DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Hanson Post Number 54 in Potter County. Now, if you want to talk about a post that hit the ground running, pull up a chair. Amarillo's American Legion Post organized in July of 1919 — just two months after the Legion held its very first organizational caucus, way up in St.
Louis. Two months. The ink on the whole national organization was barely dry before Amarillo had its people together and its hand raised.
The charter came through officially in September of 1919, and the post took the name of a man who'd more than earned the honor. David T. Hanson was a popular Amarillo doctor — the kind of man a community remembers.
He served in the Spanish-American War, and when World War I came calling, he didn't wait to be asked. He volunteered as a surgeon with the 142nd Infantry. And there, at St.
Etienne, France, he was killed. Not in retreat, not by accident of war's random cruelty — he was killed while attending to a wounded soldier. That's the kind of man this post is named for.
You sit with that a moment before we move on. The first post commander was Ernest O. Thompson, who would later become mayor of Amarillo.
So right from the start, this was not a group content to sit quietly. Hanson Post got to work securing jobs and medical care for veterans, and they started pushing — early and loud — for a veterans hospital in the region. Before Amarillo even had a branch of the Veterans Bureau, which didn't arrive until 1927, the post was helping coordinate veterans' affairs on its own.
And come Christmastime, they were donating clothes, food, and toys to needy veterans' families. The mission was never just ceremonial. The post's early homes tell their own little story.
They first met in the district courtroom of the Potter County Courthouse — which, if you think about it, has a certain gravity to it, men who'd served their country gathering in the room where their county weighed justice. Then they moved to the Woodmen of the World Hall. In 1923, the Municipal Auditorium opened — dedicated to the war dead — and it included meeting space for the Legion Post.
National post commander Alvin Owsley was there for that dedication. Eventually, the post bought a building at Seventh and Madison streets, and that building has been its headquarters ever since. Along the way, Hanson Post kept building.
A ladies auxiliary in 1920. A junior auxiliary in 1923. An early R.O.T.C. unit in 1928.
A Sons of the Legion in 1934. Layer by layer, year by year, they were weaving themselves into the fabric of Amarillo. And that veterans hospital they'd been pushing for since the beginning?
In 1939, Amarillo got it. Hanson Post and civic leaders had worked long and hard, and what came with it wasn't just medical care — it was construction jobs, medical jobs, an important economic anchor for the whole region. After World War II, the post's membership climbed to around 1,200.
And it hasn't stopped. To this day, Hanson Post supports active duty military personnel and veterans throughout the world. Named for a doctor who died saving someone else, run first by a future mayor, built from a courtroom floor up — that is a post that knew exactly what it was from the very first meeting.
What the marker says
Amarillo's American Legion Post, organized in July 1919, is one of the oldest in Texas, formed two months after the group's organizational caucus in St. Louis. The post, which officially received its charter in Sep. 1919, is named for David T. Hanson, a popular Amarillo doctor who served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. Volunteering as a surgeon with the 142nd infantry, he was killed while attending to a wounded soldier at St. Etienne, France. Ernest O. Thompson, later mayor of Amarillo, was the first post commander. Hanson Post worked to secure jobs and medical care for veterans, and promoted creation of a veterans hospital in the region. The post also helped coordinate veterans" affairs before Amarillo received a branch of the Veterans Bureau in 1927. Hanson post also donated clothes, food and toys to needy veterans" families at Christmas. The post first met in the district courtroom of the Potter County Courthouse before moving to the Woodmen of the World Hall. In 1923, the Municipal Auditorium, dedicated to the war dead, included meeting space for the Legion Post; national post commander Alvin Owsley attended the dedication ceremony. The post later bought a building at Seventh and Madison streets which has been its headquarters ever since. Hanson post developed a ladies auxiliary (1920), junior auxiliary (1923), an early R. O. T. C. Unit (1928) and a Sons of the Legion (1934). In 1939, Amarillo got the Veterans Hospital which Hanson Post and civic leaders worked so hard to secure, bringing an important source of construction and medical jobs for the region. Post membership peaked around 1,200 members following World War II. The post continues to support active duty military personnel and veterans throughout the world.