Sanford American Legion Post 53

2874 Sanford Ave, Sanford, FL 32773

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Notable American Legion Members Humphrey Bogart

Bogart followed his passion for the sea and enlisted in the United States Navy in the spring of 1918 (during World War I). He recalled later, "At eighteen, war was great stuff. Paris! Sexy French girls! Hot damn! “ Bogart was a founding member and the original leader of the Hollywood Rat Pack, and is widely considered one of the coolest people to have ever lived.   

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Notable American Legion Halls Wyandotte, MI

Located on the Detroit River, with a private patio that has an amazing view. If you are in the Detroit area, I highly suggest stopping in for some perogis. 

The Biggest 'Little" Post in Michigan  

 Featured on Mike Rowes Returing the Favor 

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The American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) is an auxiliary organization of the American Legion composed of spouses of American war veterans. Founded in 1919, the ALA is dedicated to serving veterans, military, and their families.    After the end of World War I in 1918, 20 officers who had served in the American Expeditionary Forces were asked to suggest ideas for improving troop morale. One officer, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., proposed an organization of veterans, the American Legion. After its formation in 1919, a number of existing women's organizations wanted to become the official affiliate of the Legion. The committee decided to create a new organization made up of the women most closely associated with the men of the Legion. 

    The vision of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion while becoming the premier service organization and foundation of every community providing support for our veterans, our military, and their families by shaping a positive future in an atmosphere of fellowship, patriotism, peace and security. Our members do incredible work. On average, each year, they…

-Help nearly 3 million veterans 

-Contribute $36 million toward veterans and military families

-Volunteer 9.3 million hours to support veterans programs 

-Contribute more than $2 million to programs benefiting children and youth

-Volunteer 630,000 hours for active-duty military For membership eligibility and sign up please visit https://www.alaforveterans.org/About/Eligibility/ or stop in and see us!

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Notable American Legion Members Alvin C. York Certified Badass (official title) Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking at least one machine gun, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers and capturing 132.   York was one of a group of seventeen soldiers assigned to infiltrate German lines and silence a machine gun position. After the American patrol had captured a large group of enemy soldiers, German small arms fire killed six Americans and wounded three.    York was the highest ranking of those still able to fight, so he took charge. While his men guarded the prisoners, York attacked the machine gun position, killing several German soldiers with his rifle before running out of ammunition. Six German soldiers charged him with bayonets, and York drew his pistol and killed all of them.    The German officer responsible for the machine gun position had emptied his pistol while firing at York but failed to hit him. This officer then offered to surrender and York accepted.    York and his men marched back to their unit's command post with more than 130 prisoners. York was immediately promoted to sergeant and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; an investigation resulted in the upgrading of the award to the Medal of Honor. York's feat made him a national hero and international celebrity among allied nations. “ The Germans got us, and they got us right smart. They just stopped us dead in our tracks. Their machine guns were up there on the heights overlooking us and well hidden, and we couldn't tell for certain where the terrible heavy fire was coming from ... And I'm telling you they were shooting straight. Our boys just went down like the long grass before the mowing machine at home. Our attack just faded out ... And there we were, lying down, about halfway across [the valley] and those German machine guns and big shells getting us hard “ “  And those machine guns were spitting fire and cutting down the undergrowth all around me something awful. And the Germans were yelling orders. You never heard such a racket in all of your life. I didn't have time to dodge behind a tree or dive into the brush... As soon as the machine guns opened fire on me, I began to exchange shots with them. There were over thirty of them in continuous action, and all I could do was touch the Germans off just as fast as I could. I was sharp shooting... All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. I didn't want to kill any more than I had to. But it was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had  “    York refused many offers to profit from his fame, including thousands of dollars offered for appearances, product endorsements, newspaper articles, and movie rights to his life story. Instead, he lent his name to various charitable and civic causes.

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Historic Legion Halls Perk of being a Legionnaire... No matter where you go, you got a place to hang out.  Check out this awesome place. 

  The Bunch-Walton Post No. 22 American Legion Hut is a historic social club meeting hall at 201 Legion Street in Clarksville, Arkansas. It is architecturally unique in the community, built out of native stone in the manner of a Norman castle. It is two stories in height, with rounded projecting corners and a crenelated parapet. Its main entrance is set in a rounded-arch opening at the center of the front facade, and is elevated, with access via flight of stairs. It was built in 1934, and is believed to be the only American Legion hall of this style in the state.

   The Lee Bunch Post #22 was formed in Clarksville in February 1919 when fifteen veterans applied to form a Johnson County post. It was named for Bunch, a resident of Batson who was the first Johnson Countian to die in World War I. The group initially met in local homes, churches and clubs, but in February 1932 the Civic Club sold the post for one dollar an island between the main stream and west fork of Spadra Creek near downtown Clarksville.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007

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Veterans Resources

LifeLine for Vets Vet to Vet Assistance. Call 888-777-4443 Jump to Links: Addiction - Apply for VA Benefits - Crisis - Employment - Housing and Homelessness - Manage Benefits - Manage Health - Social...

