Americanism

The Ohio American Legion A&G trip is not like the typical 8th-grade trip most Ohio teens experience. We have a smaller group of students and focus on history, Americanism, and respect for the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom.

Day to day highlights of the trip:

2/26/2024 7:00AM

Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! Today we will embark on our Americanism and Government Trip!

The chaperones this year are Department 1st Vice Commander AJ Whatley, Department Auxiliary 1st Vice President Louise Smerk, Sons of the American Legion member Bruce Bittner, Department Americanism and Children & Youth Coordinator Christie White, Department Service Officer William Genochio and Department Assistant Sergeant At Arms John Life.

Make sure to check in and keep up to date on our young leaders Legion adventure! First stop, Gettysburg.

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2/26/2024 8:36PM

Day 1 is in the books! Today we visited Gettysburg, and had dinner at the historic Dobbin House.

Our young leaders are tucked safely in bed, and are resting up for all our adventures tomorrow. Stay tuned for what Day 2 has in store!

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2/27/2024 7:28AM

Good Morning Legionnaires, ladies and gentlemen!

Here we go with Day 2!

Today we will be making a stop we’ve never made before, Andrew’s Air Force Base. After that, we will be visiting the White House for some photos, National Archives, and a bunch of Memorials including Navy, Eisenhower, Vietnam, Lincoln, Korean, WWII and Washington Monument!

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2/27/2024 10:13PM

Day 2 is a wrap! Our young leaders started their day by visiting Andrew’s Air Force Base. They visited the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal and they had a blast (no pun intended). Then they visited the Fisher House on base, they had their first chow hall experience, and visited the the 316th CES Heavy Equipment Shop “Dirt Boys” and got to play with some equipment. They even saw the VC-25A (which is called Air Force One when the President is on it), which was parked right outside of the Dirt Boys shop.

After Andrew’s AFB, we visited the White House Visitor Center, White House, National Archives, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial and we ended the night at the Silver Diner.

Today’s “teachers” were Ryan, Cartier, Nora, Justin, Remington, and Hannah.

We had to skip 2 visits today due to time, but we will definitely fit them in later this week.

Make sure to watch our updates tomorrow, we will be going Live around 12:15 for our Wreath Laying at Arlington National Cemetery!!!!

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2/28/2024 8:38AM

Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! It is Day 3, and our most important day! Our Young Leaders are dressed to impress and ready for another long day.

We will be posting multiple times today at Arlington, and going Live around 12:15.

Prayers that the rain holds off, and that our Young Leaders feel wholeheartedly the sacrifices of those who now call Arlington Cemetery home.

See you soon!

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2/28/2024 9:13AM

Our wreath security this morning is Remington Holder- District 4- Post 284 and Lilly Heydinger- District 5- Post 326.

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2/28/2024 11:53AM

Are you ready for it?!

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2/28/2024 12:02PM

The American Legion Department of Ohio Young Leaders placing the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers is Jasten Cooper- District 1 Post 587 and Josalin Morris- District 2 Post 217.

Accompanying them is Department 1st Vice Commander AJ Whatley and Auxiliary 1st Vice President Louise Smerk. (Click HERE to watch the wreath laying ceremony)

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2/28/2024 10:53PM

Day 3. What. A. Day.

We started out at the Air Force Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Then, Arlington National Cemetery. There is so much to say about that experience, but there are no words to describe it. We are grateful!

After that, we traveled to the Pentagon Memorial, Eisenhower Memorial, and U.S. Capitol.  Then we picked up a few new faces (Department Commander Jason Rue and Department Adjutant JD Robinson). They tagged along with us to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial (TJ’s House), and The National Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.

For Dinner, we join our Legion Family at American Legion Post 8, with help from Post 1 and Post 2 SAL and Auxiliary. The best family is Legion family! ❤️

We ended our night by visiting the FDR Memorial and MLK Memorial.

They even got to see the Presidential Motorcade!!

Today’s teachers were Campbell, Jasten, Olivia, Addison, Lilly, Josalin, Jaden, Andrew and Evan.

The weather was not the best for us today, but our Young Leaders did not complain once! Fingers crossed for no rain tomorrow!

