Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Two teams of riders representing the American Legion embarked on a 1,875 mile cross-country journey to celebrate their centennial.
Team Legacy departed from International Peace Park along the U.S.-Canadian border on Thursday, Aug. 1, while Team Vision started at the Pharr International Bridge in Pharr, Texas on Wednesday, July 31. Over the course of four days, the two teams traveled the full length of the American Legion Memorial Highway, or U.S. Hwy. 281. They each carried with them half of the organization’s centennial banner, to be signed by more than 60 post commanders along the way.
On Thursday, the 30 members of Team Legacy planned to make 11 stops at Legion Posts along the route in North Dakota. Post 30 in New Rockford was among the scheduled destinations, and five local Legionnaires met the caravan downtown at the post on Central Avenue around 3 p.m.
During the 30-minute stopover, Post 30 Commander Ron Anderson signed the banner, presented the community’s signed proclamation and received a certificate from American Legion officials.
Team Legacy traveled through South Dakota Friday and Nebraska Saturday before the two teams converged at Great Bend Post 180 in Kansas on Sunday, Aug. 4. There they pieced the two ends of the banner together in a special ceremony.
The centennial banner will now travel to the National Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. on Aug. 23-29 and be presented to American Legion National Commander Brett P. Reistad on stage Aug. 27.
A resolution honoring The American Legion’s 100th anniversary was passed July 31 in the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent.
Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced the resolution designating Aug. 23-29 as “American Legion Week” to coincide with the national convention.
“The American Legion has served as a beacon of service in communities across the country for a century, and I’m proud to be a part of formally honoring their work,” Braun said upon its passage.
U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Ind., who represents Indianapolis, is expected to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
U.S. Hwy. 281 was dedicated as American Legion Highway on March 10, 1960 as “a perpetual memorial to those who died to preserve our freedom.” That is according to a travel guide produced by the International 281 Highway Association that Post 30 Adjutant Alfred Ritzke Jr. shared with the Transcript last week. At the time, there were over 200 Legion Posts along the route.
The International 281 Highway Association was chartered in Nebraska and organized in the 1930s for the purpose of providing a safe route of travel from the interior of Mexico. Chester Schmid, a Legionnaire and former mayor of New Rockford, is pictured in a photo as one of North Dakota’s representatives to the association. He was president of the North Dakota 281 Highway Association at the time, when the highway was touted as “The Shortest North-South Route Across the North American Continent.”
Another name folks may remember is John Rossing. He was a member of Post 30 who served as a national association officer in the 1960s and was credited with helping the Legion achieve the goal of dedicating the American Legion Memorial Highway.
Now, more than 50 years later, local and state tourism officials continue to promote the highway for travel, commerce and tourism.
