The Forty-sixth Annual Convention of The American Legion convened at 9:25 a. m. at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas, September 22, 1964, National Commander Daniel F. Foley, presiding.

Preceding the meeting, the National Championship Band of Harwood Post No. 5, Joliet, Illinois, gave a concert.

The colors were advanced by the National Championship Color Guard, Commonwealth Edison Post No. 118, Chicago, Illinois, after which the "Star-Spangled Banner" was sung by a group of the 1963 National Championship Chorus, Sioux Falls Post No. 15, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Commander Foley asked the Rev. John J. Howard (Virginia), national chaplain, to deliver the invocation.

The national adjutant read the "Call" for the convention.

On a motion from the floor, the reading of the minutes of the previous convention was suspended.

NATIONAL COMMANDER FOLEY: Texas, a big state used to doing things in a grand manner, is particularly well suited for the demanding role of host to the nation's largest annual convention.

Legionnaires and members of their families are discovering that the Lone Star State's hospitality and graciousness match her great size. They are sure to be charmed by all they find here. And they will carry away delightful and fond memories of this sojourn in the great Lone Star State her vastness, her natural beauty and the prevailing pioneer spirit upon which Texas and America were built.

As the first convention speaker, it seems more than appropriate to call upon Texas' Number 1 citizen.

The chief executive of a state like Texas has heavy demands made upon his time. But he has found time to do his part to make this convention the success it is sure to be. We are grateful for his cooperation. We are grateful for his coming here today from the capital at Austin.

A Legionnaire with membership in Travis Post No. 76 of Austin, and a combat veteran of World War II, our speaker has deep understanding and appreciation for The American Legion and what it

41-959 0-65- -2

stands for in our country and the free world.

As a volunteer for active duty in the Navy in 1941, months before Pearl Harbor, our speaker left his job on the staff of a fellow Texan and then young congressman-Lyndon B. Johnson. He had a distinguished combat record in the sea battle against the Japanese. He won numerous decorations, including the Legion of Merit. But that was destined eventually to be only a prelude to his position of highest responsibility in the Navy.

He was tapped in 1960 by the late President John F. Kennedy as Secretary of the Navy. His service as secretary saw the substantial implementation of the nuclear submarine and polaris programs as well as the commissioning of the nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise. He left that position after a year to run for the governorship.

So with deep appreciation for the many contributions that he has made for the success of this convention, it is my privilege to present Governor John Connally of Texas.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME

By Honorable John Connally
Governor of Texas

As a Legionnaire, I welcome each of you to our Forty-sixth Annual Convention.

As governor, it is especially my pleasant assignment to welcome you to Texas.

In this capacity, I am sure some of you expect my brief remarks to include a recitation of the glories of Texas. But I would prefer another approach-provided you will stipulate that all of the great things you have heard about Texas are true. This should be easy for those of you who were stationed in Texas at some time during World War I or World War II.

I know you are already convinced-one way or the other.

Those of you who had this good fortune are well aware that this is a land of contrasts. During the last war this aspect of the Lone Star State was the root of what became known as the "Texas jokes"-forerunners, I suppose, to the elephant

jokes.

The one I will always remember is the story about the Navy ship which was on the Murmansk run in the North Atlantic and the Arctic in the dead of winter. The wind was blowing and the snow was falling, and it was thoroughly miserable for a couple of sailors on night watch. One of these boys was a Texan, and as the cold kept getting deeper and more bitter he finally said, "Gosh, I sure am glad I'm not in Amarillo, Texas, on a night like this!"

Truthfully, it is difficult to express the fullness of our pleasure that this American Legion na1

tional convention is being held in Texas and in Dallas. You honor us by your presence. We are proud to have you as our guests, and hope that the friendship and hospitality you receive here will meet your expectations.

We welcome you as an organization which has worked for nearly half a century to keep America strong.

For all of these years, the Legion has made its prestige felt in the councils of our nation-never hesitant in its service to veterans, never wavering in its loyalty fo the United States, never reluctant to take a stand and fight for its goals and aspirations.

In looking over your program, I can see that you are availing yourself of differing viewpoints as represented by your speakers. The viewpoint I offer is simply one of welcome to a state and a part of our nation which is coming to symbolize the drastic and dramatic changes of the age in which we live.

