As we remember the end of World War II on the 70th anniversary of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, a new website has been launched to help remember the soldiers who made that victory possible. The Americal Legacy Foundation is a new non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the soldiers who served in the U.S. Army’s Americal Division during World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. A new website supporting the Foundation just launched this week, and can be found at: http://americalfoundation.org.
The Americal Legacy Foundation seeks to preserve the division’s legacy through monuments, public media, museum displays and scholarship programs. The Foundation will also provide a central point for the purchase of the division’s history of World War II, Under the Southern Cross. The monument program is in full swing, with a number of accomplishments to show. There is a monument at the National Infantry Museum, outside Fort Benning. As written about on this site, a monument at the site of the Japanese surrender on Cebu at the end of World War II was dedicated in March 2015 (read that story here). A future monument to honor Americal Artillery units is in the works, to be located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Another Monument is envisioned at Fort Sam Houston, Texas to honor Americal medics, doctors and nurses.
Looking forward into the future, the preservation of the legacy of the Americal Division depends on the families and descendants of those who served. I encourage any and all to contact the Americal Legacy Foundation, make a donation, and inquire about other ways to help this important cause.