History & Accomplishments

History

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veteran’s organization in the wake of World War I. There are 55 departments, one for each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines. As of 2014 the American Legion has approximately 2.4 million members in close to 14,900 posts. At the Minneapolis Caucus of 1919, it was determined that the organization would be headquartered centrally in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Department of Iowa was formed on 22 September of 1919 at the Fort Des Moines Hotel and is headquartered in Des Monies, Iowa. As of 2015 the Department of Iowa has approximately 42,711 members.

In 1920, the Julius L. Shryer Post 430 of the American Legion was organized with Dr. T.D. Jacobs as Commander. It was named in honor of Medical Officer Lt. Julius L. Shryer, who died in 1918 while serving in France.  In preparing for the 100th Anniversary it was discovered that all records referring to Commander Jacobs was wrong. His first initial is T as in Thomas. His grave site was found to be in Grand Mound, Iowa where he rest with his wife Hattie, a founding member of the Auxiliary in Durant.

Originally, Post 430’s meeting site was the Henry Thiessen home and tavern. The Farmers and Merchant’s Bank built the present building in 1902 and operated it until 1936, the Durant Post office moved into the building and remained there until Post 430 purchased the building in 1946 and completely remodeled it to suit their needs. Starting in the spring of 2020 the old bank building was razed and start of the construction began on adding to the east half of the property. In May of 2021 construction was completed and the new post was unveiled to the public.

The past year marked another successful year for Post 430. Continuing on the past tradition of starting the year off right, at the Department Convention 83% of membership dues were turned in early allowing the post to focus on our programs, community, veterans, and just having fun. The major hiccup of the year has been COVID-19 virus and how it wiped out most of the year for anything productive, other than keeping the post membership healthy.

Post 430 has played an active role at all levels of the American Legion organization. Several of our members are past District Commander and held many offices therein. At the Department level, we have had one Department Commandar, two Vice Commanders, one Department Historian and many members have served on several committees that make our department go. The National level has known of Post 430 as well with members serving on the NEC and the Children and Youth Committee.

The Membership Committee and everyone involved in collecting dues deserves a tip of the hat in garnering yet another All-Time High award and continuing the State of Iowa’s longest streak of 45 years of continuous growth. This speaks volumes foe all 264 of the members and to their commitment and dedication to Post 430.

The community of Durant was first recorded as a town on 27 June 1855 and the Durant School District  became a reality on 30 June 1856. The town was not incorporated until 5 July 1867. The first settlers were New Haven, Connecticut but by the time the railroad was completed they were coming in from other New England states including New York and Pennsylvania. The city of Durant is a small town that hasn’t lost its rural nature, good morals, strong values, patriotism or good citizenry. When it is time to serve God and country these are the kind of men and women who don’t hesitate to answer the call. The American Legion provided camaraderie after the wars for these men and women eager to continue to serve; this time it’s in their own communities.

American Legion Yearbooks

Accomplishments

  • Nationally
    • Former Iowa NEC Alternate: Ken Rochholz
    • National Americanism Council: Scott Wolf
    • National Champion Post Yearbook: 2010-11, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2021-22
  • Department
    • Past Department Commander: Ken Rochholz
    • Past Department Vice Commander:
    • Past Department Historian: Scott Wolf
    • Color Guard Champions: 1998, 2005, 2007, 2012-2022
    • 46 years of continuous post growth