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HISTORY OF LOYALTY DAY
 According
to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Loyalty Day
originally began as "Americanization Day" in 1921 as
a counter to the Communists’ May 1 celebration of
the Russian Revolution. On May 1, 1930, 10,000 VFW
members staged a rally at New York’s Union Square to
promote patriotism. Through a resolution adopted in
1949, May 1st evolved into Loyalty Day. Observances
began in 1950 on April 28 and climaxed May 1 when
more than five million people across the nation held
rallies. In New York City, more than 100,000 people
rallied for America. In 1958 Congress enacted Public
Law 529 proclaiming Loyalty Day a permanent fixture
on the nation’s calendar.
The VFW Auxiliary has stated that, "We
realize that our freedom is truly unique, and that
is why we take pride in it. Woodrow Wilson once
said, "America was established not to create wealth
but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal – to
discover and maintain liberty among men." America
was built on that ideal, and we have maintained it
for over two centuries!
 This
land is "the land of the free" because of the many
freedoms we enjoy … the freedom of religion … of
speech … of assembly … but what it all comes down to
is that we have the freedom of choice.
We have the choice to receive higher education or to
begin a career. We have the choice to adopt two
children or bear ten children. We have the choice to
rally for another form of government or to
demonstrate our pride in a democratic nation.
We should beware of taking our freedom for granted.
Others fear what our country has … what our country
is … and that is why they want to destroy it. We
must cherish our freedom; we must protect it.
America has survived many trials … the Civil War …
the Depression … Hitler … and we will survive
terrorism. Why? Because we care about our freedom.
We care about protecting our country. The very
freedom that allows us to question our form of
government is the same freedom that makes our nation
strong.
So, be proud of your freedom. Be proud of your
county. Don’t be afraid to scream, "I’m proud to be
an American!"
The purpose of Loyalty Day is to demonstrate our
patriotism … our support for our unique tradition of
freedom. Showing our pride in America can be done on
more than just Loyalty Day or the 4th of July … we
can demonstrate our loyalty throughout the year by
helping our country be the best that it can be.
We can do this by teaching our youth about what it
means to be an American … taking care of our
veterans, who have protected our freedom, and their
families … showing respect for our flag … voting in
elections … or helping the homeless.
Let’s work together and show the world that we are
proud of our freedom. We are proud of our country …
we are proud to be Americans!
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