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100th anniversary celebrated

The Inter-Mountain photo by Dan Geohagan Guest speaker Mark Lanham, left, and American Legion Post 29 Commander Donald Lambert greet those attending Post 29’s celebration of the American Legion’s 100th anniversary Saturday night in Elkins.

ELKINS — H.W. Daniels Post 29 hosted a special dinner Saturday night celebrating the 100th anniversary in Elkins.

As part of the event, Post 29 was presented with a key to the city from Mayor Van Broughton.

“It’s nice to see the city recognizing the Legion’s hard work with everything we do,” Donald Lambert, commander of American Legion Post 29, said Saturday night. “Between veterans’ services up at the All Veterans Memorial, or putting flags up during the veterans holidays or patriotic holidays, and even the graveside services offered to veterans with military honors and that sort. We also give donations to multiple organizations in the community such as the Human Society and the Special Olympics.”

During the dinner, Post 29 presented special guest speaker, Mark Lanham, curator of Special Collections at Davis & Elkins College.

Lanham served in the Army for four years before joining the United States Marine Corps in 1982. During this time of service Lanham was awarded 20 medals for his service.

Units that Lanham served in while a Marine included 3rd Battalion 6th Marines. 1st Battalion 8th Marines and 3rd Battalion 4th Marines.

He also served through Barracks Duty in Bangor, Washington; in the 2nd Light Armored Infantry Battalion; in Enlisted Instructor Company in Quantico, Virginia; and as a Marine Corps recruiter.

Lanham also served as Operations Chief for the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The American Legion’s 55 departments and nearly 12,500 posts across the country and around the world are celebrating a century of service to community, state and nation that began in Paris March 15-17, 1919, when war-weary members of the American Expeditionary Forces gathered for a “morale conference” that led to the creation of what would become The American Legion.

Only 300 troops were expected to attend. Officially, 463 registered. Some have estimated that more than 1,000 came and went, with or without orders, during the weekend that launched a century of accomplishments unforeseeable, if not unimaginable, at the time.

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