lynch.

 

 

____________________________________________________________________

Congress Approves LEGION Act

 

7/23: The U.S. House passed the bipartisan LEGION Act on Tuesday, extending the recognized wartime era back to Dec. 7, 1941.

The LEGION Act — Let Everyone Get Involved in Opportunities for National Service Act — fills in the gaps of war eras and redefines The American Legion’s membership eligibility dates, beginning with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and continuing until it is determined the United States is no longer in a state of war.

President Trump is expected to sign Senate bill S.504 into law later this week. When it becomes law, the legislation opens the door for hundreds of thousands of veterans to access American Legion programs and benefits for which they previously had not been eligible.

------------//----------- 

 

 

From the Office of the Press Secretery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2019

 

"On Tuesday, June 25, 2019 the President signed into law:

H.R. 299, "Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019," which requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to include Blue Water Navy veterans under the presumption of service connection for certain Agent Orange connected medical conditions; and make various changes to VA's home loan programs; and"

 

_____________________________________________________________________

Baseball

 

7/22 Our team finished the season 13 and 3 and which places us in first place. GREAT JOB TEAM LEGION 46!!

6/15 Team Legion 46 wins trophy for the third year winning 6- 2 and 6- 2 in a double header against the VFW Post 423 team. Each year the trophy is up for grabs as they play a friendly double header. The teams played at Veterans Memorial Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

 

 ____________________________________________________________________

 Ann Arbor VA Medical Center

 Click Here To See The Ann Arbor VA Medical Center Current Donation Needs

  Beginning October 1, 2019, The Ann Arbor VA Medical Center Campus will become smoke-free.

 

 Fisher House

    

 

June 14th Fisher House broke ground for a new Fisher House at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center. It is the first Fisher House to be built in Michigan. See pictures from the Ceremony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Fisher House at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center is well under way. The progress has been rapid. Expected completion is Spring of 2020. This picture was taken in early October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ---------------

VA MISSION Act:

Answers to the top five questions about urgent care. Read about it here

 ______________________________________________________________________

 

Comments From The Ann Arbor Legion Post 46 Commander Dave Draper 

As we start a new year and swear in a new Commander, I am hopeful that we, as a Post, continue the rich heritage that has preceded us. If my math is correct, I am the 68th Commander since the Post's founding 100 years ago. We have had years of glory with high membership to times where membership has dwindled. We currently have members from WWII to the more recent conflicts from post 911, a broad range in ages. We will be making a concerted effort to increase membership in the coming year by tapping into the colleges and universities in our area. We recently started holding our meetings in a shared veterans organization building that is more conducive to meetings and at a more appropriate time for everyone.

We will also be focusing more on community support- one of the four pillars of the American Legion, and assistance to Veterans. We currently support Boys State and Fisher House Michigan. Fisher House is a Ronald McDonald like facility but for Veteran families who want to support their Veteran family member who is hospitalized at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center. Groundbreaking will take place very soon. We also provide flags at gravesites during the Memorial Day remembrance. We provide homeless Vets with supplies and food, and once a year provide lunch to our law enforcement personnel at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center. Once a year we solicit monies through a Poppy drive to raise funds for selected projects. So, as you can see, we are off to a good start to providing services and assistance to our Veteran community.

Thank you to the Post membership for electing me as Commander and for your confidence in my abilities. 

 

Dave Draper

Commander

The American Legion

Erwin Prieskorn Post 46

Ann Arbor, Michigan