May 28 marks Memorial Day, the most solemn of patriotic holidays and The American Legion is preparing for the observance in several ways. All are welcome to join your local post and state headquarters as we take the time to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, all our nations veterans, and their loved ones.

The following list are some of the events taking place in the Orange Osceola and Seminole County areas provided by Mrs. Cathy Haynes. To find an American Legion Post near you and inquire about their upcoming events please visit http://www.floridalegion.org/post-locator. Please feel free to disseminate the information as you see fit...

A longstanding campaign by The American Legion to end the victimization of military veterans and families by some for-profit schools has culminated in an order by President Obama to halt the questionable practices.

On April 27, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to help protect students and prospective students using their Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits from aggressive and deceptive targeting by educational institutions, particularly for-profit career colleges. The American Legion was instrumental in the execution of the presidential order.

“This is an important victory on behalf of our young servicemembers and veterans who, in seeking to better themselves educationally, have been wrongly and unconscionably victimized by some institutions who see America’s finest...

WASHINGTON (May 17, 2012) -- The nation’s largest wartime veterans organization is applauding the U.S. Army’s decision to launch a service-wide review of mental health cases dating back to 2001 to ensure that any soldiers suffering from behavioral health illnesses weren’t denied appropriate medical retirement benefits.

The decision, made by Army Secretary John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno, comes after several post-traumatic stress diagnoses at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord outside Seattle were wrongly reduced to lesser illnesses during medical retirement evaluations.

“We are pleased that the Army has chosen to right these wrongs and take a closer look at each of these cases,” American Legion National...

The Gainesville Fisher House Foundation depends on public donations to continue the  important work begun by the Fisher House Foundation. Each gift is used to build a Fisher House which will be available for families whose loved ones are receiving medical attention at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville Florida.

Recently members of The Florida American Legion presented a donation of $1,000 dollars to the Fisher House Foundation in support of their efforts to assist America's military in their time of need. For more information on how you can become involved with Fisher House CLICK HERE.

From Left to Right on Photo provided by Roger Boucher
Dwight Fields VA Deputy (Post 236),...

Congress passed, and the President has signed into law, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. Included in this new law is the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP). VRAP offers up to 12 months of training assistance to unemployed Veterans. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are working together to roll out this new program on July 1, 2012.
The VRAP offers 12 months of training assistance to Veterans who:

• Are at least 35 but no more than 60 years old.
• Are unemployed
• Received an other than dishonorable discharge
• Are not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program (e.g.: the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, Vocational...