Charles Claessens.  Post 305 was named for PFC Charles Claessens, who was severely wounded while serving with the US Army’s 78^th Division during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during WW I.  His wounds paralyzed him from the waist down, and he also developed pneumonia.  He died on October 24, 2018 and he was buried with full military honors in Nantes, France.  Two years later, his remains were returned to Waverly, Minnesota for burial.  His photo is the first one shown below in the Photo Gallery section, and the second photo shows his funeral cortege in Waverly.  

The most unique attribute of Waverly Post 305 is that we are proudly unconventional in our dress.  We wear our original service uniforms with our last rank insignia and decorations for all parades and funeral services.

This must not be considered as an affront to the Legion or Legion decorum; rather, it is a tribute to our veterans from each of the five services who have served before us.  We honor not only the men and women who have served, but also the individual services that have played a large role in who we are today.  We believe that we are all the better for our time in service—even if that service was sometimes terrifying, or painful, or nonsensical.  We learned from it, and we believe that we had a part in protecting this great nation.  All of that said, we respect all veterans who may not share these views.

We have no firm proof of exactly why our post chose to wear original service uniforms; but when WW I was finished, our Legion members chose to proudly wear their military uniforms while rendering military honors, on holidays, or at other events where an honor guard was requested or needed.  This tradition was upheld after WW II, and again after Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars.

Our Post’s main function is ceremonial, with one main effort:  to honor and to remember veterans who are no longer with us.  In particular, we ensure that any family wishing military honors for their veteran loved one has that service available.  We are prepared to travel a reasonable distance to provide this service, if no other organization steps up to that honor.  We make no distinction as to whether those veterans are or were members of the Legion.   If a family requests military honors we have two cannons (hand-machined by one of our Korean War veterans) which are fired as battery one and battery two after the rifle volleys at the grave site.  We also fire the cannons at Memorial Day services and city celebrations.

Post 305 is not a large post, and our budget is miniscule.  We do not operate a restaurant, bar, or any other enterprise.

The City of Waverly’s largest single-day event is Memorial Day, and Post 305 is the centerpiece of that event.  Many former residents of Waverly and the adjacent townships return every year for the Memorial Day services and parade.  Several pictures of our Memorial Day activities are included in the Photo Gallery Section.

Memorial Day of 2018 has been a special event for Post 305 because it marked the 100^th anniversary of the end of WW I.  Together with our Auxiliary members, we have prepared a 226-page book entitled “WW I: The Waverly Connection” that contains the biographies (with many pictures) of the 149 veterans from our local community who served in WW I.  We also prepared a well-attended display of WW I artifacts, clothing, and other memorabilia.