Boys State and Girls State
Each year, American Legion Post 41 sponsors a number of 11th-grade boys and girls to attend the Boys State and Girls State programs.
These programs showcase the functions of a state or local government. The 85th Session of Missouri Boys State is June 21 – 28, 2025 at Lindenwood University in St. Charles. The parallel program, Girls State, is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary and will happen at the same time and location.
Armed Forces Appreciation Day
Armed Forces Appreciation Day 2025 will be presented by our Veterans organizations on May 17, 2025, at the Intercounty Electric Auditorium in Licking. We will be gathering VA representatives, Veterans Advocates, Healthcare specialists, financial assistance, state and local officials to assist and inform Veterans and their families. A hamburger or hot-dog lunch will be served free of charge to Veterans and their families from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there will be gifts and prize drawings throughout the event.
Tax benefit for veterans 100% disabled
Veterans in Missouri with a service-connected 100% disability may be eligible for exemptions on property taxes.
Visit the following site for more information: https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/individual/tax-types/property-tax-credit/.
53rd Annual Missouri Cadet Patrol Academy
This program is sponsored by the American Legion in Missouri, and its purpose is to give young men and women (ages 16-18) first-hand experience on the importance of law-enforcement for the protection of the rights of all citizens in our Republic. It’s a typical week of Highway Patrol recruit training including a rigorous physical program as conducted at the Missouri Highway Patrol Academy. The event runs from June 8 through 15. For more information and applications, call American Legion Post 41 Service Officer Glen McKinney at 417-967-7119.
Texas County area veterans organizations
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 473 meets on the last Thursday of each month at 1800 at their Post Meeting Hall on Highway 63 north of Cabool.
- American Legion Post 559 meets at 1800 on the second Tuesday of each month at the VFW Post 6337 meeting hall in Licking.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6337 meets each third Monday of the month at 1730 in Licking at their Meeting Hall on Main Street just south of Highway 32.
- Fleet Reserve Association Branch 364 meets at 1430 every fourth Sunday of each month at the American Legion Post 41 meeting hall in Houston. The FRA exists to serve all veterans and active-duty members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard.
- American Legion Post 41 meets at 1800 on the second Thursday of each month at their meeting hall on the west end of Chilton Oil Company in Houston (just north of Pizza Hut). Changes to membership eligibility now allow U.S. veterans of all branches and periods of service to join the American Legion.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7222 meets at 1800 on the first Thursday of each month at their meeting hall just east of Summersville.
Houston resident Robert E. Simpson is a retired U.S. Navy chief electronics technician who served from 1969 to 1990. Email gfjjkaa@gmail.com.