American Legion Post 111, Eagle Mountain Utah – Organized

Jimmy Allen, an Eagle Mountain resident, during a quiet ceremony was sworn in as Post Commander and Michael Johnson as Post Adjutant by Alex Aerts Past Commander of Department of Utah American Legion. This swearing-in process created an American Legion Post in Eagle Mountain. Jimmy and Michael are now the first members of the American Legion Post 111 in Eagle Mountain, Utah. They are excited about the newly formed American Legion post and ready to open its membership to other veterans that want to help make a positive impact in Eagle Mountain. Eagle Mountain is now in the company of other cities that have American Legion Posts in the area: Lehi, Pleasant Grove, Orem and Provo. Jimmy is pictured above holding the charter for the newly formed American Legion Post 111. “The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.” –legion.org Jimmy a transplant from Oregon, is no new comer to helping protect the public. He has served in the military as well as served as a police officer. “I’m originally from Hermiston, a town of around 18,000 in the “outback” of Eastern Oregon. I served as a police officer and later Detective with the Hermiston Police Department for a little over 16 years. My wife’s family (her parents and brother) lives in Saratoga Springs. After my parents passed away there wasn’t anything really holding us to the area, and we felt it important for our children to be closer to family instead of the once or twice a year visit. I took a position as a Veterans Service Representative with the US Department of Veterans Affairs at the Salt Lake City Regional Office, and we have lived in Eagle Mountain since May of 2015.” When asked about his background, and how it helps with his new role as Post Commander, he responded:

“I enlisted in the Army in 1989 and served four years as a Stinger Missile Crewman in what was then West Germany and later at Fort Lewis Washington. I went to Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-1991 assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. I was discharged from the Army in 1993, and then enlisted in the Oregon Army National Guard, as a 19D Cavalry Scout with the 116th Cavalry Brigade. After leaving service in 1993, I utilized my GI Bill and went to Boise State University, graduating in 1998. I continued serving with the Army National Guard until I retired in 2010. During my time in the Army National Guard, I was deployed to Iraq in 2004-2005. I served in Kirkuk where my Scout Platoon conducted nighttime IED interdiction patrols, primarily on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit. I think I have a unique perspective through my experiences serving in both the active Army, the Army National Guard, and now with the Veterans Administration, on current issues for our nation’s Veterans.”

Jimmy is also the father of four children, Jonah (14), Simon (11), Colin (10), and Annalynn (7). Colin can be seen sporting the new Eagle Mountain American Legion Post 111 cap below. He met his wife Karen 16 years ago on a blind-date while he was deployed with the Army National Guard in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics. He says, “I won the Gold Medal for Dating.” Post 111 has three main goals, according to Jimmy. They are membership, service, and finding a location for the Post. Jimmy expands on these goals:

As a new American Legion Post, we can define ourselves. Our first priority is Membership, whether it’s someone who just wants to pay their annual dues and be on “the books” to someone who eat and breathes volunteerism. We leave it up to members to choose their level of participation, but every organization needs “boots on the ground” to accomplish their mission. Our second goal is Service, serving our members, serving Veterans, or serving our community, that’s what we are here to do as an organization. As we grow, we hope to promote the traditional American Legion programs in local schools such as our Oratorical Contest, Boy’s State/Girl’s State, but we will also look at doing things that will be unique to our Post as we develop. Our third goal is finding land and Building a physical American Legion Post. This takes money, something we lack along with every other non-profit out there, but this will be one of our initial end-goals as a new organization. This will take some time, maybe a long time, but we need a place for Veterans. Maybe it ends up being a large all-encompassing Veterans Resource Center, maybe it’s a shack made of pallet-wood, in the end we will have a place for Veterans.

The biggest challenge to-date for Jimmy in the creation of Post 111 was the paperwork. “Starting an American Legion Post is not a frequent thing, doing it from scratch is a learning process at all ends of the organization. We are still in the “baby-steps” stage or organization. We need all sorts of things, members, money, land, building, the common growing pains associated with the formation of an organization.” And the job continues, they plan on expanding the Post to include several auxiliaries. “We are in the process of forming the American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion. These are separate organizations for membership within the Post framework which broaden opportunities for spouses, direct descendants, etc.” He did get some help from a couple of individuals and organizations as well, “most of the people who helped were at the Department (State) level of the American Legion. I’ve had encouragement from various city councilmembers as I’ve kept them appraised of our development and progress, but in the end, we are a grass-roots effort from members within the community.” It was Councilmember Clark that told me about Jimmy and the formation of the new post. Councilmember Clark made this comment, “I am so pleased to see a strong resident-driven effort to create Eagle Mountain’s own American Legion. In my hometown the Legion and VFW were a great resource not only to vets and their families, but also the community as a greater whole. They provided a much needed gathering place and community service. I look forward to seeing this organization grow to be big contributor to the overall quality of life in EM. I encourage residents to get involved and local businesses and community partners to support this special effort, it will be a huge asset to our community for generations to come.” As mentioned earlier, goal number one is members, Jimmy says, “we want members, we need members”. If you are interested or know someone who is interested in helping Jimmy and Michael with Post 111, or becoming a member, please contact them. They have several methods setup for you to contact them. You can join the “American Legion Post 111, Eagle Mountain, Utah” Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/244466746197344/ or contact Jimmy directly via email at: jimmyallen@americanlegionpost111.com According to the American Legion website, you are eligible to be a member of the American Legion if the following criteria are meet.

If you have served federal active duty in the United States Armed Forces during any of the war eras listed below, and have been honorably discharged or are still serving — you are eligible for membership in The American Legion!

• WWI- April 6, 1917 – November 11, 1918
• WWII – December 7, 1941 – December 31, 1946
• Korean War – June 25, 1950 – January 31, 1955
• Vietnam War – February 28, 1961 – May 7, 1975
• Lebanon/Grenada – August 24, 1982 – July 31, 1984
• Panama – December 20, 1989 – January 31, 1990
• Gulf War/War on Terrorism – August 2, 1990 – Present

If you would like to find out more about what the American Legion is in general and their goals, you can visit their website at https://www.legion.org.