Durand Legion to celebrate Centennial year

American Legion Gold Star Post 676, located in Durand, Ill., announces that in June of this year they will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of their founding.

To celebrate our Centennial we will be hosting a celebration at the Legion Hall and grounds on Saturday, June 26.

Beginning at 11 a.m., we invite the public to visit our grounds to experience displays and demonstrations featuring period re-enactors from different eras. We are also planning to have personnel and equipment from multiple branches of the Military on site.

At 1 p.m. we will conduct a program in our main Hall to officially celebrate our founding and history. The program will consist of the following:

Presentation of Colors and National Anthem

A ceremony re-dedicating the Hall in the name of the late SGM James P McMahon, a local resident and highly decorated Army Special Forces veteran

A short presentation covering highlights of the Post history 

Refreshments will be served after the program. Finally, we will hold the drawing of the winning ticket in our raffle of a spectacular Patriotic Quilt. During the festivities we will have available for sale copies of the beautiful hard-cover book “Veteran’s Stories from Small Town America’ which we published to celebrate this occasion. It details the Post’s history including information on over 500 veterans with ties to our area.     

Gold Star Post 676 is located at 211 State St. in Durand, IL, in a historic building that served for many years as the Durand elementary and high school. We cordially invite all area media outlets to attend and provide coverage of this historic and significant event of local interest.

Post 676 was awarded a Charter by the American Legion on June 24, 1921. Since that time, they have been a pillar of Community Service in Durand and the surrounding area.

The Post’s official name includes the words ‘Gold Star’ in recognition of several local heroes who lost their lives in the performance of service to our Country.

Over the years Gold Star Post 676 has hosted many Community focused events, from Talent Shows to Rodeos to Tractor Pulls to Bingo Games. More importantly, there has always been a strong focus on serving and honoring local Veterans. We regularly provide Honor Guards and Firing Squads for Veteran’s funerals in the local area as well as Color Guards for football games and parades.

Each year the Post holds a Flag Retirement event and the Auxiliary Unit honors those departed at a Memorial Day Service. One particularly busy program is the lending of hospital/convalescent equipment to community members.

For more information on this event you may contact us via email at [email protected], through our Facebook page ‘Durand American Legion Post 676′ or by calling Commander Duane Stephen at 847-922-4465.