1970s

May 1, 1972
The Legion implements a Halloween safety program for children.

April 1, 1975
The Legion-sponsored Freedom Bell traverses the nation aboard the Freedom Train during its tour of the country in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. Six years later, the bell is dedicated at its permanent home in Columbus Plaza, opposite Union Station in Washington.

April 1978
The “American Legion Study of the Psychosocial Adjustment Among Legion Veterans” by Purdue University Dr. Charles R. Figley reveals psychosocial challenges faced by Vietnam War veterans adjusting to civilian life and, ultimately, formal diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

July 18, 1979
Long promoted by The American Legion, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is accepted, to be recognized annually on the third Friday of September.

Nov. 27, 1979
Orville E. Kelly, a member of American Legion Post 52 in Burlington, Iowa, announces that he has been approved for VA disability compensation for lymphatic cancer related to radiation exposure in 1957 and 1958 during 22 atomic tests he witnessed in the Marshall Islands. The approval of his claim, with help from an American Legion service officer, opens the door for VA disability benefits for hundreds of conditions caused by toxic exposure in the military in the years to come.