Today in American Legion history:
- Jan. 7, 1921: The American Legion Weekly magazine announces among the members to serve a one-year term on the new national Americanism Commission is Fiorello H. La Guardia, future governor of New York and eventual mayor of New York City.
- Jan. 7, 1927: Originally sponsored by George L. Giles American Legion Post 87 in Chicago and known as the South Side Giles Team, the all-black basketball stars who would become the Harlem Globetrotters make their debut in a game at Hinckley, Ill. Later sponsored by the Savoy Ballroom and known briefly as the “Savoy Big Five,” the Harlem Globetrotters would go on to entertain more than 144 million fans in 122 countries worldwide.
- Jan. 7, 2014: On a windy, 7-degree morning, future American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad of Virginia presents new Carhartt cold-weather wear to the caisson platoon of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment – the famed “Old Guard” – at Arlington National Cemetery. A former member of the Old Guard himself, Reistad delivers jackets, shirts and underwear donated by Carhartt for soldiers who work with horses around the clock to prepare and train them for funeral services at the national military cemetery.
