Florida District 6 History

The Organization of The American Legion

The American Legion was born at a caucus of the first American Expeditionary Force (A. E.F.), March 15-17, 1919 in Paris, France. This caucus was the result of a proposal previously offered by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt Jr., to a group of representatives of A.E.F. Divisions and Service Units. Theodore Roosevelt assisted in planning the Paris Caucus, March 15-17, 1919 where The American Legion received its name and the subsequent caucus in the United States, May 8-10, 1919 in St. Louis, Missouri. The distinction of naming the new organization went to Maurice K. Gordon, then a Major in the 36th Division and later a judge in Kentucky.

Theodore Roosevelt’s outstanding service vice during the vital periods of organization won for him the affectionate title, “Father of The American Legion”. Organizational work proceeded rapidly after the St. Louis Caucus. Temporary offices were opened in New York City. On September 16, 1919, the Congress of the United States chartered The American Legion, thus giving official sanction to the constitution adopted in St. Louis. It was at the St. Louis Caucus that the now famous “Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion “originated into its final form. In St. Louis, the now immortal preamble was conceived by the fertile minds of John C. Greenway of Arizona, Hamilton Fish of New York, and George N. Davis of Delaware.

The charter convention of The American Legion met November 10-12, 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Representatives of five cities vied to gain the new organization’s permanent national headquarters. Indianapolis won, and the national headquarters of The American Legion were moved in late 1919 from their temporary location in New York City to the Hoosier Capital. The rapid pace with which The American Legion was building its organization was evident by the presence of many delegates still in the uniforms of the Armed Forces. The Minneapolis convention of 1919 approved the acts of the temporary organization and adopted a permanent structure. Following the structure of The American Legion national setup, departments, districts, and posts were then incorporated into the chain of command.

Florida’s Beginning

In April 1919, newspapers in Florida carried an article that a group of veterans were meeting May 8-10, 1919 in St. Louis, Missouri for the purpose of forming a veteran’s organization of men who fought in World War I. Realizing the need for such a veteran’s organization, Sumter L. Lowry, Morris Givens, and Harold McClucken of Tampa, Florida decided to attend this meeting on their own initiative without invitation from any source. When the Tampa, Florida group arrived in St. Louis, they discovered two other Floridians – J.T. Wiggington of Miami and David Forster of New Smyrna, also on their own initiative to attend the veteran’s meeting. The five men organized a Florida group, and Sumter L. Lowry was elected Chairman and J.T. Wiggington, Secretary. The group attended all organizational meetings. It was there that the national organization of The American Legion was founded, the famous “Preamble” to the Constitution of The American Legion written and adopted; a temporary constitution and by-laws adopted; temporary officers elected.

Plans were made for the organizations of The American Legion in all states of the union. The Florida group was authorized to organize The American Legion in Florida. Sumter L. Lowry was commissioned by the newly organized national headquarters to serve as Chairman of the Florida Group, and J.T. Wiggington as Secretary. These men were instructed to return to Florida and organize “The Department of Florida”. The organizational meeting was held on a Pullman car by the Florida Delegation.

The Florida group at that time elected General Albert Hazen Blanding as the first Commander and Captain Sumter L. Lowry as the first State Adjutant. Sumter L. Lowry was instructed to proceed with the organization of local posts of The American Legion throughout Florida. The personal office of Sumter L. Lowry was designated as temporary headquarters of The American Legion in Florida. The Florida delegation held a meeting and elected additional officers for temporary service. They included Vice Commander Sam Bennett, Chaplain Lucius Spencer, Historian S.R. M. Kennedy, National Executive Committeeman David Forster, and Finance Officer J.T. Wiggington.

A decision was made to hold the first convention June 10-11, 1919 in Jacksonville, Florida. Adjutant Lowry immediately sent organizational notices to all cities and towns in the state and as a result, the following posts were represented when the convention convened: Titusville, Wauchala, Bartow, Palmetto, Tampa, Deland, Clearwater, Jacksonville, New Smyrna, Lakeland, Orlando, Madison, Marianna, Indian River, Bradenton, Brooksville, Key West, Ocala, Miami, Sarasota, Pensacola, Frostproof, Winter Park, Stuart, and Live Oak.