At the risk of encroaching on Mayor Jonsson's time, I want to say something about your host city.

As you well know, Dallas is a city which has been maligned and berated in every conceivable way.

Seldom in our history has a community been abused with such venom by self-appointed critics, and with such utter disregard for the facts.

I am not here to defend Dallas. It is strong enough and vigorous enough to stand on its own feet.

The fact that you are meeting here is evidence enough that you recognize the greatness of Dallas.

So I merely want to remind you-as leaders from throughout our nation-that this city was built by men and women of unusual initiative, energy and self-reliance.

There are no natural advantages to the geographic location of Dallas. It is far from the sea, and the Trinity River is small in comparison with the major waterways of America.

Yet we have seen here in a very few yearsthe development of a metropolis which is the epitome of civic pride, sound prosperity and dedication to progress.

Dallas is a capital of commerce-a capital of insurance a capital of technology-a capital of enterprise and most certainly a capital of opportunity.

We sum it all up when we call this city Big D. This is partly because of its capacity for growth. Between 1950 and 1960, the population of Dallas increased more than 56 per cent. The adjoining city of Irving, in the meantime, increased in population by 1,650 per cent.

The bigness of Dallas is more than population and economic growth. It is the bigness of the spirit that can transform a frontier trading post into one of the great cities of America.

Today, there are actually two states of Texasone superimposed on the other.

The old Texas is represented by the independence, individuality, self-reliance and raw nerve which made possible the westward movement in American history and created a continental nation. It remains the bedrock of our heritage and the source of our ideals.

This image is intermingled with the Texas of 1964 a Texas irrevocably committed to the age

of space and technology and dedicated to an even greater destiny of progress and prosperity.

Nowhere in this communion of the old and the new more evident than in the city of Dallas.

This city has been uniquely blessed with capable and visionary leadership. Its people recognize and appreciate the past, but their eyes and their energies are turned toward the future.

If you have the time to explore Texas during your visit here, I believe you will find this spirit of the old and new nearly everywhere you look.

You will see the Alamo in San Antonio, carefully preserved for posterity in the shadow of skyscrapers.

You will see the old Battleship Texas in permanent berth at Houston, not far from the Manned Space Center and a domed stadium which will be the country's first indoor baseball and football coliseum.

You will see the finest breeds of cattle grazing in pastures within sight of highly-automated petrochemical factories, and cotton fields adjoining oil wells and drilling rigs.

In Fort Worth and Dallas, you will hear of the Trinity River project which will convert these cities to inland ports with navigation to the Gulf of Mexico.

These are a few of the tangibles.

In the realm of the intangible, I believe you will find here a sense of restlessness, a determination to move on to new and greater accomplishments with the same spirit of advantage that brought us here in the first place.

This is the Texas to which I welcomed you this morning. By all odds, this should be the finest national convention in the 46 years of The American Legion. We will do everything possible to help make it so.

NATIONAL COMMANDER FOLEY: Our next speaker to welcome you is an outstanding example of a man who brought to a high government post the background and know-how of a successful career in business and industry.

Starting as a rolling mill apprentice after graduation from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he worked his way up through various management levels with an aluminum manufacturer.

In 1930, he joined the firm now known as Texas Instruments Inc. Our speaker rapidly climbed the executive ladder. He was elected in 1951 president and chief executive officer. He served in that capacity until his election in 1958 as board chairman. He also serves as a director of several major corporations.

Dallas people have the reputation for being unusually civic minded. Our speaker helps to preserve that reputation by civic leadership roles in many enterprises from the symphony orchestra to educational institutions. Dallas City Council elected him the city's mayor only last February 3rd.

It is my pleasure to present to this convention, Mayor Erik Jonsson of Dallas.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME

By The Honorable Erik Jonsson

Mayor of the City of Dallas Commander Foley, Governor Connally, Distinguished Guests and Ladies and Gentlemen of the convention and the Legion: Last spring I was present here to greet a full auditorium of Junior Chamber of Commerce delegates and this was perhaps one of the most important conventions to hit Dallas. These youngsters were full of fire and it was a lot of fun to be with them. However, I had the very unfortunate experience then as now, that I spoke after our good Governor Connally finished and I think that if you want to find yourself in the worst possible situation, then try to come after a man who makes the kind of presentation that our good Governor makes. One of the things that I would say about him because not to say so would be remiss is that he is an attractive man, a man broad in his thinking and so competent that even those who are pretty well persuaded to be Republicans still have a warm affection for him and a good many of us at times seem to cross party lines for him.

