American Legion Delaware Post 19 records

The American Legion is a national organization which was first established by a group of twenty American Expeditionary Force officers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt Jr., at a 1919 meeting in Paris. Congress granted the group a charter as a patriotic veterans organization in September of that year. Membership in the organization is limited to those who have served honorably in wars in which the United States has played a role. The American Legion operates numerous advocacy initiatives and programs that serve veterans and the communities in which they and their families live.

Delaware Post 19 formed on August 10, 1920, just nine days after the state level department of the American Legion was chartered. The post and its members have been actively involved in advocating legislation in support of veterans, coordinating events and memorial services for local veterans, promoting civic education and awareness, sponsoring local athletic teams, and supporting other community services in Muncie and Delaware County. The first headquarters was located at 211 1/2 S. Walnut. In 1925, E. Arthur and Frances D. Ball donated land at 418 N. Walnut for use as a meeting place for the group. The donors requested that at the end of sixty years the land and the building thereon would be used as a war memorial or the land would revert back to the city of Muncie for use as a park. The building now has the official title of the Delaware County War Memorial Building and continues to serve as the Delaware Post 19 headquarters.