We deal in items we believe others will enjoy and want to purchase.
We are not experts.
We welcome any comments, questions, or concerns.
WE ARE TARGETING A GLOBAL MARKET PLACE.
Thanks in advance for your patronage.
Please Be sure to add WDG to your favorites list!
NOW FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE…
"EGYPT PAST COMMANDER"
BELIEVE THIS IS A MILITARIA INSIGNIA
DECORATIVE LAPEL PIN
BRASS / BRONZE
AGED
CIRCA 1930 +/-
HALLMARK "ST. LOUIS"
REGALIA JEWELRY
COULD BE FOR A FRATERNITY
BUT THINK IT WAS AWARDED TO A SERVICE MAN
SECRET SERVICE
MASONIC OR MILITARY?
WHO WILL TELL?
MEASURES ABOUT 7cm X 3.5cm
DEPICTS THE FACE OF A SPHINX
IN A PYRAMID SHAPE
FOIA
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
----------------------------------------------
FYI
The American Legion, Inc. is a federally chartered corporation formed in Paris on March 16, 1919 by veterans of the American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.).
Membership
Eligibility for American Legion membership is limited to those honorably discharged veterans and current personnel of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force who served at least one day of active duty during any of the following periods:
World War I: April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918
World War II: December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946 (except that for the U.S. Merchant Marine eligibility dates are December 7, 1941 to August 16, 1945)
Korean War: June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955
Vietnam War: February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975
Lebanon and Grenada: August 24, 1982 to July 31, 1984
Panama: December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990
Persian Gulf War and Global War on Terrorism: August 2, 1990 to present
History
The aftermath of two American wars in the second half of the 19th century had seen the formation of several ex-soldiers' organizations. Following the American Civil War of 1861–65 former Union soldiers had established an organization called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), while their Southern brethren had joined together as the United Confederate Veterans (UCV) in the aftermath of hostilities. Both of these organizations had emerged as powerful political entities, with the GAR serving as a mainstay of the Republican Party, which controlled the Presidency from the Civil War through the Theodore Roosevelt administration for all but the two terms of office of Grover Cleveland. In Southern politics the UCV maintained an even more dominant position as a bulwark of the conservative Democratic Party which ruled there. Similarly, the conclusion of the short-lived Spanish–American conflict of 1898 had ushered in another ex-soldiers' organization, the American Veterans of Foreign Service, today known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
With the termination of hostilities in World War I in November 1918, certain American officers who had been participants in the conflict began to think about the creation of a similar organization for the nearly two million men who had shipped out for European duty. The need for an organization for former members of the AEF was pressing and immediate. With the war at an end, hundreds of thousands of impatient draftees found themselves trapped in France and pining for home, certain only that untold weeks or months lay ahead of them before their return would be logistically possible. Morale plummeted. Cautionary voices were raised about an apparent correlation between disaffected and discharged troops and the Bolshevik uprisings taking place in Russia, Finland, Germany, and Hungary.
This situation was a particular matter of concern to Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., eldest son of the 26th President. One day in January 1919, Roosevelt had a discussion at General Headquarters with a mobilized National Guard officer named George A. White, a former newspaper editor with the Portland Oregonian. After long discussion, Roosevelt suggested the establishment at once of a new servicemen's organization including all members of the AEF, as well as those soldiers who remained stateside as members of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps during the war without having been shipped abroad. Roosevelt and White advocated ceaselessly for this proposal until ultimately they found sufficient support at headquarters to move forward with the plan. Orders were issued by Gen. John J. Pershing to a group of 20 non-career officers to report to YMCA headquarters in Paris on February 15, 1919. The selection of these individuals was handled by Roosevelt. Joining them were a number of regular Army officers selected by Pershing himself.
The session of reserve and regular officers was given the task of providing a set of recommendations aimed at curbing the problem of declining morale. A series of proposals resulted from the three days of sessions, including elimination of restrictive regulations, organization of additional athletic events and recreational opportunities, and the expansion of leave time and entertainment programs. At the end of the first day, the group retired to the Inter-Allied Officers Club, a converted home located across the street from the YMCA building, where Lt. Col. Roosevelt unveiled his proposal for a new veterans' society for the first time. Most of those present were rapidly won to Roosevelt's plan. The group decided to declare all of their actions provisional until a duly elected convention of delegates could be convened and made no effort to predetermine a program for the still-unnamed veterans organization. Instead they sought to expand their number through the convocation of a large preliminary meeting in Paris, to consist of an equal number of elected delegates from the ranks of enlisted men and the officer corps.