NOTE: The original four Congressional Districts represented Florida during 1919, were used to establish the original four Districts of The American Legion for the State of Florida.  Each District had four Executive Committeemen except the first which had three.  Seven “State Post Commanders” were elected to help organize Posts in their areas and to provide a communications link with the posts to the department officers.  There were also one department vice commander and three department trustees elected and eventually dropped during 1944.
At the two-day convention, the state organization was perfected and constitution and by-laws were adopted. All temporary officers were re-elected as permanent officers to serve during the ensuing year. Delegates returned home determined to perfect the organization of posts in their cities, towns and communities.

District 6, American Legion Department of Florida

The 6th District American Legion Department of Florida comprises of Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Sumter Counties. Based on records from The American Legion Department of Florida, the boundaries of the 6th District were formed during 1927 by realigning the 1st, 4th and 5th Districts. It became part of the Central Area and years later (1973) evolved into the Eastern Area as more American Legion Posts began to appear throughout the state. A list of past and present 6th District and Area Commanders are listed below.

6th District Commanders
Year	Name	City
1927	S.H. Fifield	Bradenton
1928	Paul Crank	Wauchula
1929	Paul Crank	Wauchula
1930	Rupert Smith	Arcadia
1931	Gordon B. Knowles	Bradenton
1932	Ralph E. Kurtz	Ft. Myers
1933	Latimer C. Farr	Wauchula
1934	Dr. A.M. Morgan	Avon Park
1935	Glenn Ebersole	Arcadia
1936	J. Douglass Arnest	Sarasota
1937	Russell E. Rich	Ft. Myers
1938	David G.A. Kelbert	Bradenton
1939	H.L. Miller	Wauchula
1940	James A. Haley	Sarasota
1941	Harry Price	Avon Park
1942	Perce B. Armstrong	Palmetto
1943	Jerald W. Farr	Wauchula
1944	Lewis VanWezel	Sarasota
1945	Dan Ellis	Avon Park
1946	**Reorganization Under a New Constitution** Cedric C. Benz	Orlando
1947	Chauncey S. Daniel	Tavares
1948	George MacGowan	Kissimmee
1949	Bob Attkisson	Clermont
1950	Charles B. Coffin	Orlando
1951	Richard A. Willis	Clermont
1952	Richard Eddy	Mt. Dora
1953	Jimmie Singletary	Sanford
1954	O.E. Weaver	Altamonte Springs
1955	A.Jack Budnick	Orlando
1956	Bob Oatman	Tavares
1957	John R. Sutton	Orlando
1958	A.J. Knight	Clermont
1959	Robert D. Williams	Orlando
1960	Robert D. Williams	Orlando
1961	Kenneth R. Moyer	Orlando
1962	Kenneth R. Moyer	Orlando
1963	Nick Danesky	Mt. Dora
1964	Mrs. Carolyn Frid	Orlando
1965	Julian R. Fussell	Leesburg
1966	Julian R. Fussell	Leesburg
1967	Robert C. Boyle	Chuluota
1968	Robert C. Boyle	Chuluota
1969	Mrs. Claudia A. Triola	Orlando
1970	Mrs. Claudia A. Triola	Orlando
1971	Paul C. Ryan	Altamonte Springs
1972	William “Bill” Paul	Sorrento
	Department Created Eastern Area
1973	William “Bill” Paul	Sorrento
1974	William “Bill” Paul (Deceased) Richard B. Russey	Sorrento Winter Park
1975	Lyle R. Plato	Orlando
1976	Lyle R. Plato	Orlando
1977	John Brainard	Kissimmee
1978	Lyle R. Plato	Orlando
1979	Cleo D. Little	Orlando
1980	Cleo D. Little	Orlando
1981	John Perkins	Orlando
1982	John Perkins Cleo D. Little	Orlando Orlando
1983	Ralph J. Lubensky	Orlando
1984	Ralph J. Lubensky (Deceased) Paul C. Ryan	Orlando Altamonte Springs
1985	Anthony Richardson	Orlando
1986	Anthony Richardson	Orlando
1987	William “Bill” Kovach Alce Blair	Orlando Sanford
1988	David E. Canada	Fruitland Park
1989	Paul I. Parslow	Orlando
1990	Paul I. Parslow	Orlando
1991	L.E. “Butch” McGrath	St. Cloud
1992	Kenneth Williams	Mt. Dora
1993	Joseph G. Parent	Lady Lake
1994	Joseph G. Parent	Lady Lake
1995	Thomas Tavenner	Christmas
1996	Norman Pamplin	Christmas
1997	Joseph E. Briere	Ocoee
1998	Joseph E. Briere	Ocoee
1999	Leonard Pompilio	Deltona
2000	Leonard Pompilio	Deltona
2001	Charles Rousseau	Fruitland Park
2002	Debie Showalter	Orlando
2003	Debie Showalter	Orlando
2004	Kathryn Boyer	Ocoee
2005	H. Warren Post	Lady Lake
2006	Robert Showalter	Orlando
2007	Susan B. Mason	Sorrento
2008	Robert Kroger	Orlando
2009	Earl Friedeborn	Leesburg
2010	William Walsh	Lady Lake
2011	William Walsh	Lady Lake
2012	Robert Kiley	The Villages
2013	Robert Kiley	The Villages
2014	Thomas C. Biddle	Leesburg
2015
2016
2017
2018

