The American Legion—For God And Country

For members of American Legion Post 103, their hallowed hall isn't just among the oldest posts in Queens. 

"It's another way we get to serve our country," said Joe Thomassen, long-time Legion member and former District Commander of the American Legion for Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. 

And while the sacrifices these brave men and women made on the battlefield would certainly qualify all of them as heroes, it's perhaps the hard work and dedications to their community, which remains to this day one of many things that continually defines their heroic mission.

"Winter time a group of the guys drive around giving out hot chocolate and warm clothes to any homeless people they find living on the street ... we're also very active with the homeless veteran facilities at St. Alban's Hospital in Queens," Thomassen said, stressing that they're not heroes.

Remarkably, it's the American Legions' devotion to humbleness in service that rings true in all they accomplish.

Chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veteran’s organization, the American Legions’ focus has always been on service to veterans, service members and the community — something that all 2.4 million members of the American Legion who currently serve in some 14,000 posts worldwide value greatly.

To date, the American Legion has been responsible for the creation of the U.S. Veterans Bureau and played a key role in launching the National Association for Mental Health. It also implemented the first national Halloween safety program for children in 1972, the only national program of its kind today.

"One of the things that attracted me most to joining the Post [103] was how active we are in the community," said Post 103 vice commander Jerry Vilbig, adding, "We don't just sit around talking … we give back as much as we can."

Today Post 103 is housed in the historic firehouse of Douglaston Hose Company 1 — currently located just south of Long Island Railroad's Douglaston Station — and the group meets once a week to enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow veterans while thinking up ways to better serve the community.

Fitting, that this all volunteer organization of heroes would one day find a home inside the headquarters of a former neighborhood institution made up of volunteer heroes.

"Over the years I'm proud to know that the Legion has been responsible for starting an American Legion Baseball league and the Boys State camp, which helps teach teens about service and government, " Thomassen said.

Still the greatest legacy of the American Legion might be their unwavering dedication to remembering the American heroes who didn’t come home from the war.

"Today's is an emotional day for all of us I think ... we remember friends that we served with,” he said, expressing that his dedication is a tribute to them.