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Show LEGION CHIEF I ANSWERS CRITICS AFTER REFUSAL OF LEGION AWARD (Sw.c newspaper columnists and radio and television commentators com-mentators gave unusually wide publicity to the fact that a New York student refused to accept an American Legion Award. Following is reprinted a talk recently made by Na-r".-'. Commander Martin B. McKneally, referring to the incident). in-cident). The American Legion was founded found-ed in 1919 as a means of husbanding husband-ing the spirit of patriotism which pi-evaded during the war. Since that time, it has grown into one of the great forces within our democratic demo-cratic nation. Its services to our wounded soldiers, its concern for the military security of the nation, na-tion, the help that it has given to children, and its bold espousal of the cause of nationalistic ideals have won the respect of men of good will everywhere. In 1957 the Bishop of a great church said of it: "More than Congress, Con-gress, more than any political party, par-ty, more than any civic group, The American Legion is the most stable force for the preservation of American ideals in our nation." The achievements of The American Ameri-can Legion are the result of two things: -Inspiration and hard work. In virtually every community , across the land there are Legionnaires Legion-naires who hold to a doctrine of belief, the desire to help, and the will to work. It was these three which provided the motivation of The American Legion's interest in education. The soldiers of World War I, who gathered in St. Louis in 1919 to found The American Legion, Le-gion, had been made aware during the war of the high rate of illiteracy illiter-acy among our people, and they realized the stunning effect that such illiteracy has on the ideals of self-government. Among the earliest earli-est resolutions of Legionnaires was one to reduce illiteracy and to promote pro-mote education. To this end, they gave of their time, their talents, and their financial resources, in everything from supporting bond issues for new buildings and the awarding of scholarships to the donation of American flags to fly over the buildings and campuses across the nation. At the end of World War II, they sat in convention conven-tion assembled and passed the resolutions which led to the enactment enact-ment by the Congress of the G. I. Bill of Rights. They have, over the years, given to high school students stu-dents spread throughout the laud approximately 400,000 awards for citizenship, awards which have been highly treasured by those who received them. At Westbury, New York, a few days ago, a graduate grad-uate rejected publicly one of these awards. Because of the broadcast publicity which has been given this incident, I have decided to say something about it on this occasion. oc-casion. First of all, The American Le- ' gion did not select the boy; he was selected by the faculty of his high school. Secondly, The American Legion would be mortified to find I that it had imposed its award upon ; anyone who did not want it or who had no respect for it. Thirdly, The American Legion, composed as it is, by men and women who were engaged in wars in behalf of freedom, would do all that lies within its power to preserve the right of protest The graduate stated that he could not accept an award from an organization which he did not respect. Although he suppled no particulars, I take note that his action and his statement have won praise of those who, with endless tongues, praise non-con-formism as a transcendent virtue. It is a curious day in which we live when non-conformism without reasons wins praise over good manners and the acceptance of certain basic values. Is non-conformism and bad manners to be preferred to respect for an organization which spent eight million dollars last year for the relief of needy children? Is that a contemptible thing to do? Is it no longer respectable to cooperate co-operate with the officials of our government in the fabrication and the development of policies of national na-tional security? Is it no longer respectable re-spectable to spend thousands of hours in hospitals to relieve the tedium and the suffering of men whose bodies and minds are broken brok-en as the result of war a war fought to protect the right of protest? pro-test? Is the teaching and training of millions of youths how to play baseball is this a bad thing? Are workshops for high school students carried on in various colleges across the country, in which the principles of representative government gov-ernment are expounded and practiced, prac-ticed, loathsome?' Do all these things cry out for non-conformity? Are justice, freedom, democracy, and loyalty tarnished virtues? Shall those of us who practice them wake up some 'morning to find that we are unrespectable? Shall we serve our country and its great mission better by running around non-conforming? Shall we thereby beget the. plaudits of the various commetators? Is this the ideal? I have spoken rather harshly in this regard. Certainly not for the purpose of chastising a youth I do not know, but rather to get into context the function of The" American Ameri-can Legion with reference to the youth of our nation. We exalt education edu-cation and the teachers of America. Ameri-ca. We seek to ease their burdens, to help consolidate their gains, to deepen the appreciation of the American people of the debt it owes to its teachers. The American Legion exalts you but it also exhorts you to greater efforts in the service of youth in a very perplexing age. For, "Today" in the words of President Presi-dent Eshelman "as never before in our history, education has become be-come recognized not only as the motivating force to move American Ameri-can democracy forward, but also as a prime necessity for the survival sur-vival of our free society." I might add, as never before in history, this nation needs a sound, idealistic, patriotic youth. This calls for hard work on everyone's part, but especially on the part of you! |