To the editor:

The American Legion turns 100 years old this March.

Westport American Legion Post #145 will be celebrating their Centennial in July.

On March 15, 1919, a group of American Officers' Club members met in Paris, France. Two days later, March 17, 1919, 463 veterans registered for a caucus at Cirque de Paris. Records show that over 1,000 are believed to have actually attended. The first four committees of the American Legion were Convention, Permanent Organization, Constitution, and Name.

Westport’s American Legion, James Morris Post #145, was formed with 15 veterans of World War 1, on July 31, 1919. Post 145 and the Town of Westport plan to celebrate, salute, and honor all Westport veterans who served our country in a special Centennial Salute to Westport Veterans Banquet on July 27, 2019 at Whites Restaurant.

Purple Heart recipient, Francisco Urena, will be in Westport that day, along with other Government Officials for the celebration. He is a former Marine who now serves as the Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

As all American and local residents prepare for these celebrations, it might help to reflect on this attached poem which, for many veterans, helps describes their experience. The poem is called, "Just a Common Soldier--A Soldier Died Today."

Antone C. Vieira Jr.

United States Army 1968-1971

Just a Common Soldier (A Soldier Died Today) by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and punchy and his hair was failing fast,

And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies, they were heroes, every one.

And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,

All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we’ll hear his tales no longer for he has now passed away.

And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were so great.

Papers tell their whole stories, from the time that they were young,

But the passing of a soldier many times goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land

A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his Country and offer up his life?

A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives

Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal and perhaps a pension small.

It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,

That the old veterans of our Country went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us the freedom that our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend

His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his rank maybe growing thin,

But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part

Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,

Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

Our Country is in Mourning, for a soldier died today.

( A. Lawrence Vaincourt was a Canadian writer and he published this poem in 1987)