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:

3/3/2025 6:24am

Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

We have departed for our 2025 Americanism and Government Trip to Gettysburg and Washington DC.

Chaperones this year are Department 1st Vice Commander Stan Oren and his wife Ruth, Department 1st Vice President Renee Kohl, District 14 1st Vice Commander John Life, Department Service Officer and VA&R Coordinator William Genochio, and Department Americanism and Children & Youth Coordinator Christie White.

Wish us luck on our trip, and stay tuned for all our adventures!!!!

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3/3/2025 9:47pm

Day 1 is a wrap!

Our Young Leaders visited Gettysburg, and then had dinner at Dobbin House.

We are all tucked in and getting rested up.

Want to know what we are doing tomorrow??? Stay tuned for Day 2’s adventures to find out!

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3/4/2025 8:52am

Good Morning Legionnaires, ladies and gentlemen!!!

Our Young Leaders are heading out for Day 2 of our adventures!

First stop- the U.S. Capitol!

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3/4/2025 11:25pm

Day 2 is a wrap!!!!! Man o man are we WHOOPED!!!!

The day started at the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Then we ran over to the Longworth Building to meet with interns from Emilia Sykes office to give us a tour of the US Capitol. We presented Gerard from the Representative’s office a Certificate of Appreciation for his help in securing us a tour, as well as a very VERY special visit (but that’s a surprise for tomorrow). While at the Capitol, we met with Representative Max Miller, and he allowed our Young Leaders to have a Q&A session with him. He was also presented with a Certificate of Appreciation.

Since the President was giving his State of the Union Address at the Capitol today, our schedule changed a little bit due to higher security around the Capitol with his presence. So we visited the MLK Memorial and FDR Memorial before heading off to the National Cathedral.

After the National Cathedral, we headed to the National Archives. Before dinner, we made sure to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and made a quick stop at Iwo Jima to see it all lit up at night.

We finished with dinner at the Silver Diner.

Our very tired Young Leaders are safely tucked into bed and anxious for tomorrow’s adventures! Make sure to stay tuned for tomorrow….. YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THE OPPORTUNITIES OUR YOUNG LEADERS WILL EXPERIENCE!!!!!

Our “teachers” today were Julia, Edward, Noah, Griffin, and Taylor.

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3/5/2025 6:23am

Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

Day 3 is an early one. We have places to go and people to see!

We have TWO VERY SPECIAL locations to visit this morning!!!

Any guesses?!

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3/5/2025 8:48am

Did anyone guess The White House????

Bright and early, our Young Leaders were given the opportunity for a tour!!!

Next step, Arlington National Cemetery! We go live for our Wreath Laying at 12:15pm!

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3/5/2025 11:27am

Our Wreath Security today is Iris Weisstein- District 1- Post 28 and Griffin Combs- District 1- Post 297.

45 minutes until our wreath laying!!!!

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3/5/2025 12:17pm

The 2025 American Legion, A&G Wreath Laying! You Young Leaders laying the wreath are Suzanna Whipkey- District 11- Post 389 and Nathaniel Combs- District 8- Post 161.

They are accompanied by Department 1st Vice Commander Stan Oren and Department 1st Vice President Renee Kohl. 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙

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3/5/2025 10:59pm

Day 3 is a wrap!!!!! Today was epic!!!!

We started out at THE WHITE HOUSE! After we left there, we stopped at the Air Force Memorial before going to Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington was an unexpected experience. Our Young Leaders made The American Legion proud with how respectful and professional they acted. During the Wreath Laying (if you watched our Live), you will hear in the background a battery cannon salute as well as a fly over. There was a funeral for Lt. General Norman Smith, USMC. The Arlington staff said it is a once in a lifetime experience because only high ranking officers receive that honor, and there hasn’t been one at Arlington for years. After the Wreath Laying, we were invited by a Tomb Guard to go under the Tomb and visit the Guards Quarters!!!! The Tomb Guard that invited us was SSG Damion Frombach, which was the same Guard that helped our Young Leaders place The American Legion Wreath… which added a personal touch to being invited and having a Q&A session with him. We were also surprised by a visit from American Legion Executive Director James Baca.

We we says it rained…. It RAINED! But our Young Leaders did not complain once!

