AMERICAN LEGION COMMANDER TO SPEAK

JACKSON -- The national commander of the American Legion will visit Jackson American Legion Post 158 Thursday night. It is the fourth time the national commander has visited in 10 years.

Milton Nitsch, volunteer service coordinator for the post, said strong connections to the national American Legion organization helped get Commander Daniel A. Ludwig to Southeast Missouri. The commander's post is a yearlong, full-time job, with much time spent traveling across the United States and lobbying for veterans' rights.

"Our post is the largest in the 14th District of The American Legion," Nitsch said. "Because of that, we were asked if we'd like the commander to come down."

He predicted Ludwig would speak about Legion membership and perhaps Medicare and Medal of Honor recipients.

Bill Poe, service officer, joked that the reason for the important visit was The American Legion Auxiliary's famous food, which the public may eat prior to Ludwig's speech. Tickets are $4 each, available in advance from the Legionnaires or at the Legion Hall Clubroom, and the banquet begins at 6:30 p.m.

The last time a national commander visited Jackson was four years ago.

Poe said The American Legion was an important organization because it keeps track of legislation affecting veterans. It also raises the consciousness of Americans toward the veterans in their midst.

"My mother told me that when World War I ended, people rang bells and everyone celebrated," Poe, a World War II veteran, said. "Now people don't seem to care as much."

Anyone with even one day of military service during wartime qualifies for membership in the Legion. That includes people in the military right now, because Congress hasn't declared the Gulf War period over.

Ludwig is a veteran of the Navy Submarine Service, serving eight years during the Vietnam War. The 49-year-old Minnesota native was elected commander on Sept. 6.

He is a member of Post 54 in Red Wing, Minn., and was the first president of the Minnesota American Legion Brain Science Foundation. He helped raise $1.1 million to endow a brain science professorship at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.

He was chairman of the American Legion Foreign Relations Committee in 1992-1993. At the time of his election, he was a member of the Policy Coordination and Action Group and the Citizens Flag Alliance.

Ludwig is a radiation protection specialist for Northern States Power Co. at the Prairie Island Nuclear Plant in Red Wing.

He will begin his visit to the area Thursday with a luncheon at the Veterans Home.