The American Legion National Executive Committee issued a charter on June 18, 1919 to Joe Carson Post 1. Eleven legionnaires (ten men and one woman) signed the charter. The "charter" members were:
William L. Eagleton
H. D. Labbe
Harry L. S. Halley
Horace H. Hagan
C. A. Border
Roland M. Broach
C. C. McCrary
L. J. Mangan
Sarah F. McLane
N. A. Thompson
Albert Golden
All of these Legionnaires served Post 1 and the community in various capacities for many years. Many of them will appear frequently in this timeline. For example, Horace Hagan, our first Commander, went on to become Oklahoma Department Commander. W.E. Eagleton and Harry L.S. Halley went on to serve as Post Commanders. Sarah F. McLane, who served in the Army Nurse Corps in World War I, subsequently married another Legionnaire, Charles C. Victory, and was devoted to the youth and welfare programs of Post 1 until her death in 1947. Her inclusion as a signer of the Post 1 charter is significant because it demonstrates that from its inception, The American Legion was open to male and female veterans.
