Latest News

• Saturday, July 31, 2021

  Frank LaMarsh Elected Commander of NY State American Legion

  

  Frank LaMarsh, with wife Nancy, is sworn in by Department Judge Advocate W. Patrick Falvey.

  ALBANY – Vietnam veteran Frank A. LaMarsh of Staten Island is the new commander of the New York State American Legion. He leads the Department of New York for a one-year term.

  

  Frank A. LaMarsh

  His election and installation on July 31 took place at the end of the three-day Department Convention, held at the Crowne Plaza Desmond Hotel. Because of COVID restrictions when plans were finalized, the hybrid convention was limited to 100 attendees with proceedings streamed live online.

  Enlisting in the U.S. Navy after high school, LaMarsh trained in construction and helped rebuild the Seabee base at Gulfport, Mississippi after it was destroyed by Hurricane Camille. He then deployed to DaNang and later Bien Hoa, Vietnam. He was discharged from active duty in February 1972 and received his honorable discharge in 1975 after serving three years in the reserves.

  A member of Richmond County’s Gold Star Post 1365, LaMarsh has been in leadership roles at every level of The American Legion. He has served as post, county and district commander, as department vice commander, as delegate to the national convention, and as a member of the National Legislative Commission. He also is a member of the Sons of the American Legion, along with four sons and four grandsons. A member of the New York American Legion Press Association, LaMarsh has served as editor of his post newsletter as well as Richmond County’s Staten Island Legionnaire.

  LaMarsh married his high school sweetheart, Nancy, after returning from Vietnam. They raised five children and now have ten grandchildren.

  After studying computer engineering at Albert Merrell School, LaMarsh joined IBM as a customer engineer and then account representative, overseeing computer systems at Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. After 13 years with IBM, he joined Morgan Guaranty, serving in various management positions, including managing the Customer Assistance Center Operations. When technology was outsourced to Computer Science Corporation (CSC), he joined CSC. After the merger with Chase Bank, he returned to J.P. Morgan Chase as a vice president.

  His other affiliations include Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

  His military honors include National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Civic Action Award, First Class; Vietnam Service Medal; Vietnam Campaign Medal; the M16 Marksmanship Ribbon; and the New York State Medal of Merit.

• Thursday, July 29, 2021

  Watch the 2021 Department Convention

  Being a limited-attended event due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2921 Department Convention is available for live viewing. It starts streaming at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 29; then at 9 a.m. Friday, July 30; and then at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 31.

   

• Thursday, July 22, 2021

  Jim Troiola Begins Campaign Visits Across the Nation

  NY’s Leading Candidate for National Commander for 2022-23.

  

  Vincent James Troiola, Past Department Commander and Past National Vice Commander

  Vincent James “Jim” Troiola, the leading candidate for National Commander of The American Legion for 2022-2023, has launched his campaign visits to Departments across the nation, with visits to Massachusetts, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

  To see latest updates on Jim’s campaign and travels, please visit:
  http://vincentjtroiola.org and
  http://www.facebook.com/TroiolaForNationalCommander

  “Please support this great campaign as best you can!” his Team New York Committee encourages. “You can host a fundraiser, you can donate online at http://vincentjtroiola.org/#donate, or mail in your donation.”

  Checks may be made payable to Team New York Campaign Fund and sent to Department of New York Offices at 1304 Park Blvd., Troy, NY 12180.

  “On behalf of candidate Troiola, his Team New York Committee thanks you in advance for your generosity.”

• Legion Family Golf Tournament Cancelled

  Golf Chairman Auseklis Krumins announced that “the Legion Family Golf Tourmament scheduled for August 6, 2021 has been cancelled due to complications that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

  Not being able to hold an in-person Mid-Winter Conference and a normal Department Convention this year were contributing factors, he said.

  He noted that he has “spoken with the owner of the Maple Hill Golf Club in Marathon, NY and they look forward to resuming the tournament next year on the first Friday in August.” 

• Saturday, July 17, 2021

  Registrations Due for National Convention

  A reminder to submit registrations and waivers to Department Headquarters for the National Convention – ASAP.

  See National Convention page for details.