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The American Legion

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans service organization. It is a community-service organization which now 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. Membership is restricted to men and women who served in the U.S. military during an official period of conflict.

The American Legion's national headquarters is in Indianapolis, Indiana, with additional offices in Washington, DC. In addition to thousands of volunteers serving in leadership and program implementation capacities in local communities to the Legion's standing national commissions and committees, the national organization has a regular full-time staff of about 300 employees.

Department Service Officers Directory

The American Legion provides free, professional assistance -- for any veteran -- in filing and pursuing claims before any administrative or judicial body of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Veterans need not be alone in their battles for benefits and medical care. Veterans are often forced to wage war against the paperwork and bureaucracy of government in order to get medical care or benefits. American Legion Service Officers offer free advice and guidance for veterans who need to deal with the VA.

The American Legion directory provides contact telephone numbers and addresses for the service officers in your area. It is available online at:
http://www.legion.org/?section=our_legion&subsection=ol_departments&content=ol_dsodir

Temporary Financial Assistance

In the 1920s, The American Legion began a national program of Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA) to keep the children of deceased or disabled veterans at home rather than in institutions. This cash aid is still available for cases not covered by subsequent state and federal programs for the needy.

Through TFA, a local Post can call upon the National Organization for cash assistance to help maintain the basic needs of veterans' children. The TFA fund has been used to assist families in meeting the costs of shelter, food, utilities and health expense items when the parents are unable to do so, thereby keeping the child, or children, in a more stable home environment.

Contact Information

The American Legion
National Headquarters
Indianapolis Office
700 North Pennsylvania St.
P.O. Box 1055
Indianapolis, IN 46206

Telephone: (317) 630-1200
Fax: (317) 630-1223

The American Legion
Washington Office
1608 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006

Telephone: (202) 861-2700
Fax: (202) 861-2728

Internet: http://www.legion.org/

See also:

Veterans Service Organizations - Overview

Veterans Affairs (VA) Benefits - Overview

Source

Information for this topic was drawn from the American Legion website at:
http://www.legion.org/

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