By TESS FICCAGLIA
Soldiers of WWI, the ones lucky enough to make it home, have passed. Not many from WWII are still around either. There is an organization that is alive and thriving to honor those who fought and died for the freedom we citizens of the United States enjoy every day. The American Legion was founded May 17-19, 1919, in Paris, France, after the first world war, by a group of soldiers waiting for passage back home to the United States.
It is nearly two million strong with more than 12,000 posts in the United States, France, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and even Mexico.
The American Legion Organization has done some incredible things. Ever wonder how the Veterans Administration started? It was not by our government, but by the men who fought for our country.
Originally named the US Veterans Bureau, it was created a few years after the end of WWI, on August 9, 1921. It took 23 years for the organization to adopt the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act which was signed into law in 1944 by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later, it would be known as the GI Bill. This allowed soldiers to return home from duty, get an education with little cost to them, get better jobs, buy a home without a lot of money out of pocket and acclimate back into civilian life. The GI Bill is considered the single most important accomplishment of the American Legion.
In 1923 the “Flag Code” was drafted at a conference in Washington, DC. Congress adopted the “US Flag Code” in 1942. It protects the American Flag from being dishonored. Some may not know that throwing an American Flag in the trash is wrong and is considered desecration. The “US Flag Code” specifies how our flag should be disposed of when it is worn and tattered. It must be burned in a ceremony that the American Legion Post 498 takes pride in performing a few times a year. You can drop off a worn flag to Post 498 during business hours and they will make sure it is disposed of in the proper way. The American Legion was the single largest benefactor to the construction of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC., donating $1 million. If you have not been there, it is a must-see. Gut-wrenching and extremely emotional, because my generation, the Baby Boomers, all remember the Vietnam War. Most of us had friends, brothers, fathers, mothers and sisters lost that conflict. I recommend a trip to see the names of the thousands who died to protect democracy. The list goes on and on about the accomplishments of the American Legion.
That’s enough of national history – let’s look at our own American Legion Post 498, at 819 S. Garcia Street, Port Isabel.
American Legion Post 498 was charted on May 12, 1946, by Yndalecio Lopez. Based on the information I could gather, Lopez served in the US Coast Guard during the First World War. I read that he and two others were decorated for heroism for a successful rescue mission in the Gulf of Mexico during a hurricane in September, 1919. Most of his family is still in the area and attended the 75th Anniversary Celebration on April 17, 2021. Today, Post 498 is headed by Commander Roger Rodecap who served during the Korean War. I asked how that can be since the war was fought in the 1950’s, and he informed me he is 90 years old. He doesn’t act or look a day over 65! His right-hand man, Philip Rosenlund, Financial Officer, keeps Post 498 running at top speed and efficiently as a US Navy Submarine. The Wall of Honor displays pictures of military personnel then and now. Take your framed military picture in with a current photo and you too will have a place of Honor on Post 498’s wall. The pool room is being decorated with American Legion Posts license plates from around the country that our local and Winter Texan veterans donated, commemorating their home posts. It takes some time to read all the interesting places our veterans come from, but it is informational and entertaining. The most poignant and emotional setting at Post 498 is the Missing Man or POW/MIA table. A reminder that many never “came home” and are still missing. It is a small table set to the side with a single chair, a white tablecloth, a dinner place setting with inverted glass, a single candle, a red rose in a vase tied with a yellow ribbon, a lemon and some salt. Every time I see this setting, it brings tears to my eyes for all the families that never had closure.
It doesn’t take much to join Post 498. The membership fee is $40.00 a year. Visitors are welcome but must be accompanied by a member. Only draught beer, canned beer and wine are available for purchase. For the BYOB crowd, Post 498 offers mixers for a minimal fee. Dinners are served on Fridays and Saturdays for a donation with local live music for dancing and entertainment. The pool table is free all day on Wednesdays. On the third Saturday of each month, the Ladies Auxiliary takes over the kitchen and prepares a meal for a small charge. There is always something happening at Post 498. Birthday parties, wild game cookouts, holidays are all celebrated with allegiance to our military veterans. The big Memorial Day Party is in the works. Rodecap and Rosenlund assured me it will be a big bang.
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