JOHN DAY — American Legion National Commander Daniel Seehafer has been on the road almost continuously since his election to the post at the end of August 2022.

His travels brought him to Grant County on Monday, Sept. 25, where he first visited American Legion Post 106 in Prairie City before stopping off at Post 77 in John Day for lunch.

As the national commander, Seehafer said, he makes it a point to try and visit as many of the more than 12,000 American Legion posts both stateside and around the world as he can.

“I try to make a scheduled visit to every single one,” he said.

Visiting Post 106 was important for Seehafer as posts like the one in Prairie City represent the essence of the Legion.

“Really, that is the American Legion — these smaller posts, not the megaposts,” he said.

“There are some in the big cities and the tourist places in Florida and that where you have 5,000 members, and they’re by the ocean and all these things — really, the American Legion is just like Prairie City, where they plug into the community, are a pillar in the community, are well respected.”

Right now, the American Legion’s main initiative is preventing veteran suicide with the organization’s “Be the One” campaign. Seehafer described the idea behind the slogan as “be the one to save one.”

Seehafer also wants people to know what the American Legion is and isn’t.

“Some people would say, ‘It’s not just a social club.’ We’re not that,” he said.

“We are the largest veterans’ organization in the world to change lives and save lives. That’s what we are.”

One of the American Legion’s most notable achievements is the creation of and advocacy for the Montgomery G.I. Bill.

“If you do the history, not everybody was on the same page,” Seehafer said. “We championed it while other people were saying it’s going to bankrupt our nation — in fact, in a good way, it just exploded our nation.”

Seehafer invites anybody who is unsure about the American Legion to pay their local post a visit. He said the organization has learned over the years that veterans have to advocate for themselves because nobody else is going to do it for them — and the more members the group has, the more effective that advocacy can be.

“If we would have more people say, ‘OK, let’s do this’ (join the Legion) and that number starts to increase, if we have something, an issue, Congress would do it immediately,” he said.

“It’s a sad thing but it is true — numbers matter,” he added.

While numbers do matter, Seehafer was quick to say that he doesn’t wasn’t to leave anybody with the impression that they are just a number to the Legion.

“I certainly don’t want people thinking that they just want me as a number — no, be a part of the family because we can do great things,” he said.

Individuals seeking more information about the American Legion can visit www.legion.org.