National Commander

American Legion National Commander James A. LaCoursiere Jr. will award his national commander “Be the One” dog tag coin to any Legionnaire who obtains three new members into The American Legion.

A new member is any eligible person joining for the 2025 membership year who was not a member of The American Legion during the 2024 membership year. Transfers do not count as new members.

Each member listed must be eligible for membership in The American Legion. New Auxiliary members and Sons of The American Legion members do not count toward this incentive. Forward names of Sons of The American Legion members or Auxiliary members to your squadron or unit for use in their respective incentive programs.

Only one coin will be awarded per individual. Upon receipt, national membership staff will confirm the names in the national database and mail the coin directly to the person who earned it.

Download the “Be the One” membership incentive form.

To qualify for the American Legion’s Post Excellence Award, a post is required to achieve excellence in four areas: membership, submission of the Consolidated Post Report (CPR), attaining a 90% renewal rate, and community activity.

The purpose of this award is membership growth, exposure of American Legion values to the community, and increased visibility of the American Legion Family through service projects. A post achieving this qualification will have had numerous post members involved in planning and achieving these goals. Many posts are already active in these areas and will qualify without extra effort. Others, however, will need to increase their efforts in one or more areas to qualify for the award.

The standard to be achieved in each area is as follows:

Membership: The post must attain at least 103% of their membership goal. At least one post officer attends district meetings.

Consolidated Post Report: CPRs must be submitted by July 1. The American Legion’s federal charter requires the submission of an annual report to Congress on activities for the year. MyLegion.org has made it simple for a post to submit its CPR in a timely manner.

90% Renewal Rate: The post must renew at least 90% of their members that were on the 2023 roster.

Community Activity: The post must conduct an event that connects the local community with The American Legion post. The objective is to open your doors, welcome the community in, and educate them on what The American Legion is all about and how the post is an asset to the community. Posts do not need to have a physical building to accomplish this. This activity can be held in a park, a community center, or anywhere the post can welcome and interact with the local community.

Certification for the award: The district commander responsible for the post will certify a post as having achieved the four specified criteria. The district commander will submit a list of posts meeting the criteria to department headquarters. That list should include the post name, phone number, address and commander’s name. If possible, accompany the last two criteria with copies of press releases submitted to the local media about the projects to show that the projects were not only accomplished but that an attempt was made to enhance the image of The American Legion through local media. The copy submitted should include a date and time stamp showing receipt by the media outlet.

The district commander will transmit the information as posts qualify to:

The American Legion of Iowa
720 Lyon Street
Des Moines, IA 50309

100% AMERICAN LEGION FAMILY RIBBON

American Legion National Commander James A. LaCoursiere Jr. will award his 100% American Legion Family Ribbon to any American Legion Family that achieves 100 percent membership by the 2025 100% membership target date. For this award, the Legion Family is defined as a post and/or any combination of an Auxiliary unit or Sons squadron. Each must achieve 100% membership to qualify for the award.

The post adjutant will transmit information to:

The American Legion or Iowa
720 Lyon Street
Des Moines, IA 50309

Download the 100% American Legion Family Ribbon Form.

American Legion National Commander James A. LaCoursiere Jr. will award his “Be the One” dog tag coin to any post commander, district commander, county commander, division commander, department commander or membership chairman who achieves 103% of their assigned membership goal for 2025.

Download the 103% membership award form.

