LESLIE EARL WILSON (1896- 1973), Eighth post commander (1926), was born in Barre. He enlisted in the US Army at New Haven, Connecticut on 30 March 1917, and served with Company E Connecticut 102nd Infantry to 13 September 1918 and later Army Officer Candidate School. He held the ranks of Private First Class (2 August 1917), Corporal (6 September 1917), and Sergeant (4 August 1918). Overseas service was from 26 October 1917 to 26 March 1918. He was wounded in action on 13 July 1918; discharged at Camp Upton, NY, on 9 April 1919. He served as American Legion Department Adjutant from approximately 1930 to 1936 and possibly later. From Octopber, 1944 to March 1945, he was the executive secretary of the governor's committee (veterans?). He resigned to accept a position as a member of the rating board at Veterans Affairs (VA), White River Jct. In March, 1941, he was appointed captain and adjutant of the first infantry regiment of the Vermont State Guard.
Letters to his parents in Barre were found in newspaper archives in which he described his service in France and were published in The Barre Daily Times.
