American Legion Post 134 meets for lunch the second Thursday of every month at the Petite Auberge Restaurant in the Toco Hills Shopping Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

American Legion is an organization of U. S. Military veterans that share the ideals of service and patriotism.  If you are serving or have served in the military during war, you may be eligible for membership.  For more information  contact us .

Next Meeting 

Next Post Meeting  
Date: Thursday, May 8, at 12:00 noon
Location: Petite Auberge Restaurant
Toco Hills Shopping Center
2935 North Druid Hills Road Atlanta, Georgia
Speaker: Bill Thurman.  Mr. Thurman is a specialist involved in teaching children with dyslexia.

Recently, I met a young man, who is the son of a friend of mine. He is in his thirties, and he is a very successful businessman with IBM. His wife is a professional with the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce. They have two children, a boy age 5 and little girl age 1. As we were talking over dinner, last Sunday, the subject of the American Legion came up, and I was asked, "What is the American Legion and what do they do." I was a little surprised by the question, but as I reflected on it, later, it became obvious to me that there is probably a large part of the younger generation, who have no idea what the American Legion does and have not experienced military service.

When I answered the question about the American Legion, I began with the Youth Development Programs such as Boys' State, Baseball, Scouting, Oratorical Competition, and Marksmanship Training/Competition. I could sense interest in these programs by the young father, since his son will soon be the age, at which he could benefit from any or all of these activities. I also emphasized that American Legion Post 134 was involved in some of programs.  

Since the United States Armed Forces have no draft, we have had an “All Volunteer” military. This has been the case since 1975 or at about the time the Vietnam War ended. My daughter was 8 years old then (she is now 40), which means that there has been no draft for 32 years and that the majority of this age group has not served in the military. Although the military does not have the manpower to meet the requirements of our country's defense, I do not see any signs that the United States Congress will reinstate the draft in the near future. Where does that leave us as individual Legionnaires and members of American Legion Post 134?  

I feel that one of the most important jobs of Legionnaires individually and collectively is education. We need to tell our story and our history to individuals, community civic organizations, and the schools. Post 134 has members who go to metropolitan Atlanta public schools and give talks regarding United States history. (I understand that there are a lot of elementary school children who do not who George Washington was.) Secondly, I feel that we must continue to support the American Legion Youth Development Programs through our own involvement at State, District, or Post level.  

Finally, I believe we need to keep Post 134 strong with regard to membership and finances. We must continue to recruit new members through any means possible. Without new members, any organization cannot survive. If, as Legionnaires, we keep telling our story and keep the Post Youth Development Programs going, I believe we will have done our part to make our contribution to the community patriotic spirit, which has sustained the United States of America throughout its history.  

***  HOLCOMBE T. MARSHALL, JR, Better known as H.T., celebrates his 91st birthday on May 6 this year.  A modest and always pleasant man, he arises each morning at 6:00 checks the accuracy of his watch with “time check” and begins his day.  He lives in Decatur, is in reasonably good health, and keeps a busy schedule.  He is a member of our Post’s Executive committee, and attends all of the regular and committee meetings. 

Among other things this man has accomplished SO FAR, he  graduated from Mercer University, summa cum laude, taught high school, graduated from Aviation Engineering School and Officers Training school, served 4 years as ground engineering officer of a squadron of B-24s in the South Pacific during one of those times when we were shooting at each other.  He later married Margaret Clark, and had one son, Tucker.  He graduated from the GAB School of Commerce, became a CPA for 17 years, and graduated as valedictorian of his Atlanta Law School class during that time. 

He then spent 30 years with Georgia Tech., served on the committee that wrote the accounting manual for the entire University System of Georgia, and then implemented the system he wrote.  Georgia Tech President named him to be the school’s first Director of Internal Auditing.  He then led Tech’s Department of Internal Auditing for the next 20 years before retiring in 1998.  

