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About the Sons of the American Legion
The American Legion established the Sons of the American Legion in 1932. The Sons honor the service and sacrifice of Legionnaires. There are more than 358,000 members in the United States and abroad. Members include males whose parents or grandparents served in the U.S. military and were eligible for American Legion membership. See www.legion.org/sons
Become part of a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. The American Legion is the nation's largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service-members and veterans.
Different people have different reasons for belonging to organizations. For many, membership in the Sons has allowed them to become involved in American Legion programs alongside their fathers. Others belong out of respect for their parents' and grandparents' service to our country in the military. Many younger members get involved and learn valuable leadership skills involving organization, public speaking, and negotiating, budgeting and fundraising skills. Membership in our organization also provides individuals with opportunities to forge lifelong friendships with people who share a common bond.
The American Legion's success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives. Members of The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion comprise the Legion Family, which has a combined membership of nearly 4.2 million.
The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation's largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.
Follow the Sons of The American Legion on Facebook.
Purpose of the Sons of the American Legion
The mission of the Sons is to support veterans and their families and the policies of our parent organization, The American Legion. Virtually everything that involves the Sons could be grouped under these three areas:
- 1) Supporting veterans and their families,
- 2) Promoting patriotism and Americanism and
- 3) Promoting programs which benefit the youth of our country
Eligibility Requirements
S.A.L. membership is open to males of all ages whose parents or grandparents served in the U.S. military and were eligible for American Legion membership by honorably serving during these delimiting periods.
Many veterans who are eligible for membership in The American Legion are also eligible to join the Sons. They are very much welcome to belong to both organizations. We call these individuals dual members. They are quite often an important link between the Sons and The Legion Post in their home towns.
See additional information regarding SAL Membership.
Administrative Structure
Every member of the Sons belongs to a Squadron somewhere. The Squadron is the basic level of membership in our organization. Different states (Detachments) use different ways of grouping numbers of Squadrons together. In most states, Squadrons are grouped geographically and report to their own Districts (also called Areas or Divisions). All Districts (or Areas or Divisions) report to the state headquarters, referred to as a Detachment. All state Detachments report to the National Headquarters. In addition to the 50 state Detachments in the U.S., there are also some foreign countries which are Detachments; Mexico, Puerto Rico, Philippines and France.
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