AMERICAN LEGION NEWS SERVICE National Headquarters Washington Office P. O. Box 1055, Indianapolis 6, Ind. 1608 K St., N. W., Washington, D. C. Phone MEIrose 5-841 I Phone EXecutive 3-4814 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-9-59 LEGION NEWS IN A NUT SHELL The American Legion in its annual "For God and Country" TV program (NBC, 2:00- 2:30 p.m. EST, Feb. l) will present "The Final Phase," the modern tragedy nf a 20th century "man without a country." Coverage of American Legionnaires under the nine-month-old Legion life insur- ance plan had reached $80 million by the end of 1958• With the seating of new public officials at the beginning of 1959, The American Legion reported that there are now 31 Legionnaire-governors and 6l Legionnaire-U. S. Senators. National Commander Preston J. Moore of The American Legion will address a nation-wide radio audience (ABC, 3:00-3:30 p.m., EST, Feb. 12) during the annual pil- grimage to the Tomb of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, 111. Joseph F. Morrell, 52, department commander of the Rhode Island American Legion, died suddenly on Jan. 3* There are an estimated 30,000 veterans in the new 49th state - Alaska. LATE BULLETINS: South Dakota was the second American Legion department to pass its 1959 nem- bership goal. With a nationally-assigned goal of 21,919, Department Commander Harold M. Hayes reported 23,033 paid-up members for 1959 as of Dec. 31, 1958. North Dakota was first in reaching its 1959 goal. At the request of a number of departments, the deadline date for enrollment in the 13th term of The American Legion Extension Institute (correspondence course in the operation, organization and history of the Legion) was changed from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1, 1959. A check f«r $30 will bring to any American Legion Department or Post its own permanent copy of the new 28-minute, l6-mm., sound motion picture "We Who Serve," telling the story of what the Legion is and does in dramatic form. AMERICAN LEGION NEWS SERVICE * National Headquarters Washington Office P. O. Box 1055, Indianapolis 6, Ind. 1608 K St., N. W.. Washington, D. C. Phone MEIrose 5-841 I Phone EXecutive 3-4814 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-9-59 NEW YCBK CITY (ALNS) The American Legion, in its annual "For God and Country" television program on Sunday, Feb. 1 (NBC, 2:00-2:30 p.m., EST), will present "The Final Phase," the story of an American who forsakes his country and surrenders himself to the indoctrination program of an alien "people's government." It is the modern tragedy of the man without a country. As he struggles to discipline himself to the philosophy of an alien system, he is forced by his pain and loneliness to come face-to-face with a new meaning for the purpose of life. In so doing he discovers a deeper truth and significance to the American way. Presented in collaboration with the National Broadcasting Company, the script is the work of noted writer Bruce Bassett. The show will be personally directed and produced by Bassett. The television program will be seen at 2:00-2:30 p.m. EST and will be heard later in the day (Sunday) over CBS, ABC, NBC and Mutual Radio Net- works. Local papers will carry listings of various time schedules. Ameri- can Legionnaires can encourage acceptance of this outstanding program by contacting their local stations. AMERICAN LEGION NEWS SERVICE National Headquarters Washington Office P. O. Box 1055, Indianapolis 6, Ind. 1608 K St., N. W., Washington, D. C. Phone MEIrose 5-841 I Phone EXecutive 3-4814 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-9-59 INDIANAPOLIS (ALNS) A year-end report by the Insurance Department at The American Legion National Headquarters here showed 35>59^ Legionnaires covered by the life insurance plan inaugurated in 1958« The plan, which cleared final legal technicalities and went into operation last April 1, included total coverage of approximately $80 million on Dec. 31 - just nine months later. During the initial nine-month period, 56 death claims were paid. The closing weeks of December brought to the Legion's Insurance Department a flood of renewal notices from Legionnaires signing up to continue their insurance in effect before the Dec.31 deadline. In California, Department Commander John J. Flynn has named a special Depart- ment Insurance Committee to capitalize on the membership potential in the low-cost insurance plan. The department was divided into six areas, with an area insurance chairman assigned to each. The Kansas Department of The American Legion has announced that it is pro- viding Legion insurance for its Ik state headquarters employees. JUNEAU, Alaska (ALNS)— Official admission of Alaska as the M?th of the United States found The American Legion National Headquarters taking a new look at its far north