This article by Marcus E. Howard appeared in the Marietta Daily Journal on Friday, November 11, 2011.
Members of the American Legion Horace Orr Post 29 in Marietta are, from left: Captain Dick Hill 70, finance officer, served in the Army from 1960 to 1964; Petty Officer Bill Beaudin, 62, past post commander, served in the Navy from 1970 to 1972; Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Perry, 69, senior vice-commander, served in the Army from 1961 to 1982; and Maj. Pete Woodruff, present post commander, served in the Army from 1964 to 1984. The post is named after Sgt. Horace Orr, portrait in background, who was the first serviceman from Marietta killed in action in World War I.
As Marietta celebrates Veterans Day today, leaders of the American Legion Horace Orr Post 29 at 921 Gresham Ave., off Cobb Parkway in Marietta, worry about a lack of young veterans on its membership roll.
Founded in 1919 by local World War I veterans, the post - named after Marietta's first WWI casualty - celebrated its 92nd birthday on Sept. 29 at its facility, where many events are held. Though membership is expected to reach 1,000 by the end of the year, the absence of younger veterans worry some.
Of the roughly 716 current post members, just 2 percent are estimated to be 30 years old or younger, said post commander Pete Woodruff, an Army veteran. He said about 126 are World War II veterans and 500 are Vietnam War veterans.
"You can't go forward without new blood, " said Woodruff, 70.
Former post commander Bill Beaudin, 62, said he understands why younger veterans may be hesitant to join. After he left the Navy as a petty officer during the Vietnam War era, he felt out of place attending meetings at his father's post, where the majority of members were older men who had served in WWII, he said.
"There was such an age difference that you couldn't relate to those people," he recalled. It's a battle.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 773,900 veterans living in Georgia, with 39,588 in Cobb.
Unfortunately, many veterans just have't heard about the good work the American Legiondoes, Post 29 leaders said.
Leaders at the post are determined to get the word out about the many services and programs offered by the American Legion organization, which it says all veterans should feel welcomed to take advantage of.
For instance, the post operates a Veteran's Infofrmation and Referral Office [VIRO], working closely with the Veterans Affairs department to assist veterans in obtaining copies of official records, applying for benefits, locating local Veterans Administration clinics and acting as a bridge between the VA and veterans when problems arisde.
Under strict guidelines, VIRO also provides temporary financialy assistance to veterans facing financial hardship. Eighty-three people have been helped so far this year through VIRO, Woodruff said.
The Legion also offers Yellow Ribbon program, designed to assist soldiers and their families before, during, and after a unit's mobilization.
"Let's just say if the spouse is here and something happens at home - she can't get the lights turned on or the door needs to be repaired - we do whatever we can in that respect," said post senior vice-commander Samuel Perry, an Army veteran.
"If the spouse doesn't have transportation and needs to be taken to the hospital, grocery shopping, or just needs somebody to talk to, we'll try to make that also possible.
Post 29 also sponsors three local Boy Scout troops and other youth programs and donates money to the Legacy scholarship Fund for children who have lost a parent in war overseas and to the Commander's Project supporting VA hospitals.
It also sponsored an annual charity golf tournament at the Dogwood Country Club in Austell last September that raised $12,000 for public safety agencies in Cobb. Each year, post members donate $6,000 to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and $1,200 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The post generates a substantial amount of funds for its programs and activities from two rental properties in Marietta. The bar in its social hall alone generates between $16,000 to $22,000 a month from alcohol sales and special events at the post, which it rents out, said Army veteran Dick Hill, post finance officer.
Post 29 leaders said they may not attract younger veterans because they don't conduct heavy media advertising campaigns, which can be costly. However, the post recruits at job fairs and other events.
"I joined the Legion while I was still serving in uniform at an early age, so I try to approach them from that perspective," said Perry, 69, who served two tours in Vietnam and heads post membership.
At noon today, Post 29 will have two floats participating in Marietta's Veterans Day parade, sponsored by the city of Marietta and Marietta Kiwamis Club in Marietta Square, Afterwards, it will hold a free pig roast for members at 2 p.m. at the post.
Celebrating Veterans Day is important because it honors and remembers all veterans said Hill, 70, who served in Vietnam and other parts of southeast Asia.
"I even take it more personally, because the people from the Vietnam era really never had a homecoming," said Woodruff, an Army veteran who served two tours in Vietnam.
"Veterans Day, I think, is our homecoming and people have learned from the Vietnam era, and that's why we are seeing "welcome home' for Afghanistan and Iraq (veterans), becasue of what happened during the Vietnam crisis. To me I am being welcomed home."
The American Legion is the nation's largest veteran's service organization, with more than 2.3 million war era veterans at 14,000 posts worldwide.