Now, the Governor has told you more about Dallas than I should dare to about Texas but then I think that I should tell you that I came here a little over 30 years ago, by choice, and, therefore, as not being a native son, I can tell you that what he said is true.

I should tell you also that we have chosen to be a convention city for a reason-not just commercial-but that we like this kind of thing and we welcome any conventions here and I would like to have you know that people such as the Junior Chamber of Commerce have written me many letters from across the country telling me of the good times that they had and what a fine convention they had and, therefore, I would like to say to you that if there is anything in the world that you are not getting and which you desire, please let us know and we will try our best to see that you have it.

Tonight I think that we shall have the opportunity to pay some small honor to your commander and the Legion at your dinner.

Of course, we do want to present Commander Foley with the key to the city but I shall not at this time present to you my own thinking on this but that of a man who died just within the last year, a former mayor, who said, "If you get into trouble and wind up in jail, please call me and if I cannot get you out of trouble, I will get in there with you." In my case, I would urge that you not get in but, if you should, bring along a deck of cards and some money and then I will join you.

I would also like to add that I saw your fine parade yesterday, that we did our best to get you some fine weather but somehow this did not work. I know that you have had experience in connection with that kind of weather in Miami and so it wasn't too tough for you. At any rate, we are going to try to clear it up before you leave if at all possible.

However, whether or not we do so, I do want all of you to know what you Legionnaires mean to us here in Texas and especially in Dallas. You surely are appreciated here and we want you back whenever we can get you.

Thank you very much.

NATIONAL COMMANDER FOLEY: Thank you, Mayor Jonsson. I will be hap

py to accept the key to the city, and I will do my best to share the symbol of hospitality with all good Legionnaires and their ladies who come here to your fine city.

Department Commander John E. McKelvey has more than carried out the added duties of his office the past year to help assure the success of The American Legion's first National Convention in the City of Dallas, and the second National Legion Convention in the Lone Star State.

Commander McKelvey, an attorney in Electra, Texas, served in the Air Force during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of captain.

For three years he has served as Commander of Legion Post No. 319 in Electra. During the year 1962-1963, he was the Department's judge advocate and during the 1963-1964 Legion year he has capably fulfilled his duties as department commander of the Texas American Legion.

I am pleased to present Department Commander McKelvey who will present an address of welcome to this convention. Department Commander McKelvey.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME

By John E. McKelvey

Past Department Commander of Texas Thank you. Thank you, Commander Foley and my Fellow Legionnaires.

I am not going to attempt to outdo the governor of our great state in oratory, nor the mayor of the city of Dallas because I want to continue to live here after the convention is over, but I do, in behalf of your buddies and the Department of Texas, bid you welcome.

We are here to help you some three hundred thousand strong. Any questions that you might have or road directions or anything that we can possibly tell you or any way in which we can possibly help you, we most certainly want to do it.

May your stay in Dallas be most enjoyable. May you have a safe journey home. Thank you.

NATIONAL COMMANDER FOLEY: Our next distinguished speaker to bring an address of welcome to this convention is Alvin M. Owsley, president of the American Legion National Convention Corporation. Born in this vast grandeur of Texas, he was graduated from the University of Texas in 1912, and entered the law firm of Owsley and Owsley at Denton.

Within a month after America entered World War I, Legionnaire Owsley enrolled as a student private in the first officers' training camp at Leon Springs, Texas. Following the war he attended the Legion's Paris caucus and soon rose to national leadership in the Legion

through his outstanding services in the field of Americanism.

At the Legion's Fourth Annual National Convention at New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1922, he was elected your national commander!

In 1933, Legionnaire Owsley was appointed American Minister to Rumania. He was named American Minister to Ireland in 1935 and sent to Denmark in the same capacity in 1937. It is, indeed, a very high honor to present Past National Commander Alvin M. Owsley, president of the National Convention Corporation of Texas.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME

By Alvin M. Owsley, President
The American Legion 1964 Convention
Corporation of Texas

Hello, everybody. My National Commander, Governor Connally, Mayor Jonsson, Distinguished Guests and you, my Fellow Legionnaires: It is a wonderful feeling to stand on this platform this morning and know that you are really here.