 

Central Area Vice Commanders
Year	Name	City
1960	Dr. Carl F. Haddock	Lakeland
1961	John Lochrie	Fort Pierce
1962	Robert B. Moon	Palmetto
1963	Robert Williams	Orlando
1964	James Roberts	Fort Pierce
1965	O.L. Strickland	Tampa
1966	Sawyer Albritton	Sarasota
1967	Charles Kilgore	Winter Park
1968	Arthur Bartell	Vero Beach
1969	J.W. Clarke	Winter Haven
1970	Park T. Pigott	Fort Myers
1971	Robert Boyle	Chuluota
1972	R.A. “Bob” Matiasek	Fort Pierce
Department Created Eastern Area District Vice Commanders
1973	Claudia A. Triola	Orlando
1974	Lee Tate	Indialantic
1975	Richard B. Russey	Winter Park
1976	Robert F. Bechard	Satellite Beach
1977	Lyle R. Plato	Orlando
1978	Eddie B. Shepherd	Melbourne
1979	John Brainard	Kissimmee
1980	James A. Preece	Cocoa
1981	Cleo Little	Orlando
1982	Robert J. Shackett	Melbourne
1983	Paul C. Ryan	Altamonte Springs
1984	Albert Cooper	Stuart
1985	Robert Proctor	Apopka
1986	Charles E. Slavin, Jr.	Merritt Island
1987	Anthony Richardson	Orlando
1988	Willie B. Harris	Melbourne
1989	David Canada	Fruitland Park
1990	Wilson Timmons	Astor
1991	Paul Parslow	Orlando
1992	Robert Cherry	Palm Bay
1993	Kenneth Williams	Mt. Dora
1994	Leo Opalewski	Ft. Pierce
1995	Joseph Parent	Lady Lake
1996	J.J. Jeffries (deceased) Dean Williams	Mims Madison
1997	Norm Pamplin	Christmas
1998	Carl White	Sebastian
1999	Joseph Briere	Ocoee

Eastern Area Commanders - Title Change Effective Year 2000
Year	Name	City
2000	Robert Sahagun	Cocoa
2001	Oliver Kennedy	Orlando
2002	Calvin Sanchez	Palm Bay
2003	Debie Showalter	Orlando
2004	Joe McNeil	Melbourne
2005	H. Warren Post	Lady Lake
2006	Wayne Smith	Melbourne
2007	Charles Rousseau	Fruitland Park
2008	Arthur Dudley	Cocoa
2009	Earl Friedeborn	Leesburg
2010	Carl Schneider	Vero Beach
2011	William Walsh	Lady Lake
2012	Mark Johnson	Melbourne
2013	Robert Kiley	The Villages
2014
2015
2016
2017

Future Outlook for Florida - TBD

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Site Updated: April 23, 2024