Daniel J. Seehafer, WI
Post #157
Elected: 8/31/2023

Vincent J. Troiola, NY
Post #1682
Elected: 9/1/2022

Paul E. Dillard, TX
Post #265
Elected: 9/2/2021

James W. “Bill” Oxford, NC
Post #29
Elected: 8/29/2019

Brett P. Reistad, VA
Post #270
Elected: 8/30/2018

Denise Rohan, WI
Post #385
Elected: 8/24/2017

Charles E. Schmidt, OR
Post #63
Elected: 9/1/2016

Dale Barnett, GA
Post #105
Elected: 9/3/2015

Michael D. Helm, NE
Post #313
Elected: 8/28/2014

Dan Dellinger, VA
Post #180
Elected: 8/29/2013

James E. Koutz, IN
Post #200
Elected: 8/30/2012

Fang A. Wong, NY
Post #1291
Elected: 9/1/2011

Jimmie L. Foster, AK
Post #28
Elected: 9/2/2010

Clarence E. Hill, FL
Post #316
Elected: 8/27/2009

David K. Rehbein, IA
Post #37
Elected: 8/28/2008

Martin F. Conatser, IL
Post #102
Elected: 8/30/2007

Paul A. Morin, MA
Post #337
Elected: 8/31/2006

Thomas L. Bock, CO
Post #23
Elected: 8/25/2005

Thomas P. Cadmus, MI
Post #155
Elected: 9/2/2004

John A. Brieden III, TX
Post #48
Elected: 8/28/2003

Ronald F. Conley Sr., PA
Post #290
Elected: 8/29/2002

Richard J. Santos, MD
Post #136
Elected: 8/30/2001

Ray G. Smith, NC
Post #109
Elected: 9/7/2000

Alan G. Lance Sr., ID
Post #113
Elected: 9/9/1999

Harold L. “Butch” Miller, VA
Post #364
Elected: 9/10/1998

Anthony G. Jordan, ME
Post #54
Elected: 9/4/1997

Joseph J. Frank, MO
Post #777
Elected: 9/5/1996

Daniel A. Ludwig, MN
Post #54
Elected: 9/6/1995

William Detweiler, LA
Post #307
Elected: 9/8/1994

Bruce Thiesen, CA
Post #191
Elected: 9/9/1993

Roger A. Munson, OH
Post #104
Elected: 8/27/1992

Dominic D. DiFrancesco, PA
Post #594
Elected: 9/5/1991

Robert S. Turner, GA
Post #15
Elected: 8/30/1990

Miles S. Epling, WV
Post #23
Elected: 9/7/1989

H. F. “Sparky” Gierke, ND
Post #29
Elected: 9/8/1988

John P. “Jake” Comer, MA
Post #78
Elected: 8/27/1987

James P. Dean, MS
Post #6
Elected: 9/5/1986

Dale L. Renaud, IA
Post #396
Elected: 8/28/1985

Clarence M. Bacon, MD
Post #110
Elected: 9/5/1984

Keith A. Kreul, WI
Post #184
Elected: 8/25/1983

Al Keller Jr., IL
Post #85
Elected: 8/26/1982

Jack W. Flynt, TX
Post #445
Elected: 9/3/1981

Michael J. Kogutek, NY
Post #1477
Elected: 8/21/1980

Frank I. Hamilton, IN
Post #129
Elected: 8/23/1979

John M. Carey, MI
Post #413
Elected: 8/24/1978

Robert Charles Smith, LA
Post #166
Elected: 8/25/1977

William J. Rogers, ME
Post #153
Elected: 8/26/1976

Harry Gordon Wiles, KS
Post #53
Elected: 8/21/1975

James Myrl Wagonseller, OH
Post #11
Elected: 8/22/1974

Robert Edward Lee Eaton, MD
Post #105
Elected: 8/23/1973

Joe Lee Matthews, TX
Post #569
Elected: 8/24/1972

John Henry Geiger, IL
Post #135
Elected: 9/2/1971

Alfred P. Chamie, CA
Post #336
Elected: 9/3/1970

J. Milton Patrick, OK
Post #131
Elected: 8/28/1969

William C. Doyle, NJ
Post #79
Elected: 9/12/1968

William E. Galbraith, NE
Post #159
Elected: 8/31/1967

John Edward Davis, ND
Post #124
Elected: 9/1/1966

L. Eldon James, VA
Post #31
Elected: 8/26/1965

Donald E. Johnson, IA
