Seventeen veterans meet at the Mount Hope school to discuss becoming assosiated with a veterans organization. They choose the American Legion. A temporary charter is drawn up with the following veterans signing as Charter Members.

          William Bobinyec        Bernard Bosley          Louis Bosley

          Charles Elko               Michael Elko              Peter George

          James Howell              Russell Howell            Andrew Lengyl

          John Matronich           Clarence Maxey         Arthur Medore

         *Charles O'Keefe, Sr.   John Pavlovich, Sr.    George Szakalos

          William Welch, Sr.        Fred..

    Temporary officers were elected.

*Commander - Russell howell

*Adjutant - Arthur Medore

*Finance Officer - James howell

     The Rockaway township governing body sold 53 acres to the Post for $5.00. Plans were made to erect a new home. A Building Fund Committee is formed. Two meetings were held each month between Mount Hope School and the Hibernia fire house.

     The Post assumed responsibility of presenting the American Legion Americanism School Awards to students in the township schools - Hibernia, Mt. hope, amd Mt. Pleasent.

    The desicion was made to incorporate the Post. Trustees were elected.

          *B. Bosley          C. Bosley          A. Cuneo

          *M. Czohla          H. Zelinsky

     The first full slate of permanent officers are elected:

*Commander - A.S. Medore

*1st Vice Commander - R. Chapman

*2nd Vice Commander - M. Elko

*Adjutant - A. Chernati

*Finance Officer - E. Kelly

*Assistant Finance Officer - W. George

*Sergeant-at-Arms - C. Lizun

*Historian - F. Kovoch

*Service Office - B. Bosley

     There was a mass installation of 100 members held at theMount Hope School.

     Post 344 takes charge of the Service Honor Roll located at Mount Hope School.

     The Ladies Auxiliary was granted a charter from the American Legion Auxiliary. The Charter Members were.

          *Elizabeth Bosley              *Mary Chernati               *Jean Powers                *Josephine Lively

          *Nina Powers                     *Doris Bosley                 *Edna Maxey                 *Mary Medore

          *Helen Clark                       *Maria Paviovich        ..

     The Post membership voted to participate in the Department of NJ's Safety Essay Contest. The contest was open to all township students in grades 6, 7, and 8. The Post continued to sponsor this contest up until the mid 2000's. Students were required to write an essay on a  safety theme of their choice. Demands on student time and curriculum prorities prevented the middle school students from participating.

     The first Memorial Day services were held at Denville, Mt. Hope, and Rockaway. The newly formed firing Squad participated in the event. A march was made from the Mt. Hope firehouse to the school.

     A Certificate of Incorporation was issued by the State of New jersey.

     The Post received the deed to its property.

     The Permanent Charter was granted by the American Legion.

     The Permanent Charter was presented to the Post by Department of New Jersey and Morris County Committee officers at an official ceremony.

      In 1946, the township sold 53 acres of land to the Post for $5.00. By December 1948, the membership decided to sell plots of land with preference given to legionnaires and auxiliary. This was the start of the great sell-off of most of the property to individuals and developers through 1992. A variety of events during this time period resulted in the sale of the property - large sewer assessments, taxation of unused land,..

     The Trustees agreed to sell an acre of land to Rockaway Township for $1.00 for the purpose of building a municipal building and a children's playgroung. The township would pay all legal fees.

     The Legion rents a centralized address in Wharton to receive all mail. The address to be; Rockaway Township Post, No. 344, P.O., Address: R.D. No 1, Wharton, NJ.

     The clearing of the property for the new Post Home was completed in October 1949. By the end of November of that year the trees, brush, and logs were cleaned out of the area. A blueprint was made of the property in March 1950. During 1950 and 1951 fund raisers were conducted to add to the Building fund. These included picnics, dances, and raffles. On April 22, 1952, the footings for the building were..

     The Sons of the American Legion Charter was granted by the American Legion. The Charter Members were:

          *Neil Wellington               *Thomas Fitzgerald                *Francis Chernati

          *Gary Secallus                *James Geiser                        *Charles Secallus

          *Michael McCarthy          *Ernest Powers                       *Bruce Bannon

          *John James                      *Richard Bannon                    *George Yorkston

          *Ralph Starace                *Malcom Yorkston                   *John Hollis

          *David Yorkston               *Greg Rottengen                    *Dennis Czahla

          *Ronny Zielensky             *Paul Luksa                            *Walter Unick

          *Gary Troutman               *Larry Unick                             *Jeffrey Troutman

          *Raymond Unick               *Thomas Troutman                  *Pete Hendricks

     Morris County Boy Scout officials presented at a formal ceremony a Boy Scout Charter for Rockaway Township Troop 12. In April 1956, the Mount Hope Men's Club was ready to disband and approached the Post to sponsor Boy Scout Troop 12.