We stopped at the Pentagon City Mall for lunch and to dry out.

After lunch, we explored the Law Enforcement Museum and Memorial.

We made quick stops at the Navy Memorial, Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial before heading off for dinner at American Legion Post 177 in Fairfax. They provided our Young Leaders with a home cooked meal, and honored our POW/MIA’s with a Ceremony.

We were also surprised at Post 177 by a few American Legion Buckeye Boys State Counselors- Brian Le, Weston Lindner, Rich Ching, Dan Regan and Daniel Gaffney. Once you are part of the Legion Family, you will be surprised how much support and and networking is out there for you.

Today’s “teachers” were Caleb, Ronald, Justin, Tyler, Sam and Iris.

Make sure to stay tuned tomorrow…. We only have a few days of adventure left!

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3/6/2025 7:33am

Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

It is Day 4 and we are out and about. Let’s see what adventures we get into today!

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3/6/2025 10:22pm

Day 4 is complete. Today was our last day in Washington DC.

Bright and early this morning, we visited the Pentagon Memorial before heading off to the Marine Corps Museum and had lunch at the Devil Dog Diner.

After lunch, we went to see George Washington’s house and resting place at Mt. Vernon followed up by a trip to the U.S. Army Museum, before heading back into Washington DC. We made sure to stop by the U.S. Flagpole, 3 Service Members Statue, Vietnam Wall, Vietnam Women’s Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, and Eisenhower Memorial.

We had Dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe, and even sang a little karaoke! We wrapped up the night with a quick visit to the Kennedy Center.

Today’s “teachers” were Alison, Nathaniel, Abigail, Riley, Kateri, Suzanna, and Bryleigh.

Tomorrow, we will be heading home. It will be our last day of adventure. Stay tuned.

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3/7/2025 8:32am

For the final time…… Good Morning Legionnaires, Ladies and Gentlemen!

We are on the road and heading home! We are all excited to be home, but sad that our adventures have come to an end. We have one final stop at Flight 93.

Wish us luck for safe travels!

(We were too focused on spending the last morning together as a group, that we forgot to take a group photo. So enjoy our O-H-I-O with the Washington Monument. We will do better at lunchtime. ) 😬☺️

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3/7/2025 1:35pm

Our final stop on the trip was Flight 93. That is one sobering experience.

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

Time to get our young leaders fed. Next stop, Ohio!!!

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3/7/2025 7:31pm

The 2025 Americanism and Government Trip is a wrap. Our Young Leaders have successfully been returned to their parents.

I cannot begin to explain how impressive these Young Leaders were. They were polite, respectful, caring, enthusiastic, intelligent, funny, and just overall amazing students. Based off of our time with them, we can confidently say the future is in great hands! You made your Post, District, Department, and Family proud!

“The most importing we can do is inspire young minds”

-John Glenn

Griffin, Edward, Sam, Tyler, Taylor, Riley, Julia, Alison, Iris, Abigail, Suzanna, Nathaniel, Bryleigh, Caleb, Kateri, Noah, Ronald and Justin…… I have no doubt you will inspire the younger generations for years to come. I know you have inspired us!

We are so incredibly proud of you!!!!!!

-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 honored at the 2025 Mid-Winter Conference is Eric Higgs, who is an educator at Berkshire Local Schools. Mr. Higgs has a very impressive list of accomplishments that we all should strive for within our educational system. He has been teaching for over 21 years and currently teaches 10^th through 12^th grade American Government.

Eric has participated in the American Legion Americanism and Government test and was a former American Legion Buckeye Boys State Delegate, which later led him to teach history and government.

What makes Eric Higgs an exceptional teacher?

His enthusiasm for teaching is contagious, and his impact on his students is unmistakable. Through his engaging teaching methods and unwavering dedication, he instills a sense of pride and curiosity in his students about their country’s history and government. His ability to connect historical events to modern-day issues enables students to grasp the relevance and significance of American values and principles.

Mr. Higgs’ commitment extends beyond the classroom walls. His willingness to go the extra mile to support and mentor students demonstrates his genuine concern for their growth and development. His approachability, combined with his depth of knowledge and sincere care for his students, creates a supportive learning environment that nurtures their intellectual curiosity and personal growth.

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.