The American Legion’s 100th anniversary will be celebrated with an 1,875-mile motorcycle trek through the heart of the nation July 31-Aug. 4. The ride is organized and sponsored by six American Legion state departments between the Canada and Mexico borders, the American Legion Centennial Ride has 60 scheduled stops before the rendezvous point Aug. 4 in Great Bend, Kan.

The ride traverses U.S. Highway 281, which in 1960 was designated as the national American Legion Memorial Highway, passing through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Two 30-rider teams will travel toward each other from the international borders with Mexico and Canada. Team Vision will bring one half of a centennial banner north from Pharr, Texas, beginning the afternoon of July 31 and Team Legacy will start its journey from the International Peace Park at the U.S. Canada border near Dunseith, N.D., the morning of Aug. 1.

On Aug. 4, the two halves of the banner will be fastened together in a ceremony at Great Bend, Kan. The assembled banner will be presented onstage at the 101st American Legion National Convention in late August in Indianapolis.

Along the way, the 30-member Centennial Ride teams – led by American Legion National Vice Commanders Jim Wallace from the north and Steve Sweet from the south – will visit posts and collect signatures from commanders on the route, as well as local government proclamations, resolutions and greetings from American Legion Family members. In Elgin, Okla., centennial riders will stop at Fort Sill National Cemetery to place a wreath to honor the fallen who are laid to rest there.

Live video updates will appear in American Legion national social media under the hashtag #centennialride2019 and on the organization’s national website at legion.org during the ride.

American Legion Family members from along the U.S. 281 corridor are invited to meet the riders at their stops along the way. The schedule of stops, subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, is as follows:

TEAM VISION (Texas-Oklahoma-Kansas)

July 31 (Pharr and Donna, Texas)

3 p.m. – Vermund G. Hanson Post 101, Pharr, Texas

4:10 p.m. – Border Post 107, Donna, Texas

Aug. 1 (Pharr to Blanco)

11:45 a.m. – Live Oak County Post 413, Three Rivers, Texas

2:15 p.m. – Post 375, San Antonio, Texas

3:45 p.m. – Memorial Highway Post 352, Blanco, Texas

Aug. 2 (Blanco to Wichita Falls)

10 a.m. – Lampasas Post 277, at Stripes, 105 S. Key Ave., Lampasas, Texas

11:30 a.m. – Cunningham Post 22, Hamilton, Texas

12:45 p.m. – Turnbow-Higgs Post 240, Stephenville, Texas

2:50 p.m. – Farris Anderson Post 75, Mineral Wells Post 75, Texas

4:50 p.m. – Pat Carrigan Post 120, Wichita Falls; Thomas Fowler Post 169, Wichita Falls; Green-Pierce Post 202, Wichita Falls; Smith-Alvis Post 584, Wichita Falls, Texas

Aug. 3 (Wichita Falls, Texas, to Alva, Okla.)

8:20 a.m. – Frye-Vaughn Post 264, Burkburnett, Texas

10:15 a.m. – Fort Sill National Cemetery, wreath-laying ceremony, Elgin, Okla.

11:30 a.m. – Anadarko Heritage Museum, 311 E. Main Street, Anadarko, Okla.

12:30 p.m. – Gilbert-Fossett Post 230, Hinton, Okla.

2:15 p.m. – Philip Clark Ashby Post 125, Watonga, Okla.

6 p.m. – Cherokee Strip Museum, Meyer-Sheil Post 92, Alva, Okla.

Aug. 4 (Hardtner, Kan., to Great Bend, Kan.)

9 a.m. – State Line Post 175, Hardtner, Kan.

10 a.m. – Barber County Post 69, Medicine Lodge, Kan.

11:10 a.m. – Cedric H. Shaw Post 86, Pratt, Kan.

12:10 p.m. – Courtney M. Long Post 53, St. John, Kan.

1:45 p.m. – Argonne Post 180, Great Bend, Kan., for rendezvous ceremony

TEAM LEGACY (North Dakota-South Dakota-Nebraska-Kansas)

Aug. 1 (Dunseith, N.D., to Ellendale, N.D.)

8:45 a.m. – International Peace Park

9 a.m. – Archie Jardine Post 185, Dunseith, N.D.

10:10 a.m. – Lilley Dionne Post 262, Belcourt, N.D.

10:50 a.m. – Fred C. Wagner Post 235, Rolla, N.D.

12:05 p.m. – Hal Parker Post 79 in Cando. N.D.

2:10 p.m. – Gunnerud-Dietrich Post 86 in Minnewaukan, N.D.

3:10 p.m. – Raymond B. Thorn Post 30 in New Rockford, N.D.

4 p.m. – John Raymond O’Hara Post 25 in Carrington. N.D.

5:15 p.m. – Ernest DeNault Robertson Post 14 in Jamestown, N.D.

7:25 p.m. – Henry Parthie Post 146 in Edgeley, N.D.

8:25 p.m. – Herman-Schlinker Post 137 in Ellendale. N.D.

Aug. 2 (Frederick, S.D., to the Nebraska state line)

8:09 a.m. – Lynn G. Peterson Post 273 in Frederick, S.D.

9:08 a.m. – Sidney L. Smith Post 24 in Aberdeen. S.D.

9:53 a.m. – Rieck-Morgan Post 137 in Warner. S.D.

10:57 a.m. – Clay Kiser Post 92 in Redfield. S.D.

12:10 p.m. – Martin and Earl Hofemann Post 292, Tulare, S.D.

1:06 p.m. – Hershman-Gordon Post 59, Wolsey, S.D.

1:50 p.m. – Schmidt-Barnes Post 268, Virgil, S.D.

2:48 p.m. – John Willman Post 14, Wessington Springs, S.D.

3:54 p.m. – Goeres-Woods Post 5, Plankinton, S.D.

5:08 p.m. – Dittrick-Barrows-Noldner Post 26, Stickney, S.D.

5:51 p.m. – Everson-Beukelman Post 274, Corsica, S.D.

6:36 p.m. – McGrath-Ferguson Post 52, Armour, S.D.

7:36 p.m. – Fort Randall-Castle Post 282, Pickstown, S.D.

Aug. 3 (Spencer, Neb., to Red Cloud, Neb.)

9:15 a.m. – Luther Whidden Post 78, Spencer, Neb.

11:20 a.m. – Holt County Courthouse, Simonson Post 93, O’Neill, Neb.

12:20 p.m. – Wheeler County Courthouse, Post 107, Bartlett, Neb.

1:05 p.m. – Charles E. Martin Post 186, Greeley, Neb.

1:55 p.m. – Carl Mogensen Post 119, St. Paul, Neb.

3:50 p.m. – Grand Island Post 53, Grand Island, Neb.

4:35 p.m. – Doniphan Post 300, Doniphan, Neb.

5:25 p.m. – Hastings Post 11, Hastings, Neb.

6:20 p.m. – Central State Bank, Blue Hill, A.L. Shirley Post 176, Blue Hill, Neb.

7:15 p.m. – Red Cloud Community Center, Red Cloud Post 238, Red Cloud, Neb.

Aug. 4 (Nebraska border to Great Bend, Kan.)

8:30 a.m. – Gordon M. Brown Post 185, Lebanon, Kan.

9:45 a.m. – Osborne Post 49, Osborne, Kan.

10:40 a.m. – Rouner Post 309, Luray, Kan.

11:50 a.m. – William Roe Post 99, Russell, Kan.

1:20 p.m. – Hoisington Post 286, Hoisington, Kan.

2:05 p.m. – Argonne Post 180, Great Bend, Kan., for rendezvous ceremony