NPC in History: American Legion Post 20 and Gen. Pershing

The most celebrated American commander of World War I was an associate member of the National Press Club. And the influence of Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing lives on at the Club to this day.

Pershing led the American Expeditionary Forces during the war. When it was over, he wanted the public to understand issues important to veterans. So he helped found a veterans’ organization, the American Legion, to promote American values and to advocate for veterans’ needs.

In March 1919, Pershing encouraged Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and three other officers of the American Expeditionary Forces to gather comrades in Paris. The group discussed ways of improving morale among troops still stationed in Europe after the end of World War I.

Participants at the Paris Caucus considered several possible names for their new veterans’ organization. They eventually chose “The American Legion.”

Pershing’s remarks about the new Legion appeared on the cover of the first issue of The American Legion Magazine: “The Legion is destined to be of tremendous value in fostering the ideals and purposes for which we fought, and in spreading among our people the lessons learned in the war period.”

Who better to spread those lessons than veterans who had gone on to become members of the working press? The general urged the creation of a Legion post embedded within the National Press Club.

American Legion Post 20 still meets at the Club, and this November it celebrates its centennial. During that century, Post 20’s membership rolls have listed important figures in journalism and Club history. The post’s past commanders include McClendon News Service founder Sarah McClendon and former Club President John Cosgrove.

A reception on Nov. 19 will mark Post 20’s hundredth year and the lasting legacy of Pershing’s Club affiliation.

As an officer who understood the importance of communication, Pershing was something of a newspaperman himself. By Pershing’s order, the military began publishing The Stars and Stripes newspaper, resurrecting the name used by a military publication during the Civil War. The newspaper ran from Feb. 8, 1918, to June 13, 1919. The name lives on in the current Stars and Stripes newspaper, published by the Defense Department but editorially independent.

Pershing went on to become the Army’s Chief of Staff. During that time he created the Pershing Map, a proposed network of military and civilian highways that looks a lot like today’s interstate highway system. In retirement, he penned his memoir, "My Experiences in the World War," which received the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for history.

Figuratively speaking, Pershing remains close to the Club. His statue at Pershing Park, only a few steps away from the Club, honors the sacrifices of the U.S. troops who served under Pershing along the European Western Front.