Planes, Trains & Heroes: A Story of Warner Robins and the Robins Region

AMERICAN
LEGION POST
172
American Legion Post 172 began November
19, 1943 when a group of veterans residing in
Warner Robins began the process of obtaining a
charter from the Legion’s national headquarters
in Indianapolis, Indiana. While awaiting word
from Indianapolis, the original organizers elected
their first Executive Board on January 24,
1944, and named the infant Post after Arthur
Leonard Johnson Jr., the first Warner Robins
man to lose his life during World War II.
In the years between 1944 and 1945, the
new Post made itself a part of the fabric of
Warner Robins by undertaking a combined
effort–along with the town and Robins Air
Field–to provide programs designed to help prevent
“juvenile delinquency” in the children of
Warner Robins whose parents and guardians
were working fulltime as part of the war efforts.
To that end, they created and formed clubs and
athletic organizations for the town’s teens to
enjoy when not in school. At least one of those
organizations still exists. Boy Scout Troop 120,
the Post’s first sponsored Scout Troop and Cub
Scout Pack, which post members officially
founded on February 23, 1944, is today the oldest
Boy Scout troop in Warner Robins.
After the end of World War II in 1945
through the onset of the Korean War in 1950,
Post 172 undertook several actions in support
of the community, its veterans, and their families.
They drove voters to the polls for various
local, state and national elections; continued to
support scouting; and bestowed Legion awards
upon deserving Warner Robins and Bonaire students.
Christmas gift distributions to patients at
Robins Field Hospital as well as to the children
of low income families were performed annually
during this time.
Other activities and programs were also
established as the Post continued to support the
citizens, especially the youth, of Warner
Robins–from organization of an American
Legion junior baseball team in 1946 to teaming
up with local elementary schools’ PTAs to secure
a hot lunch program for students. Academic and
athletic awards and scholarships also became a
part of the growing list of efforts by the Post and
included active participation in the American
Legions Boys State program in early 1948.
Coordinating with the Lions Club, Post 172
co-sponsored the “School Boy Patrol” by donating
helmets, raincoats, belts, and whistles. Until the
program ended in 1958, boys were sent to School
Boy Patrol Camp to help insure the safety of
Warner Robins students. Aid in voter registrations,
Armistice and Memorial Day services, and
support of veteran affairs on the state and national
levels, as well as aid to needy children and families,
were also supplied by the Post.
When a violent tornado ripped through
Warner Robins on April 30, 1953 claiming the
lives of nineteen and injuring hundreds, the
Post home was severely damaged along with
many other structures in the storm’s 300-yardwide,
two-mile-long path. Many Post 172 members
donned their Legion caps and joined with
local police to rescue and aid tornado victims
until the National Guard and other state and
county agencies arrived to help.
The American Legion Department of Georgia
also requested that all Legion Posts in the area
provide support to recovery efforts for victims of
the tornado as well. Though a victim itself, Post
172 threw its full support into the task before
tending to its own rebuilding efforts. The Post
provided financial aid and also collected and
distributed food, clothing, cooking equipment
and utensils through its Ladies Auxiliary whose
members manned various distribution points
throughout the city.
Between 1954 and 1961, Post 172 maintained
its efforts as a member of the Warner
Robins’ community, while initiating new programs
and filling new needs. Increased aid to the
90 ✦ PLANES, TRAINS & HEROES