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2/29/2024 7:29AM

Good Morning Legionnaires, ladies and gentlemen! Today is Day 4!

Our Young Leaders will have a longgggggg day today. We have many scheduled places to visit, and then we will try and fit in all the other monuments/memorials that we have missed so far.

First stop today, the United States Marine Corps Museum.

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2/29/2024 11:59PM

Day 4 is a wrap! Today was such a long day, but it was our last one in Washington DC so we wanted to make the most of it.

We started the day at the Marine Corps Museum. They got to learn some first hand knowledge from our Marine chaperones. Then we traveled to Mt. Vernon to see George Washington. After that, we went to the U.S. Army Museum. When we were done at the Army museum, we had to hurry back to the heart of DC to meet with Congressman Warren Davidson in his office. Our Young Leaders had a great Q&A session with him.

We spent the evening visiting Einstein, the Navy Memorial, Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, Washington Monument, the Kennedy Center observation deck, and ended the evening visiting the Iwo Jima Memorial one last time in the dark.

Our teachers today were Seth, Makayla and Ava.

Tomorrow, our Young Leaders have one final stop at Flight 93 before returning home.

Stay tuned for our last day!!

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3/1/2024 8:19AM

Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the last day that our Young Leaders will be together.

Today, we will be traveling home. But before we do, we will be stopping at Flight 93 in Stoystown PA.

Send prayers for safe travels and another day making memories.

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3/1/2024 3:02PM

Our Young Leaders have made their last stop….. Flight 93.

“A common field one day, a field of honor forever”

Next stop- Columbus. See you soon!

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3/1/2024 7:31PM

Well- our 2024 Americanism and Government Trip has come to an end and our Young Leaders have been returned to their parents!

I think I can speak for all the chaperones when I say….. Remington, Seth, Makayla, Nora, Addison, Lilly, Hannah, Campbell, Josalin, Olivia, Cartier, Ava, Andrew, Justin, Ryan, Evan, Jasten and Jaden; you are all outstanding young men and women. The future will be bright with you all leading the way. It’s not often that a group of strangers become family in a few days, lean on each other in the future.

“If there is richness and righteousness in us, then we can make a difference in the lives of others, just as key individuals have influenced the lives of each of us for good and made us richer than we otherwise would have been.”

– Spencer W. Kimball

We hope we have made a difference in your lives, because you have certainly made a difference in ours!

-Christie and the Chaperone Gang ☺️

Although created by the Ohio American Legion, the Americanism and Government Test program is a joint venture and partnership with the Ohio American Legion Auxiliary, which is a cosponsor of the program.

The Americanism and Government Test program is open to students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Students in grade 9 may take the test for practice only.

The Americanism and Government Test is a fifty (50) question test comprised of True/False, multiple choice, and fill-in the blank.

A three hundred (300) word essay is also part of the Americanism and Government Test and every student taking the test writes on the same essay topic.

The essay is utilized in the various judging levels of this program as a Tie-breaker.

The essay topic is selected/written each year by members of the Department Americanism Committee and Department Americanism Director.

A feature of the Americanism and Government Test is that the students themselves do not advance in the competition, the student’s test paper does.

The Americanism and Government test is NOT designed to have one student compete against another. It is designed to test an individual student’s knowledge of the following:

The United States Flag
 The Declaration of Independence
 The United States Constitution
 State government in Ohio
 County government in Ohio

City government in Ohio
 Township government in Ohio
 Village government in Ohio
 School District government in Ohio

The 50 questions of the Americanism and Government Test are written in such a manner to be current and topical to events, studies, and information being presented in Ohio high schools and events happening in the state of Ohio and the nation.

On average, over 65,000 students participate in the Test program annually.

Through a number of judging levels in the state of Ohio to select Post, County, and District winners, the initial field of 65,000 students is narrowed to 84 district winners, whose winning test papers are submitted to a State Judging Committee for this program.
From the field of 84 District winners, the State Judging Committee typically selects 18 winners in the following categories:

• Grade 12 (Seniors): Six (6) State winners/three (3) men and three (3) women
• Grade 11 (Juniors): Six (6) State winners/three (3) men and three (3) women
• Grade 10 (Sophomores): Six (6) State winners/three (3) men and three (3) women

The State Award from the Ohio American Legion for the 18 State winners is a five (5) day, all expenses paid trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. under the direction of the Department Americanism Director, accompanied by representatives of the Ohio American Legion and Ohio American Legion Auxiliary.

