Fang A. Wong, the National Commander of the American Legion, was an honored guest at a Legion department conference held this week at American Legion Post Seven in Chapala.
Wong, a native of Canton, China, immigrated to Hong Kong when communists took over his country and then moved on to New York City when he was 12 years old. He served in the Vietnam War and remembers how veterans of that military action were treated when they returned home. He believes that it is those same veterans’ responsibility to ensure that a similar negative homecoming doesn’t await the men and women who are fighting the war on terror.
Wong is a busy man, visiting each department (each state and Washington, D.C. is a Legion department) in the United States and the four located abroad: Mexico, the Philippines, France and Puerto Rico. He also visits troops on active duty overseas and will spend only 25 days at home this year. The reporter’s Jeanne Chaussee caught him on the fly this week for a short conversation about the relevance and future of the American Legion.
What is the relevance of the American Legion in today’s society and has it diminished in the way so many traditional fraternal organizations have of late?
We do have fewer posts these days, with some of the old ones fading out and being closed but we have new ones and most of them are important, vibrant parts of their communities. As to the relevance of the Legion – the American Legion was organized back in 1919 after World War I. While the troops were waiting to come back to the states and to re-enter society they realized that they were going to need help and that there was really nothing to help them or even help the widows and orphans created from the conflict. That’s how the Legion was born. It was built on what we call “The Four Pillars” that are just as relevant today as they were back in 1919. Those Four Pillars are veteran’s affairs and rehabilitation and support of veteran’s families, advocating a strong national defense, promoting Americanism (obligations and duties of American citizens) and training youth about their responsibilities. I believe our goals are still very relevant, although things for veterans are much improved, we find that there are still many shortcomings.
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