The Story of the American Legion: The Birth of the LegionWheat, George Seay
History
The Story of the American Legion: The Birth of the Legion
Wheat, George Seay
American Legion; World War, 1914-1918 -- Societies, etc.
Lt. Col. Robbins, 2d Army Hq. Chairman
Lt. Col. Goodrich, G.H.Q., Vice-Chairman
Sgt. Dolan, 89th Division
Lt. Col. Stebbins, 3rd Army Corps
Sgt. H.E. Fleming, 35th Division
Major E.S. Haile, 77th Div.
Colonel Gibbs, S.O.S.
Sgt. McElow, Paris Command
Major Horace Rumsey, 35th Division
Sgt. C.E. Sommers, Paris Command
Major D.D. Drain, 3d Army
Sgt. G.F. Fleming, Paris Command
Lt. Markoe, 2d Army
Major Dwight, S.O.S.
Sgt. Barnard, Paris Command
The names of these committees are given because they are more than
just names. They show the first bubbles of the melting pot into which
all rank and titles in the American Army have been cast and out of
which comes the one word "Comrade."
There were three outstanding features of the Paris caucus which were
evident by midnight of March 15th. The first was the desire to get
together and form an organization quickly and a willingness to forego
personal prejudice and opinion to arrive at that end. The second was
the determination to make the man who didn't get across as much a
component part of the legion as his more fortunate brother-in-arms;
while the third was the avowed intention to take no action at the
caucus which could be deferred until the winter convention in America,
when the home brother and the navy could be jointly represented and a
permanent organization could be effected. I say that these things were
evident by midnight of March 15th for those who have attended many
conventions know that from the casual word heard here and there, the
whispered conference of a few leaders, and from the general tenor of
discussions carried on by delegates gathered together in little
groups, the spirit of the body politic is most perceptible.
After the adjournment of the afternoon session on that day, members
of the committees closeted themselves and started work on their
special functions, while those who were to pass on the committee's
actions, the "hoi polloi" were here and there in groups, in the "Y"
huts or in boulevard cafes discussing the real meaning of the
gathering. A colonel in the Officers' Club said there must be no
disagreement on this or that question; a private in the Bal Tabarin
told his buddies the same thing.
And so it came to pass that on the following day in the Cirque de
Paris, where the final meetings were held, the delegates formally
gathered, sensed the gossip of the clubs and boulevards, and acted
accordingly. One of the things done was to endorse the action of the
temporary committee in appointing itself and in calling the caucus.
Another was to adopt a tentative constitution. It is in reality little
more than a preamble, but it gave a working basis, expressing enough
and yet not too much.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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