Our list of veterans resources is growing.  We are assembling a list the not only covers veterans in the central florida region but nation wide. If you have any suggestions for additions to this list please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] Thanks!

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https://twitter.com/SPost53

Keep up to date with all the latest events

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Interesting little fact for you..... on July 17, 1925 The Legion created the American Legion Baseball program. Today, more than 50 percent of Major League Baseball players are graduates of the program. About 82,000 youths play on Legion-sponsored teams each year.

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For The Vets:

Some people handle things differently than others.  You may not think there are those that can relate.  I assure you, there are members at our post that will listen. And if you dont want to vent in person, here are a few numbers you can call.  NVF Lifeline for Vets – 1-888-777-4443 (you will only be talking to another Veteran, who is just waiting for you to call. Like seriously, just sitting around bored, so give them a call and say hello) VA Suicide Hotline – 1-800-273-8255 National Suicide Hotline – 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Stop Soldier Suicide – 1.800.273.8255 #1

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Become A Member!

If you have served federal active duty in the United States Armed Forces since December 7, 1941, and have been honorably discharged or are still serving - you are eligible for membership in The American Legion! We are actively looking for new members. This includes those of you still pulling sand out from behind your ears. 

Come and have a say in how we progress as a group. Help us make our post into a community hub, advance the cause. 

Maybe you just want to hang with other vets, or find a way to help those in need.

 Cheap beer is an acceptable reason as well. 

Whatever reason you have, we would love to have you become one of us. Reach out via the contact page or just stop in!

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Saturday August 8th 2020

Come join us at the American Legion for an 8oz Sirloin Steak dinner. Dinner will include steak, baked potato, veggies, salad, a roll and dessert for $15. Dinner is from 5-7pm and Reservations are highly encouraged. Please call 407-322-1652. Bobby K and the Kruisers will begin at 7pm. We will be obeying the social distancing guidelines and masks must be worn when not eating.  

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We are all about helping out

The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. I personally will assist you in loosing at pool, any racing game, trivia, beer pong, and flip cup. Because we are helpful like that.  But in all seriousness, check out our resources page. We have assembled a large collection of agencies that are able to help those in need. if you want to help, or need help, please check this page.  SanfordPost53.com/Resources

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Legion History

American legion history time again. June 15, 1991 The Legion hosts its first Junior Shooting Sports National Air Rifle Championships at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Today, more than 2,000 high school students a year enter the contest, which teaches gun safety and marksmanship. Im thinking of a few vets I served with that could have used this additional training as well. 

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History

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at nearly 2 million in more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.

Over the years, the Legion has influenced considerable social change in America, won hundreds of benefits for veterans and produced many important programs for children and youth. 

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Notable American Legion Members Clark Gable, Academy Award winner

  Gable spent two years as an aerial cameraman and bomber gunner in Europe during World War II.   Gable flew five combat missions, including one to Germany, as an observer-gunner in B-17 Flying Fortresses between May 4 and September 23, 1943, earning the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.

  During one of the missions, Gable's aircraft was damaged by flak and attacked by fighters, which knocked out one of the engines and shot up the stabilizer. In the raid on Germany, one crewman was killed and two others were wounded, and flak went through Gable's boot and narrowly missed his head. 

  When word of this reached MGM, studio executives began to badger the Army Air Forces to reassign its most valuable screen actor to noncombat duty. In November 1943, Gable returned to the United States to edit his film, on an old Warner's lot donated to the war effort, joining the First Motion Picture Unit in Hollywood where other stars contributed with any film equipment they had as well.

  In June 1944, Gable was promoted to major. While he hoped for another combat assignment, he had been placed on inactive duty and on June 12, 1944, his discharge papers were signed by Captain (later U.S. President) Ronald Reagan.

   Gable completed editing of the film Combat America in September 1944, giving the narration himself and making use of numerous interviews with enlisted gunners as focus of the film.

  Because his motion picture production schedule made it impossible for him to fulfill reserve officer duties, he resigned his commission on September 26, 1947, a week after the Air Force became an independent service branch.

    Adolf Hitler favored Gable above all other actors. During World War II, Hitler offered a sizable reward to anyone who could capture and bring Gable to him unscathed.

    Gable was awarded military honors for service: the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. 

Oh, and he was in some movies and stuff too. 

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Sanford American Legion Post 53 Events Calender

Calender is often updated with events, meetings and hours. Each event can easily be added to your phones calender as a reminder. Just click the event you are interested in, and then hit "copy to my calendar»" Easy as that! https://sanfordpost53.com/Events

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Earlier this month, at Post 53 we had the pleasure of working with the organization Kids In Support Of Soldiers, we all came together and put together care packages for our troops!

Kids In Support of Soldiers, Inc. (K.I.S.S.) was founded on the desire of children to support our deployed service men and women of the Armed Forces. 

www.kidsinsupportofsoldiers.org