Legionnaires: Diseased

Bloggers digby [1] and Jonathan of A Tiny Revolution [2] are exploring the history of the American Legion in the wake of one of the Democratic presidential candidate's suggestion to make Memorial Day the occasion to "support the troops, end the war," and "reclaim patriotism." The Legion has burst several arteries in response, bleating about "politicization." Point out the good digby and Jonathan, the history of the Legion is one of political crusades from start to finish (including, in the 1920s, no less than the literal embrace of fascism [3]). But this kind of political is always construed, in good authoritarian fashion, as not really political, just the kind of things any good patriot naturally believes.

It being conservative culture week here at the Big Con, I thought I'd empty out some notes from my book on the 1960s backlash, Nixonland [4], forthcoming next year, about how this worked forty years ago.

Historian Tom Wells [5] writes about how, in the fall of 1965, as people were beginning to realize that the Vietnam War was insane, and started marching in the streets to stop it, the government, hiding its hand, organized a pro-war march down Fifth Avenue in New York, with the Legion in the front ranks. The Pentagon's Paul Warnke lamented such efforts were "quite ineffective" in stemming the antiwar tide. Indeed, not all Legionnaires got with the program. Two weeks later the commander of the American Legion post in Jewett City, Connecticut marched in his uniform with a sign, "Withdraw U.S. Troops From Vietnam Now!" He and his fellow protesters were met by the sign, "You Fairies Couldn't Pass the Physical." Eleven days later, one hundred members of Post 15 showed the Legion's true, nonpolitical colors by crowding into a room with 36 chairs to vote him out of the organization, as 500 happy townspeople gathered outside to jeer him as he left.

The Legion started distributing American flag lapel pins the following spring - for no political reason in particular, I suppose. Vice President Humphrey spoke at the annual meeting:

I hope that every American will see fit to wear this little emblem of the unity of purpose and the commitment of this nation. And I for one want to express our deep thanks and appreciation to this great patriotic organization of the American Legion for its initiative in this important matter. My fellow Americans, a little old-fashioned patriotism never hurt anybody. In fact, it's mighty good.

And sometimes when you travel about, it means a great deal to you to know that there is this feeling amongst our fellow Americans. I would like to have the people of the world know that Americans wear this little symbol--Operation Show Your Colors--rather than just to see the exhibits and exhibitions of dissent and protest that I think have had far more than their just share of publicity."

My friend Tom Geoghegan tells me the story of attending Boys State, the Legion sponsored public-service camp for high school kids, that year in Ohio. The lads were to supposed vote unanimously on a pro-war resolution. Tom voted against it. He was promptly kicked out of Boys State.

It was hardly just Vietnam. Also in 1966, Congress debated a landmark civil rights bill that would have banned racial discrimination in housing (it failed). In July the chaplain for the Maryland Legion testified against it in subcommittee. This was what he had to say about Martin Luther King's open housing movement:

The same church leaders who join subversive forces in demonstrations against the established social structure also agree to banning the Bible and prohibiting prayer in public places. They are the same advocates of the new morality of situation ethics, and of liberation of the moral laws governing sex and marriage.

They weren't too fond of gun control either. After the riots of 1967, reported Garry Wills [6] Post 753 of the American Legion in Detroit put out the following statement:

Are YOU READY NOW to PREPARE YOURSELF for the NEXT ONE? Or will you be forced to stand helplessly by because you were UNprepared to defend your home or neighborhood against bands of armed terrorists who will murder the men and rape the women?

Nor, for that matter, academic freedom. Download the fascinating documentary Herbert's Hippopotamus [7] to learn about the San Diego American Legion's campaign to raise $20,000 to buy out the contract of Marxist philosopher Herbert Marcuse at UC-San Diego. Here's Commander Harry Foster on August 11, 1968 (all pronunciations approximate):

They had the riots in Paris, when the Franch had to bring out the troops and the tanks, Marcoo-see was there. When they had the riots in Berlin, Marcoo-see was there. We are convinced that he has to convey some of his ideas and thoughts directly to the students, and in this lies his danger to the U of California.

You can also, forty seconds in, see the professor hung in effigy on the flagpole before San Diego City Hall.