Art Wiese speaks: How American Legion Post 20 came to be

"American Legion: Since 1919, the year after World War I ended, the National Press Club has been home to American Legion Post 20, a veterans' organization with a rather illustrious pedigree. It originally had nicknames like "the Pershing Post" and the "Black Jack Post" in honor of a distinguished Club member, General John J. Pershing, who had commanded Allied forces in Europe in the Great War. The National Press Club -- where news (some of it patriotic) is made in the nation's capital."

This snippet is one of many put together by the late Art Wiese, who served as Club president in 1979. He was responsible for planning much of the reconstruction of the Club during its renovation in the early 1980s. In his later years, he put together a series of snippets on the Club's history. In honor of his passing last year, the Wire is running one of them each week while they last.