SONS OF AMERICAN LEGION ACTIVITIES
DETACHMENT OF ILLINOIS NEWSLETTER
March 10, 2026
Please see the Illinois Detachment website for updated activities information. salillinois.org/ Below is statewide S.A.L. information.
As we become aware of local activities that would interest the Elmhurst Squadron, we will post them when available.
What happened to the good old days when you could take a man at his word? When if he said he would do something, that was all you needed to know it would get done. There was a time when a handshake meant more than a signature, and a promise carried more weight because your name and your honor stood behind it. A man didn’t need reminders, contracts, or follow-ups, he had his reputation, and that was enough. Organizations like ours were built on that principle, service, duty, and commitment. Not because someone was forced to help, but because they gave their word that they would.
When we accept a position and call ourselves members of the Sons of the American Legion, we are doing more than attending meetings, we are accepting responsibility to serve veterans, our communities, and each other. The mission of the Sons of the American Legion is to assist The American Legion in the programs and activities for the welfare of America’s veterans, their families and their communities. That mission only works when our word means something, because service cannot exist without reliability, and commitment cannot exist without follow through.
If we say we will attend, we attend. If we say we will help, we help. If we accept a duty, we carry it out. Because people are counting on us, our squadrons, our districts, and the veterans whose legacy we represent. Certification, reports, membership, communication, these are not paperwork requirements. They are proof that our word still means something. The American Legion family was built by men and women who kept their word under circumstances far harder than anything we face today. They didn’t serve when convenient. They served because they gave their word.
So the question is simple, are we just members in name, or are we members in action ?
Respectfully
Shawn Morecraft
4th Division Sr Vice Commander