department. With an estimated veteran population of 30,000, the new state offers great opportunities for both growth in Legion membership and a wide variety of post com- munity services, according to National Adjutant E. A. Blackmore. Blackmore based his assertion on a recently completed 28-day tour of the vast state by Corwin Johnson, national field representative of The American Legion. MORE Alaska, cont'd - page 2 Larger than the combined area Of Texas, California and Montana, Alaska has only 1,097 niles of hard srufaced highways and about 3,000 miles of unpaved roads. As a result, Johnson did most of his Alaska traveling by air. A seven-passenger amphibian is in common usuage for passenger transportation and Johnson reported that the reputation of Alaska pilots for being able to fly practically anything, including a barn door if necessary, was well deserved. The new state's estimated population at the end of 1958 was 210,000, which takes in 3^,000 Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts, as well as lj-5,000 members of the Armed Forces and their families. Veterans' Affairs are administered through a regional VA office in Juneau. VA contact representatives are located in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Ketchikan. Because of the tremendous distances and the sparsely settled population, American Legion post service officers are often the only contact between the indi* vidual veteran and the benefits and services provided through the VA, Johnson said. There is no VA hospital in Alaska, and hospitalization for disabled veterans is provided through local government and private hospitals on a contract basis. Some disabled veterans are also cared for in hospitals of the military services. Johnson's intinerary included 22 of Alaska's 23 American Legion Posts. He found most of the posts carrying on vigorous community service programs designed to meet the special needs of the area. In Ninilchik, for example, the Legion Post home is used as a movie theater once a week. The post at Homer has developed a cemetery as a perpetually-maintained community service project. Various youth activities also rated high in many Alaska posts, with the Auke Bay Post setting an outstanding record in this field. AMERICAN LEGION NEWS SERVICE National Headquarters Washington Office P. O. Box 1055, Indianapolis 6, Ind. 1608 K St., N. W.. Washington. D. C. ALNS Phone MEIrose 5-841 I Phone EXecutive 3-4814 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-9-59 WASHINGTON (ALNS)---The reshuffling of political parties in power and the appearance of new faces in governors' mansions at the start of 1959 has had little effect on the total number of Legionnaires holding high government offices. A survey of state governors completed by the National Legislative Division of The American Legion found 31 who are Legionnaires. A similar survey in January 1958 also tabulated 31 Legionnaire governors. The new U. S. Senate has 6l members of The American Legion, compared with 62 a year ago. Among the governors, 32 were found to be veterans. In the Senate there are 62 veterans - 3U with World War I service and 28 from World War II. Four senators served in both Wars I and II - Carroll of Col., Keating of N. Y-, Young of Ohio, and Scott of Penn. TRENTON, N. J. (ALNS) —-More than 600 New Jersey high school students at- tended the mid-winter session of the Jersey Boys and Girls States, sponsored by The American Legion and its Auxiliary at the War Memorial Building here on Dec. 29. All of them had attended summer sessions of Boys State at Rutgers University or of Girls State at Douglass College for Women last June. During the winter reunion the high school youngsters toured the New Jersey State House and temporarily occupied the counterparts of state offices to which they had been elected during Boys and Girls States last summer. They heard addresses by Gov. Robert B. Meyner and other state officials. The New Jersey Department of The American Legion and Auxiliary is the only department to hold a mid-winter session of Boys and Girls States as a follow-up to the regular summer program. AMERICAN LEGION NEWS SERVICE National Headquarters Washington Office P. O. Box 1055, Indianapolis 6, Ind. 1608 K St., N. W., Washington. D. C. ALNS Phone MEIrose 5-841 I Phone EXecutive 3-4814 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-9-59 WATERVILLE, Me. (ALNS)---As Edmund S. Muskie left the governorship of Maine to become U. S. senator, his gubernatorial duties were taken over by a fellow member of Muskie's American Legion Post - Clinton A. Clauson, former Waterville mayor. Both are members of Bourque-Lanigan Post 5 of The American Legion at Waterville. Prior to his departure for Washington, Senator-elect Muskie and Governor-elect Clauson were feted at a testimonial dinner at the post hone.