May 30, 1920: Paris Post 1 Commander Col. Francis Drake represents The American Legion to help oversee Memorial Day observances for fallen U.S military personnel buried in temporary cemeteries across Europe.
May 30, 1921: Four unknown American soldiers of the Great War are exhumed from their graves in France. Sgt. Edward F. Younger, a highly decorated and combat-wounded veteran, selects the third casket from the left, whose remains are sent to Arlington National Cemetery for entombment. The other three are interred at the Meuse Argonne Cemetery in France, where they remain today. The chosen unknown soldier would lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., until ceremonies at Arlington on Nov. 11, 1921.
May 30, 1958: The remains of unknown soldiers from World War II and the Korean War are interred at Arlington National Cemetery, alongside their World War I comrade. President Eisenhower bestows upon them the Medal of Honor.
May 30, 1969: Cabin John Bridge, which opened in 1962 to connect Fairfax County, Va., with Montgomery County, Md., across the Potomac River, is renamed American Legion Memorial Bridge during the organization’s 50th anniversary commemoration. Today, nearly 250,000 travelers a day cross the bridge, which has five lanes in both directions, as part of Interstate 495, the Capital Beltway.
May 30, 2011: The 10 World War II sailors of the USS American Legion who died off the coast of New Zealand in June 1943 are honored in a ceremony at Kapiti, near Paekākāriki Beach. A memorial monument to honor them is installed the following year, on the 70th anniversary of the tragedy.
