(Veterans and Family Members)
The Legion Act was signed into law on July 30, 2019, and now allows all honorably discharged veterans, as well as all active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces, to receive all of The American Legion benefits they have earned through their service. The eligibility dates now span from April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918, and then from December 7, 1941, until a time when the U.S. is no longer at war, which will be determined by Congress.
If you have served federal active duty in the United States Armed Forces since December 7, 1941, and have been honorably discharged or are still serving – you are eligible for membership in The American Legion!
This also affects the Sons of The American Legion (SAL). Any son or grandson of a deceased veteran is now also eligible to join the Sons of The American Legion.
The American Legion Auxiliary is also affected. Membership is now open to all grandmothers, mothers, sisters, wives and direct and adopted female descendants of eligible veterans.
Some of the benefits of being a member of The American Legion are:
Benefits Assistance- we have a Post Service Officer-Ronnie Imel who is here to assist you with all of your disability claims with the Veterans Administration (VA).
Family and Community Support-we have a commitment to mentoring youth and sponsoring programs in the Hemet Valley. We sponsor 4-5 boys every year to Boys State and 4-5 girls every year to Girls State. We also sponsor Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Jr. ROTC.
Honor and Remembrance-we have honor guards that provide services at Riverside National Cemetery.
Advocacy in Washington- The American Legion is the nation’s most influential, effective and dependable advocate of veteran affairs fighting for better active-duty pay, improved housing for active-duty families and helping to ensure that the VA’s medical system can properly care for veterans.
Volunteer Opportunities-we provide hundreds of hours of free community service to the Hemet Valley, assistance at the VA medical facilities and help at military installations every year.
Community Awareness and Outreach-we have dinners at the post every Friday night, which help to defray some of the costs of the programs we provide within the community. We also hold events at the post, which allows us to assist more veterans.
The current membership applications and websites may not all be updated with the new criteria. We recommend that prospective members from a previously undocumented war era write “Other Conflicts” in the eligibility date section along with your dues. You can go to www.legion.org and fill out the membership application and select Post 53, or we would love to have you visit The American Legion Post 53 in Hemet and fill out the membership application. You can also call us at 951-658-2436. All you need to bring is a copy of your DD214. The fee to join Post 53 is currently $47 per year. We are located at: 124 N. Ramona Street here in Hemet. We have been at this location since 1947 and were chartered in 1919. We just celebrated our 100th year in Hemet.
We welcome ALL active duty military and honorably discharged veterans. The best days to visit are Tuesday through Thursday from 8 am-2 pm. We would love to meet you! We are veterans helping veterans.
If you have served federal active duty in the United States Armed Forces since December 7, 1941, and have been honorably discharged or are still serving – you are eligible for membership in The American Legion!
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