American Legion Eligibility

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic, war-time veterans’ organization, devoted to mutual helpfulness.

The Legion is a community-service organization which now numbers nearly 3 million members,men and women, in nearly 15,000 American Legion posts worldwide. These posts are organized into 55 departments—one each for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines.

To join the American Legion, you must have served honorably on active federal service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard during any of these periods of conflict:

• April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 (World War I)
• December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946 (World War II—includes certain Merchant Marine service)
• June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955 (Korean War)
• February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975 (Vietnam War)
• August 24, 1982 to July 31, 1984 (Lebanon/Grenada)
• December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990 (Operation Just Cause—Panama)
• August 2, 1990 to today (Operation Desert Shield/Storm/War on Terrorism)