American Legion welcomes national commander

Published 8:00 am Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Wayne McCaw, Seaside; Benny Olson, Seaside; Larry Horne, Canby; Christopher Carlton, Sons of the American Legion National Commander; Ward Allen, Milwaukie; Robert Liebenow, Hillsboro; Lou Neubecker, Seaside; Marc Chaney, Milwaukie; Austin Olsen, Seaside; Preston Devereaux, Gearhart; Ben Olson, Seaside; and Kevin James, Seaside.

Christopher Carlton, the Sons of the American Legion National Commander, paid a visit to Seaside American Legion Post 99 on March 10.

Carlton was named the national commander last August and will serve a one-year term. During that time, he responds to visitation requests from American Legion posts throughout the country.

“Every time I walk into one of these Legion posts, I know that everybody in there is working for the same goals: our veterans and their families, patriotism and Americanism — all those things that the American Legion stands for,” Carlton said. “There is that commonality.”

A welder by profession, he is a member of Leo F. Welch Jr. Squadron #495 in Indianapolis, Indiana. His eligibility in Sons of the American Legion is through his grandfather, a U.S. Army veteran who served during World War II, and his father, Mirron A. Carlton, a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War era.

In his visits to Legion posts, Carlton hopes to raise awareness of the Legion’s Children’s Program and their “Be the One” campaign, designed to address mental illness among veterans.

“Be the One is about mental health awareness for our veterans and veteran suicide,” Carlton said. “If we can reach and touch one veteran’s life and save that, then we’ve done our job.”

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