| Show AMERICAN LEGION NOW HAS THE DEPARTMENT OF PANAMA J R r X y ry t Scene on the Island of Taboga Where the Department of Panama Held Held Its Recent Convention Sixteen years cais ago when President Roosevelt called on on the men men of Amer- Amer Amer- Amer lea Ica to enlist st in the gl great eat adventure of cutting a waterway vay from ocean to ocean through tl Ue tie e Isthmus of or Panama that the strength of the American fleet might not be divided b bj a Yo voyage age 01 Ot weeks s from the east to the west coast there were thousands of 01 volunteers volun volun- leers who Panama Pan Pan- Panama answered d his call To ama th they went and built the great canal fighting all the time against perpetual perpetual perpetual per per- heat almost perpetual rain fevers and all the pests of the tropics Many of them gave up up the struggle le leand and returned home but others sta stayed d until the great dream came carne true And the they ar are there yet In that flung far outpost of America by the locks that are lapped by the waters of two oceans Again In April 1917 1017 came a call t to duty duty duty-a a summons to war war and and that call was not unheard at the canal One by one men and women dropped o out t of the shops and offices ollices and donned the army khaki and the navy nay blue or the modest cap and cape of the army nurse corps until on November November Novem Novem- ber bel 11 1018 1918 the day lay of the armistice there were approximately Canal men men and women in uniform They saw service In all branches of American arms They Thy were re on land lanel and sea In the air all and under the wa wa- ter They were a versatile people and th they were vere fighters as as s their building of the time canal had bind proved prayed They came carne backwith back with almost every medal l ands and nd decoration decoration decora deora tion of the war Including citations citations' from the French British arid amid h-amid li arld the other allies In September of last year several sp of these fighters met to form a post of the American Legion One had re recently recently re- re been an aviator In France an- an r as a lieutenant of engineers engineers- rs bad had done things s In No Mans Man's Land h said im Im- that hl high British ce s 's were ele possible A third after months months- of volunteer ambulance driving America n entered the war had enlisted enlist enlist- ed in the French artillery grid arid h had id ended as ns a lieutenant This first p post t was vas Immediately followed by hy n a second second second sec- sec ond ond and the creation of the d department department depart depart- part part- ment of Panama of the le American Le Legion Legion Legion Le- Le gion with headquarters at Crl Cristobal obal The first filst convention of the department depart ment was was held hele recently on th the Island Island of Taboga 12 miles mlle from from the maInland mainland mainland main maIn- land of the Isthmus of Panama and In Insight Insl insight sl sight ht of the spot where In 1513 Vasco Vaso o. o Nunez de Balboa discovered the Pa Pa- Pacific ocean At this convention contention Elb Elbert rt S S. S Waid Wald was elected department commander comman commander com com- man mander er and Edward Edwar J. J Daily department department depart depart- ment adjutant for the corning coming year ear These ollices previously pre had been h held rJ by C Patterson and Her ie- Herbert iebert bert hert Pearson rc respectively Arrangements Arrange Arrange- Arrangements Arrange ments were also made to have hav tile iRe Panama department represented presented At Atthe at atthe the Cleveland Cleeland convention l I s |
