American Legion membership is not what it used to be in Niagara County.
Stanley Johnson, the commander of the American Legion, says this became painfully clear during the funeral services at the Western New York National Cemetery in Corfu. Niagara County is the only county in the region that does not have a full rifle squad.
“There are now about four people doing honors in Corfu. We need at least seven,” he said. “We need more volunteers.”
And that’s his message for Niagara County.
“What we need from veterans is to join the legion and be part of it,” he said.
Johnson, 68, who served two years in the United States Army in field artillery from 1975 to 1976, retired from General Motors in 2006. His father-in-law later introduced him to the Newfane American Legion Post 873, where he now serves as second vice commander in addition to the county post.
‘That has been my hobby since I retired. You could say it’s the Legion,” he said.
But Johnson is serious in his appeal.
The American Legion began in 1919 after World War I and had its first meeting in Paris. That same year it made its way to the United States, where Congress officially chartered the organization. Since then, Johnson said, there has been a fight for veterans after they come home.
And the battle continues.
“The Legion established the veteran benefits we enjoy today and if we start losing members we will lose our ‘appeal’ in Congress and we will lose the benefits,” Johnson said.
Ultimately, Johnson hopes younger veterans will join the legion as he and other members “get old.”
‘We can’t march like we used to. We can no longer stand at attention at funerals like we used to. It’s tough for us and I know family comes first, so I can understand. There are things that must be done to survive. I only really started working on it when my children were grown. But we need to bring people in,” he said.
Johnson also said the world has changed since he grew up. He said kids today don’t learn about the American Legion or a host of other traditions that people in his generation just “knew about.”
“I was selling poppies for Memorial Day and they had no idea what they were for. No. I found that a little disturbing,” he said.
He also noted that many people see Veterans Day as a commemoration, and that’s not what it is. Veterans Day is for the veterans who came home. Memorial Day is for those who never came back. Americanism, he called it, is no longer taught the way it once was, and while that doesn’t make him angry, there are some things that need to be pointed out, especially to veterans who are unaware of the system.
Johnson made his second appeal to veterans.
“As Niagara County Commander, I would like to say that all veterans need is to send their DD (Form) 214 to the county and get them registered. Or at your local veterans services office. Because if you pass, and you don’t have your DD 214, you can’t have a military (funeral) service… and you can’t be buried in the National Cemetery.”
