Detroit’s oldest American Legion post is named for one Michigan’s first National Guard officers killed in World War I. The Fred W. Beaudry Post 126 has been in continuous operations for 100 years since October 1919.
Fred W. Beaudry was born to an immigrant father from Canada and his mother was a direct descendant of Joseph Talmadge who was a sergeant in the Revolutionary War. He rose through the ranks of the National Guard starting as bugler and was a First Lieutenant in 1917 serving at the Texas border during the Poncho Villa expedition and as a Captain commanding Company H, 126th Infantry, 63rd Brigade, 32nd Division in France. He was killed by a German mini-mortar while leading his troops up to capture Hill 212 near Sergey, France on 1 August 1918 during the Anse-Oise campaign.
Family members have been part of the Beaudry legacy since the beginning.
His wife Elizabeth was the first president of the Auxiliary and his only daughter remained a member her death in 1996. His great-grand nephew, Joe Diaz (a veteran of six wars and conflicts from Vietnam through Iraq), has been the Post Commander for the past three years. His great-great-grand nephew Charles Beaudry was a past Vice Commander.