As you know, in order to bring a great national convention to our American cities is a long, long trail and it winds finally in a great convention.

Thank you for coming to my Dallas. We needed you, and you have answered our call.

The people of Dallas will ever be grateful to the national commander and to the American Legion National Convention Commission and to you wonderful men of the Legion who carried deflance to that day of infamy and who stand now as the witnesses of patriotism and America in Dallas today.

So I greet you as my witnesses in the name of America. You are not only, I trust, having a most pleasant stay here among my people, but I hope that by now you have felt the spirit of Dallas and the marching feet and laughing in the sunshine yesterday and through the rain you proved that you, too, enjoy the spirit of this great, patriotic city.

Let me tell you something. There isn't a request that you make of us that we would not be devoted to bring in to a reality.

Are you having a good time in Dallas?

Two old soldiers of World War I were holding conversation at the Adolphus Hotel yesterday. One of them was overheard to say to the other one, "Do you remember, John, when we were training down here in the First World War time?" He said, "Yes, I do."

He said, "Do you remember how we used to chase these Texas girls?" He said, "Yes, I remember, but I don't remember what for."

Well, if the record is correct, about 66 per cent of you are World War II, and I want to tell you I put our Texas girls on notice, of you World War II boys, knowing they are perfectly safe with the other crowd to which I belong.

I want to tell you something. This is my 46th year to claim the privilege of being a Legionnaire.

As a Founder, as a life member of The American Legion, the Director of your National Americanism Commission, the first one, as the fifth national commander of The American Legion elected

at a southern city, the great metropolis of New Orleans in 1922, and then as has been given to you by our national commander, as the president of the corporation to prepare this convention for you, but may I tell you Legionnaires, honestly, this was a job I didn't know about. It takes a lot of energy, and a lot of get-up-and-go, but I want to express my appreciation to those 753 men and women who are on my call this morning to serve you.

You are in command of my city, and you have come and you will abide deep in the heart of Texas. Enter into your own.

NATIONAL COMMANDER FOLEY: To respond to the fine addresses of welcome, I now present to this convention Lewis K. Gough of California, past national commander of The American Legion in 1952-53.

RESPONSE TO ADDRESSES OF WELCOME
Past National Commander
Lewis K. Gough

Mr. Commander, I am honored and privileged, on behalf of the assembled delegates at this Forty-sixth Annual National Convention of The American Legion, to respond to these warm messages of greeting which I know have made all of us feel both welcome and wanted here in Dallas.

Both the official receptions, as extended by the Honorable John Connally, governor of the great state of Texas, and by the Honorable Erik Jonsson, the mayor of this fine city of Dallas-and The American Legion welcome from our own Department Commander John E. McKelvey, and from the remarkably eloquent and able Past National Commander Colonel Alvin Owsley, merit the sincere gratitude of delegates and guests of this convention. To all the volunteer workers of Texas and Dallas-Legionnaire and non-Legionnaire alike -and especially including Past National Commander Perry Brown-we extend our sincere thanks for your efficiency and your famous Texas hospitality.

J

In responding to our welcome to Dallas may I emphasize what our National Commander Foley said last week in an address before the Dallas Rotary Club as well as on previous occasionsand I quote:

"To some it may seem ironic that we should be coming to this city which we know has suffered so much as the result of the tragic events which transpired last November. To me, it seems prophetic and now more appropriate than ever that The American Legion should come to Dallas for its next convention, and here to reaffirm our beliefs in the principles of Americanism.”

We are here to do just that-and we are happy to be here.

"

I think it also appropriate here to say a word of thanks and appreciation to the man who has carried the burden of Legion leadership these past 12 months, National Commander Dan Foley. Speaking for the "Royal Order of Tarnished Brass, as our past national commanders are sometimes called, we congratulate you, Commander Dan, on a year of rich fulfillment and accomplishment. Speaking personally, may I say you have been our greatest commander yetbenefiting from the momentum and experience which has gone before-you truly merit the accolade "well done!"'