The Last Squad, formed May 3, 1940, was made up of World War I veterans of American Legion Post #6 and Kit Carson Post #43 of Fort Lyon. The initial meeting was held in 1939. At its peak, the Last Squad had 160 members-including 3 women. H.R. Logsdon was the first President. Phil (P.R) Sweetman was secretary-treasurer and Le Roy Boyd was Chaplain.
The members of the Last Squad was limited to veterans of World War I, who had maintained continuous membership in the Las Animas and Fort Lyon Posts. They were in their early 40's or close to it at the time. When they would meet, the members used to swap war stories and sing war songs. Some of their favorite songs were: K-K-K Katy, Keep the Home Fires Burning, Pack Up Your Troubles and There's a Long, Long Trail. When they first formed, the members would meet in the winter but it was soon changed to the first Tuesday in October. They would meet annually.
During the business session of the meeting, the Annual March of Dimes was held. At each meeting the members would deposit dimes in a sealed plate glass container. A quart of whiskey was kept in the center. Dan Kaufman built the container and Ralph Briggs - a local pharmacist - donated the bottle of whiskey. The container was stored in a vault at the Bent County Courthouse between annual meetings. The dimes were to be used to pay for the last dinner and the whiskey was reserved for the last meeting.
In later years at their meeting, the members would have a memorial tribute for their deceased members. Place settings with lighted candles were made. The departed members plates were turned over and their candles were extinguished by a family member or a friend after a brief memorial service.
By the 1970's, the remaining members were in their 80's. Some had passed, some had dropped membership and some had moved away. In 1976, the members decided to sell the dimes to Edgar Ford, a local coin collector. Many of the dimes were pure silver, as most were coined before 1965. A total of 3,191 dimes were collected over the years. The total amount of money collected was $1,116.59. The money was divided among several of the veterans organizations: The American Legion Post #6 Auxiliary, the Las Animas VFW Auxiliary, Bent County Combined Fund for American Red Cross and the Las Animas American Legion Post #6.
The original plans of the Last Squad was to dissolve when membership dropped to 8 members - the size of a WWI Army Squad. In recent years as more and more members answered the final roll call and others had moved to warmer climates, widows were invited to attend to compensate for the low attendance. Fifteen members were remaining but were scattered throughout the United States and due to their health and distance, it was decided to go ahead and hold their final meeting. Plans were made and the big event was held on Oct. 10, 1979. Five members attended the last meeting. They were: Kenneth Shaw - Secretary Treasurer of Las Animas, H.E. Gilliland of Colorado Springs, George Gruber and Stanley Richetts of Ft. Collins and former U.S. Representative Byron Rogers of Washington D.C. Ray Stwalley who was President of the Last Squad at the time, Frank Reisinger, who was Chaplain and William Thomas, all of Las Animas were unable to attend. They were each given a miniature bottle of the 40 year old whiskey. The other members who were unable to attend were : William Bush, Jeffersonville, Ind.; G.G. O'Brien, La Junta, CO.; Dan Varner, St. Petersburg, Fl.; and the Reverend Jason Harbert of Melbourne Beach, Fl., who called during the meeting to extend his well wishes and express his regrets of not being able to attend.
The purpose of originating the Last Squad was to Stabilize the American Legion membership.