     On the evening of October 10, 1959, a film (running time, 15 minutes) entitled, "History of Post" by Historian Felix Medore was shown to the Legion Family. The film spans the time period August 1958 through March 1959. It included: (August 1958) Installation of New Officers of the Legion Family, (October 1958) The 4th Annual Commander's Dinner, (November 1958) Veterans Day Ceremony, (December 1958) Christmas Party, (March 1959) Easter Egg Hunt, (Spring 1959) views..

     The first Post newsletter was published and sent to all members of the Legion Family. It was named, "Rockaway Twp. Bugle".

     The Memorial Monument designed by Felix Medore was dedicated at the Parks Lake site on this Memorial Day. The  insert photograph shows the monument as it is today.

     The Post R. D. mailing address in Wharton had been changed a number of years earlier to 153 Chestnut Terrace. A new house across from the Post was issued that number and started to recieve Legion mail. The Post changed its mailing address to the current one of 210 Chestnut Terrace.

     The 105 mm Howitzer on the Post was dedicated on May 29, 2000. The plaque reads, "Dedicated to those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and members of American Legion Post 344, May 29, 2000"

     The first edition of the new Post 344 newsletter, Iron Spirit News, was sent by "snail mail" to all members. Its editor was Richard Marino, later to become Post 344 Commander. This hard copy of the newsletter was replaced in May 2014, with the first edition of the electronic edtion sent to members via email. The co-editors are Bud Werner and Bob De Blasi.

     Through the efforts of Historian Robert De Blasi, the Department of New Jersey awarded the Post with four awards over the years. They are:

*2004-2005 and 2005-2006 -The Fithain Memorial Publicity Award

*2005-2006 and 2006-2007 - The Post Scrapbook Award

      The membership voted to establish the Ralph Starace Memorial Scholarship named in honor of long-time Trustee and Executive Committee member, Ralph Starace. It is a competative scholarship open to Morris Hills and Morris Knolls High School seniors who are residents of the township and American citizens.They must enter a two or four year college or university and major in either, Political Science, Social Studies, Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics. A 300 word essay is..

     Post 344 has been a supporter of the Annual Rockaway Township Senior Picnic. Held on the first Wednesday of September each year, township seniors are invited to attend. Tables sposored by local and Morris County service organizations give the seniors an opportunity to listen to their representatives who provide handouts and information of interest.  A Bar-B-Q luncheon is served after remarks by the mayor and local dignitaries. Post 344 legionnaires hand out Legion  and..

     In December 2010 the Post was invited to send a representative to become a permanent member of the Picatinny Arsenal's Tree Memorial Committee.Its mission is to honor New Jersey's military members who have fallen since September 11, 2001. Each memorial consists of a small stone bearing the fallen's name, rank, military service affiliation, date of death, and home town. The stone rests under a red maple tree (NJ's state tree).  A small American flag..

     Monuments Man, Harry Ettlinger shared his WWII experiences as a member of one of the war's honored units. A Rockaway Township resident, Harry related his war-time adventures to a standing room only crowd at the Post hall. His story took him from a German, Jewish refugee in 1938, to Newark, NJ, to his service in the U.S. 7th Army. His story takes him to Baden-Baden, to Belgium, to Berchtesgarden, to Heilbronn Mine, to Munich,..

     Members of Post 344's "Greatest Generation"  were honoered at the Veterans Day ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. The 23 members received an American Legion Certificate of Honor and an American Legion "Thank You" coin. Also, those who attended had their military biographies read. Those who could not attend or had recently passed away in 2015 had their awards mailed to them or a family member.

          *Veterans in attendance:

          *Ciro..

     The History Project Committee discovered a letter dated March 20, 1972 to the Morris County Superintendent of Bridges and Culverts requesting that the newly built bridge #889 in front of the Post be named, "The American Legion Memorial Bridge...in honor of the township veterans". After searching the archives, no letter was found granting the request. The current superintendent was contacted and after an extensuve search of the county archives a letter was discovered dated..

     The History Project Committee discovered a letter dated March 20, 1972 to the Morris County Superintendent of Bridges and Culverts requesting that the newly built bridge #889 in front of the Post be named, "The American Legion Memorial Bridge...in honor of the township veterans". After searching the archives, no letter was found granting the request. The current superintendent was contacted and after an extensuve search of the county archives a letter was discovered dated..