A provisional executive committee of four people emerged from the February 15 "Roosevelt dinner": Roosevelt in the first place, who was to return to the United States and obtain his military discharge when able, and then to gather assistants and promote the idea of the new veterans' organization among demobilized troops there; George White, who was to travel France touring the camps of the AEF explaining the idea in person; Secretary of the group was veteran wartime administrator Eric Fisher Wood, together with former Ohio Congressman Ralph D. Cole, Wood was to establish a central office and to maintain contact by mail and telegram with the various combat divisions and headquarters staffs, as well as to publicize activities to the press.
Preparations for a convention in Paris began apace. A convention call was prepared by Wood and "invitations" distributed to about 2,000 officers and enlisted men and publicized in the March 14, 1919 issue of Stars and Stripes. The convention call expressed the desire to form "one permanent nation-wide organization...composed of all parties, all creeds, and all ranks who wish to perpetuate the relationships formed while in military service." In addition to the personal invitations distributed, the published announcement indicated that "any officer or enlisted man not invited who is in Paris at the time of the meeting is invited to be present and to have a voice in the meeting." The conclave was slated to begin on March 15.
The Site of Ferdinand Branstetter Post No. 1 of the American Legion is a vacant lot in Van Tassell, Wyoming where the first American Legion post in the United States was established in 1919. The post was named after Ferdinand Branstetter, a Van Tassell resident who died in World War I. The structure housing the post has since been demolished. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. In 1969, it was hoped that an interpretative sign would be put up, and also possibly that a restored post building would be constructed. An interpretative sign exists at the site, in 2009.
The first post of the American Legion, General John Joseph Pershing Post Number 1 in Washington, D.C., was organized on March 7, 1919, and obtained the first charter issued to any post of the Legion on May 19, 1919. The St. Louis caucus that same year decided that Legion posts should not be named after living persons, and the first post changed its name to George Washington Post 1. The post completed the constitution and made plans for a permanent organization. It set up temporary headquarters in New York City and began its relief, employment, and Americanism programs.
Congress granted the American Legion a national charter in September 1919.
American Legion China Post One, formed in 1919 one year after the "great war" and chartered by the American Legion on 20 April 1920, was originally named the General Frederick Townsend Ward Post No. 1, China. It is the only Post nominally headquartered in a Communist country, and has been operating in exile sonce 1948 — presently in Fate, Texas.
Programs
At the state level, the American Legion is organized into "departments", which run annual civic training events for high school juniors called Boys State. Two members from each Boys State are selected for Boys Nation. The American Legion Auxiliary runs Girls State and Girls Nation. In addition to Boys State, the American Legion features numerous programs including American Legion Baseball, Scouting, Oratorical Contests, Junior Shooting Sports, Youth Alumni, Sons of the American Legion, American Legion Riders, and Scholarships at every level of the organization.
(THIS PICTURE FOR DISPLAY ONLY)
---------------------------
Thanks for choosing this sale. You may email for alternate payment arrangements. We combine shipping. Please pay promptly after the auction. The item will be shipped upon receipt of funds. Also, INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMS is the international buyers obligation and must be aware of their own customs laws. We cannot be responsible for seized or quarantine purchases. If your shipping costs seems high, it is because we ensure that your purchase is well packed, quickly delivered, and insured to arrive safe and sound. WE ARE GOING GREEN, SO WE DO SOMETIMES USE CLEAN RECYCLED MATERIALS TO SHIP.
Please leave feedback when you have received the item and are satisfied. Please respond when you have received the item * If you were pleased with this transaction, please respond with all 5 stars! If you are not pleased, let us know via e-mail. Our goal is for 5-star service. We want you to be a satisfied, return customer.
Please express any concerns or questions. More pictures are available upon request. The winning bid will incur the cost of S/H INSURED FEDEX OR USPS. See rate calculator or email FOR ESTIMATE. International Bidders are Welcome but be mindful if your country is excluded from safe shipping.
Thanks for perusing THIS and ALL our auctions.
Please Check out our other items!
WE like the curious and odd.
BUY, BYE!!