Post #514
Elected: 9/24/1964

Daniel F. Foley, MN
Post #50
Elected: 9/12/1963

James E. Powers, GA
Post #74
Elected: 10/11/1962

Charles L. Bacon, MO
Post #191
Elected: 9/14/1961

William R. Burke, CA
Post #8
Elected: 10/20/1960

Martin B. McKneally, NY
Post #152
Elected: 8/27/1959

Preston J. Moore, OK
Post #129
Elected: 9/4/1958

John S. Gleason Jr., IL
Post #985
Elected: 9/19/1957

Wilbur C. “Dan” Daniel, VA
Post #97
Elected: 9/7/1956

J. Addington Wagner, MI
Post #54
Elected: 10/13/1955

Seaborn P. Collins, NM
Post #10
Elected: 9/1/1954

Arthur J. Connell, CT
Post #75
Elected: 9/3/1953

Lewis K. Gough, CA
Post #13
Elected: 8/28/1952

Donald R. Wilson, WV
Post #13
Elected: 10/18/1951

Erle Cocke Jr., GA
Post #133
Elected: 10/12/1950

George N. Craig, IN
Post #2
Elected: 9/1/1949

S. Perry Brown, TX
Post #33
Elected: 10/21/1948

James F. O’Neil, NH
Post #2
Elected: 8/31/1947

Paul H. Griffith, PA
Post #51
Elected: 10/4/1946

John Stelle, IL
Post #106
Elected: 11/21/1945

Edward N. Scheiberling, NY
Post #225
Elected: 9/20/1944

Warren H. Atherton, CA
Post #16
Elected: 9/23/1943

Roane Waring, TN
Post #1
Elected: 9/21/1942

Lynn U. Stambaugh, ND
Post #2
Elected: 9/18/1941

Milo J. Warner, OH
Post #132
Elected: 9/26/1940

Raymond J. Kelly, MI
Post #119
Elected: 9/28/1939

Stephen F. Chadwick, WA
Post #18
Elected: 9/22/1938

Daniel J. Doherty, MA
Post #101
Elected: 9/23/1937

Harry W. Colmery, KS
Post #1
Elected: 9/24/1936

Ray Murphy, IA
Post #61
Elected: 9/26/1935

Frank N. Belgrano, CA
Post #236
Elected: 10/25/1934

Edward A. Hayes, IL
Post #105
Elected: 10/5/1933

Louis A. Johnson, WV
Post #13
Elected: 9/15/1932

Henry L. Stevens Jr., NC
Post #127
Elected: 9/24/1931

Ralph T. O’Neil, KS
Post #1
Elected: 10/9/1930

O. L. Bodenhamer, AR
Post #10
Elected: 10/3/1929

Paul V. McNutt, IN
Post #18
Elected: 10/11/1928

Edward E. Spafford, NY
Post #108
Elected: 10/18/1927

Howard P. Savage, IL
Post #184
Elected: 10/15/1926

John R. McQuigg, OH
Post #71
Elected: 10/9/1925

James A. Drain, WA
Post #9
Elected: 9/19/1924

John R. Quinn, CA
Post #26
Elected: 10/19/1923

Alvin M. Owsley, TX
Post #71
Elected: 10/20/1922

Hanford MacNider, IA
Post #101
Elected: 11/2/1921

John G. Emery, MI
Post #2
Elected: 6/14/1921

Frederick W. Galbraith Jr., OH
Post #50
Elected: 9/29/1920

Franklin D’Olier, PA
Post #136
Elected: 11/12/1919

National Commanders by vote of National Convention

Richard M. Pedro, NY
Post #401
Elected: 2012

Robert W. Spanogle, MI
Post #237
Elected: 2008

E. Roy Stone Jr., SC
Post #3
Elected: 1987

Hamilton Fish, NY
Post #150
Elected: 1979

Maurice Stember, NY
Post #342
Elected: 1975

Thomas W. Miller, NV
Post #23
Elected: 1968

Eric Fisher Wood, PA
Post #4
Elected: 1955

Theodore Roosevelt Jr., NY
Post #4
Elected: 1949

Bennett C. Clark, MO
Post #44
Elected: 1926

Milton Foreman, IL
Post #236
Elected: 1921

Henry D. Lindsley, TX
Post #1
Elected: 1919

Honorary National Commanders

Gen. John Pershing

Marshal Ferdinand Foch