Welcome to sons of vets

The Sons of The American Legion was created in 1932 as an organization within The American Legion The  S.A.L. is made up of boys and men of all ages whose parents or grandparents served in the United States military and became eligible for membership in The American Legion. Together, members of The American  Legion, The American Legion Auxiliary and  the Sons of The American Legion make up what is known as The Legion  Family. All three organizations place high importance on preserving our  American traditions and values, improving the quality of life for our  nation's children, caring for veterans and their families, and perhaps  most importantly, teaching the fundamentals of good citizenship.

Sons have always assisted Legionnaires with Legion Family programs.  Our Family boasts a combined total membership of nearly 4.2 million  members. This year, Sons attained an all time high national membership  of over 365,000. The largest Detachment, Pennsylvania, has over 61,000  members. Trophies and awards are given to Detachments and Squadrons for  the largest membership and the largest increase in membership. Just as  each Legion post determines the extent of its service to the community,  state and nation, each S.A.L. squadron is permitted flexibility in  planning programs and activities to meet its own needs. The S.A.L. has  study programs recommended for younger members. One such program, called  "The Ten Ideals," teaches the elements of patriotism, health,  knowledge, training, honor, faith, helpfulness, courtesy, reverence and  comradeship. If a member completes the Ten Ideals program, he is  eligible to continue with another program called the "Five-Point Program  of Service." This program covers patriotism, citizenship, discipline,  leadership and legionism.

Sons focus on much more than just membership. At all levels, Sons  support The American Legion in promoting a wide variety of programs.  Sons assist their posts in other activities such as Veterans programs,  Veterans Administration home and hospital volunteerism, Children Youth  projects and fundraising. Since 1988, The Sons have raised more than  $6.9 million for The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation. Members  have volunteered over 1.3 million hours to date in Veterans Hospitals  throughout the country and raised over $2,500,000 that has gone directly  to VA hospitals and VA homes for a variety of items including TVs,  radios, medical equipment and clothing for the patients.

There are many men who are members of both The American Legion and  the Sons of The American Legion. Often, these individuals started out as  young members of the Sons. Then, when they were old enough to serve the  military, they also became eligible to join The Legion. Such  individuals are known within our organization as dual members. The Sons  of The American Legion is one of many organizations that sponsors and  supports the Citizens Flag Alliance, a coalition formed to secure flag  protection legislation through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  S.A.L. volunteers work to establish local networks by having petitions  available and handing out informational material. They alert their  communities to the importance of respect for the flag and they encourage  flag education programs in schools and other local organizations.