Because of his love for Georgia Tech, H.T has arranged to give to the school his Decatur home-while retaining a life time estate in the property.  Upon his passing Georgia Tech will sell the home.  The proceeds will establish the Holcombe T. Marshall Endowment Fund.  H.T. says “that love for the school is what led me to make this gift.  Since my wife and my son have passed away, there is no one I would want to leave my home to, so leaving it to Georgia Tech seemed like a natural choice.” 

He quietly walks among us and I am proud to say he does—and when you need to know the correct time, just ask H.T. 

***  Have you noticed that the PETITE AUBERGE serves consistently good meals and attentive waiters.  Next time you get a chance, let the folks know they are appreciated.  Now that is a good segue into reminding you that the next meeting at the PETITE AUBERGE will be MAY 8 at high noon.  63 years ago on that date we celebrated V.E. Day.  Lunch with your friends and reminisce about what you were doing on that day.  

***  SAM STEGER has lined up a most interesting speaker for our May meeting in the education field.   BILL THURMAN is expert in teaching children with dyslexia.  This promises to be a very interesting subject. 

***  Here are a couple more important dates to remember.  The American Legion District meeting will be in Dallas, Ga. (POST 111) ON MAY 18.  District officers will be elected at this meeting.   

Coming up June 27, 28 and 29 will be the 2008 American Legion Department Convention in Augusta. We have four members planning to attend and room for more.  Come and enjoy an informative and fun weekend.  Wives and girlfriends invited. Caution—do not bring both at same time.  $15.00 to register.  $30.00 for the Saturday Banquet.  Call Herman Abernathy for application forms for either or both of these meetings. 

Herman says there are two different American Legions. Ours (POST 134) and all others.  These meeting are a good way to find out about the other American Legion.   

***  TOMMY THOMPSON  is working hard on the selection of boys to be sponsored by our Post for the Boys State Program.  This is an important assignment and Tommy spends a great deal of time each year making just the right selection.  Tommy is a firm believer in education.  He says 5 out of 4 students in school today have trouble with fractions.

***  All too frequently the question is asked how can you tell for sure the difference between a crow and a raven.  Well the answer is you must count the pinion feathers on the wings.  If there are four, it is a crow.  If it is five, it is a raven.  Now you know.  Of course it is just a matter of a pinion. 

 If you will imagine the long-dead James Madison sitting by a super large steamer trunk, you may notice him clawing at the contents.  The trunk is labeled FREE SPEECH.  What he picks out to glance through is sometimes brilliant, sometimes bland, sometimes vituperative, sometimes irreverent.  He doesn’t discard any.  He does nod his skull occasionally, though.

His admiring nods are prompted by the rhetoric as he thumbs through Lincoln at Gettysburg, FDR declaring war, MLK and his dream, Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium, MacArthur’s farewell at West Point.  There are others, of course, but he’s in a bit of a hurry.  Dawn is coming.It may have dawned on him that this First Amendment he had proposed  about 1791 had given wide range to Americans to express their thoughts.  Scholars have pointed out for us that free speech has inclined our people to feel like a part of the political system, to sense that they could discover the truth, to realize that they had a safety valve as an outlet for their angry thoughts.  

We can wonder if Madison envisioned the courts doing tricks with our Constitution or the Amendments.  It’s difficult to imagine him agreeing that desecration of our flag, for example, is to be thought of as freedom of speech. 

Yes, Madison must have realized that there would be a Father Coughlin’s anti Semitism, David Duke and the KKK, Don Imus and nasty radio talk, Fritz Kuhn and the German-American Bund, and the current Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  Hate mongers and kooks and crackpots were alive in his day, too. 

Before he felt the first stirring of dawn, he probably admired much of what he touched and wept a bit over others. Overall, he felt good about what he had wrought. 

What a tribute it would be to his memory and contribution if all Americans who love their country and its freedoms would temper their speech with discretion and voice their anger in polite hostility.  

Doesn’t each freedom we have carry a responsibility?