A highlight of the trip is a Wreath Laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Ohio American Legion and Ohio American Legion Auxiliary have had the honor of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns every year since 1936.

An objective of the Ohio American Legion through the Americanism and Government test program is that if by taking the test a young person is inspired to learn more about government, the United States, and to appreciate the freedoms enjoyed by the nation’s citizens, the effort put forth by the Ohio American Legion and the Ohio American Legion Auxiliary is worth the expense.

The Americanism and Government Test and Trip program is unique to the national America Legion organization as only two other states, Indiana and Wisconsin, have versions of the program, which both adopted/adapted from the Ohio American Legion, but neither program is the size or scope of the Ohio program.

Through the Buckeye Boys State objectives of “learning by doing” young men attending the Buckeye Boys State program will learn more about city, county, and state government in eight days than they would in an entire semester of high school.

Conducted annually in mid-June, the American Legion Buckeye Boys State program is conducted on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and is open to young men who have completed their junior year of high school prior to the start of Boys State and will be Seniors in the fall.

The American Legion Buckeye Boys State program is the largest Boys State program in the nation with an annual attendence of over 1,200 of the top high school juniors in the state of Ohio representing 600+ high schools in the state and the home schooled community.

The American Legion Buckeye Boys State program is regarded within the national American Legion organization, and in education circles, as the #1 Boys State program in the entire nation.

The Sons of The American Legion, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the agencies/departments of Ohio government are partners in the American Legion Buckeye Boys State program.

For a complete overview of the American Legion Buckeye Boys State program and detailed information on every aspect of Buckeye Boys State, click on the link provided: www.ohiobuckeyeboysstate.com

The Ohio American Legion Auxiliary conducts a similar program for young ladies called the American Legion Buckeye Girls State and is conducted at Mount Union University in Alliance, Ohio. www.buckeyegirlsstate.org

Educator of the Year Award:

In 1994, the Ohio American Legion created the Department “Educator of the Year” award to recognize the efforts of outstanding teachers and administrators in the State of Ohio for their role in helping to shape and direct the lives of the future of our state; the students in our Ohio schools.

The educator we honored at the 2024 Mid-Winter Conference Banquet was Stuart Grunder, who is an educator at Minerva High School.

Mr. Grunder has a very impressive list of accomplishments that we all should strive for within our educational system. He has been teaching for over 34 years and currently teaches 10^th grade history and social studies.

Stuart has participated in the American Legion Americanism and Government test since 1993, and was a local winner himself in 1984.

What makes Stuart Grunder and exceptional teacher? His love for children and his love for teaching. In a high school with an enrollment of 500 students, Stuart would have nearly 200 as members of Key Club, one of the largest in the State of Ohio. His dedication to his students is evident in his student’s success in the American Legion A&G Program. His sophomore history students routinely score higher than upper-class History, AP History, and Government classes. He chaired a cross-curricular program on World War II where he had students interviewing 40 WWII veterans, resulting in an hour-long program airing on local cable and oral histories being donated to the local historical society.

The American Legion Department of Ohio and the Posts of Ohio provide schools, institutions, civic, and youth groups with information and flags for ceremonial, educational, and display purposes.

The Posts of Ohio conduct many presentations throughout the state on the proper folding, care, and display of the United States Flag.

The Posts of Ohio also conduct proper flag retirement ceremonies for United States flags that are no longer flyable and conduct graveside flag ceremonies for the funerals of deceased veterans.

A number of assets regarding United States flag education and United States flag etiquette are available upon request by contacting the Americanism Director.

20 young men are selected at Buckeye Boys State, 20 young women at Buckeye Girls State, and 10 sons and daughters of Highway Patrol officers attend a mini-course in Law-Enforcement, taught by Patrol officers, which culminates in a Graduation Ceremony attended by Patrol, Legion, and Auxiliary officials.