Legion post's 1919 temporary charter, one of first in U.S., now on display at Club

The National Press Club was one of the first venues in the nation to host an American Legion Post after the veterans' service organization was founded in the aftermath of World War I.   The Post's temporary charter,  granted  Nov. 19, 1919, just two months after the Legion was chartered by Congress, is now on display in the newly renovated McClendon Room. 

The charter lists the Post's 16 founding members and joins the permanent charter already on display and granted on Sept. 1, 1923.   The temporary charter was retrieved from the Club's archives and framed by Post 20 Commander Jim Noone.

Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Europe during World War I and an associate member of the Club, urged establishment of the Post which currently has some 70 members. The Legion was founded on March 15, 1919, in Paris, France, at a caucus attended by some 1,000 members of the AEF, including Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr.