1st District Commander’s November 2024 Report

As I am sitting here thinking about what to say in my November article, all that comes to mind is that the holidays are coming, and we have some members who are not with family. We should help each and every one in the 1st District feel like they are with family, for that is what made us who we are — our military family, then our veteran family.

Yes, we hear a lot about PTSD. Yes, there are many stages of it.

When we put our hand on a hot stove, we learned not to touch the stove again. But with combat, they often didn’t have a choice to go again. They may not have thought about or fully realized their inner wounds yet.

I know there are many causes of PTSD, and I would like to talk about the PTSD caused by combat. What a person sees firsthand makes you think they were tough, but you don’t know what they had to do just to survive. We the veteran population dwindling in this country and changing in how we treat veterans, we need to make The American Legion a pleasant place to be. Reduce the fighting. Reduce the picking each other apart over little things.

So let us remember that if you are an officer of this organization, look at the bigger picture and stop the personal politics because the personal politics are ripping The American Legion apart. To those who don’t think that because you have a disability or condiction, think again. This article was written by a person who has a brain disability I am also the district commander for the second year. My goal is to reduce drama and focus on our mission.

If you think you can’t do it because of your disability, think again, and remember most  people in history had disabilities. In spite of them, they did great things. It is OK to not be OK. Check on one another. We are our brother’s keeper.

We are open to all religions, and if you are Christian, I remind you that Christ died for our sins. He does not keep score, so why do we need to keep score? How hard is it to one help another? We say it at the end of the Preamble, “to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.”

What can be more Legion-like than mutual helpfulness?