Close of Books at Historic Indiana Veterans Home

6/5/2017

Remember the Past, Look to the Future... Cmdr. James B. May

Video by Tim Sproles

Story & photos by John Crosby

The American Legion Family visited with residents of the Indiana Veterans Home during Close of Books.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The American Legion, Department of Indiana held Close of Books on the 2016 – 2017 membership year at the historic Indiana Veterans Home in Lafayette, Ind., Sunday, June 4.

Legionnaires, SAL and Auxiliary went to work turning in final memberships for the year and signing for their 2017-2018 membership cards. The venue, home to more than 200 disabled Hoosier veterans, allowed for Legionnaires and their families to visit with the residents there.

“For most of you, this annual visit is a tradition, one you have come to look forward to year after year,” said Department Cmdr. James B. May. “It is more than that, however, to those who call IVH home. It is a day they look forward to visiting with old friends, greeting new ones, and getting out of the routine. Who among us would not enjoy such a day?”

Recent updates to the Indiana Veterans Home include an M60 Patton Tank static display donated by Brown-Doyle Post 368 in Van Buren, Ind., and renovations to the to the visitors’ quarters made possible by thousands of dollars in donations made by Legionnaires across Indiana.

“Legion Day at IVH is one of the finest examples of the duty to which we are called by the Preamble to our Constitution: a way to “consecrate and sanctify our comradeship” who share this duty with us, daily doing the work and providing the services that make lives more meaningful for those who have given so much to our country,” said May.

West Lafayette Post 492 Color Guard presents the colors, a 21-gun salute and taps during The American Legion, Department of Indiana Close of Books at the historic Indiana Veterans Home in Lafayette, Ind., Sunday, June 4.

The American Legion, Department of Indiana Cmdr. James B. May thanks his officers for their hard work during Close of Books at the historic Indiana Veterans Home in Lafayette, Ind., Sunday, June 4.