Henry Howard, Director of Media and Communications for the American Legion, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast for his second monthly appearance following the transition from longtime contributor Jeff Stoffer.
He recapped American Legion activities surrounding America's 250th anniversary on the Fourth of July, including a reenactment of the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Lansing, Mich., the conclusion of the USA 250 Challenge that engaged more than 3,100 American Legion family members over the past year and a flag escort by American Legion riders from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.
Howard also previewed the August edition of the American Legion Magazine, which highlights 10 notable American inventions that shaped the world, and discussed the passing of Diane Carlson Evans, a combat nurse and veteran who led the decades-long effort to establish the Vietnam Women's Memorial on the National Mall.
Henry Howard is two months into his role as the American Legion's monthly contributor to America's Work Force Union Podcast. He steps in for Jeff Stoffer, who is relocating to Idaho to care for his mother while remaining affiliated with the Legion in a different capacity. Howard has been deputy director of the Legion's media and communications division for 14 years, and his first full solo appearance came with significant material to cover: America's 250th anniversary, the conclusion of a year-long wellness challenge and a preview of the August magazine.
Most people know the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. Fewer know that the public did not hear it read aloud until four days later, on July 8, when Col. John Nixon read it in what is now Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Howard said American Legion posts across the country found ways to mark the anniversary that fit their communities, and one of the most notable was in Lansing, Mich., where Legionnaire Brett Holt, a Navy veteran, reenacted Colonel Nixon's role in period dress and read the Declaration to a gathered crowd. The event was a neat way to connect living Americans to a specific moment in history that is often overlooked in the broader July 4 story, Howard said.
He also noted a quote delivered during the reenactment by a member representing Thomas Jefferson: “When citizens feel secure in their independence, connected to their neighbors and empowered to pursue their aspirations, they become architects of a sustainable and prosperous future. Howard said those words, written 250 years ago, carry as much weight today as they did then.”
The American Legion launched the USA 250 Challenge on July 3, 2025, giving members a year to complete activities across three categories. The fitness challenge asked participants to walk 250 miles over the course of the year. The wellness challenge offered the option of 250 minutes of meditation or 250 buddy checks on fellow veterans. The community service category included delivering 250 meals to homeless veterans or assembling supply kits for lower-income families.
More than 3,100 American Legion family members participated. Howard attended the challenge's concluding event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where the challenge had also kicked off a year earlier with a track walk alongside IndyCar driver Graham Rahal. Navy veteran Brad Beatty was among those who returned for the final walk. He told Howard the challenge changed his life. He and his wife now walk three miles every day. Both have lost 20 pounds. He told Howard his mental wellness has improved and that the commitment to physical activity has also deepened his involvement in his local post's community service work. He went well beyond the 250-mile goal and has not stopped.
On July 4, American Legion riders escorted a flag with a remarkable history from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. The flag had flown over memorials and cemeteries overseas maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission, all 50 state capitals, and Arlington National Cemetery. The National Flag Foundation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, coordinated the escort. The flag’s last stop was Arlington National Cemetery to honor the nation's fallen on the 250th anniversary of independence.
The August edition of the American Legion magazine marked the 250th anniversary with coverage of American ingenuity, featuring 10 notable inventions and achievements that have shaped the modern world. Howard was clear that the list is not a ranking or a complete accounting, but a selection of 10 notable examples from a much longer list that could not fit in a single magazine issue.
The list included land grant colleges, which Howard said represent one of the country's most distinctive contributions to accessible education. The land-grant system, launched nationwide through legislation in 1862 and credited to Vermont lawmaker Justin Morrill, has grown to encompass the equivalent of Connecticut's entire land area across institutions that continue to train the workforce in agriculture, veterinary science, engineering and other fields today. Howard shared that both of his sons attended Purdue University, a land-grant institution.
Other inventions on the list include the concept of democracy through the consent of the governed, the electric light, air travel and the internet. The edition also includes a shorter list of additional American achievements, one of which, Howard said, stopped him in his tracks when he read it. In 1876, barbed wire inventor John Warner Gates described his product as lighter than air, stronger than whiskey and cheaper than dust. Howard said that line alone tells you something about what American ingenuity looks like at its most practical.
The August edition also covers the passing of Diane Carlson Evans, a combat nurse who served in Vietnam and spent decades fighting to establish the Vietnam Women's Memorial on the National Mall. She died in May, five days before Memorial Day, after a long battle with cancer. Her funeral is planned for September.
Evans and Stoffer were close. He had written about her over the years and was present at key moments in her long campaign to get the memorial approved and built, a process Howard described as incredibly challenging to navigate through Congress and the various logistical requirements for placing a memorial on the Mall. At her family's request, Stoffer will deliver her eulogy in September.
Howard said the American Legion honors Evans and all women who served in Vietnam each year at the Vietnam Wall ceremonies, where the Legion lays a wreath at the Vietnam Women's Memorial. He was there this past Memorial Day and said the ceremony was more somber than usual. Evans had just passed and was on everyone's mind.
More information on the American Legion and the August magazine is available at legion.org.
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