Past and present leaders of Harpswell’s American Legion Post 171 say the organization’s future is at risk if it can’t convince more veterans to get involved in its leadership.
Michael A. Doyle has been serving dutifully for the past 12 years as commander of Post 171. But at 79, Doyle said he is ready to step down from leading the nonprofit veterans group.
“I’ve been involved with this post for the past 16 years, and I’ve been an officer all 16 years,” he said in an interview. “It’s time for somebody else to step up to this thing.”
A former commander of the post, Robert E. Webber, said he is willing to resume the role, but only if there is no other option. Webber lives in Augusta now and his wife is ill. To lead the post, he would have to make a 70-mile round trip to each meeting and find someone to stay with his wife.
“However, I am willing to do so to ensure a viable future for Post 171 in Harpswell,” he said in a letter to post members.
But there’s a larger issue at hand, Doyle and Webber said. The post’s membership has been dwindling over the past five years, and efforts to recruit new members interested in leadership have been unsuccessful.
American Legion posts nationwide are facing similar challenges as aging leaders and declining membership threaten their viability. The veterans organization has seen its membership shrink from more than 3 million after World War II to roughly 1.6 million today. The average age of members is 67.
Dedicated to fallen World War II soldier John Leo Murray Jr., Post 171 originally shut down in the 1960s because of declining membership. But in 2005, it was revived by the late Bailey Island resident Daniel J. Boland, a former Marine who died at 83 in 2018.
Under Boland’s leadership, the post reached a high of nearly 160 members. Today, its membership is at roughly 100 and declining rapidly, Doyle and Webber said. Among those remaining, there have been few volunteers for leadership roles.
“Many lower officer positions (at the post) have gone unfilled for several years,” Webber said.
It’s especially frustrating because Harpswell has more than 225 veterans, he added. The only requirement to join Post 171 is an honorable discharge from any of the U.S. armed forces, he said.
Post 171 contributes to the well-being of veterans and others in a variety of ways, its leaders said.
Members regularly visit Togus, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Augusta, bringing food and gifts, organizing events, and providing comfort to fellow veterans. The post has sponsored local Scout troops and raised money for kitchen upgrades for veterans.
Post 171 also sponsors one boy and one girl each year to attend the Dirigo State program, a youth leadership initiative designed to educate high school juniors about the workings of state and local government.
“It’s very beneficial for young folks,” Webber said.
Post 171 plans to meet at 7 p.m., Monday, March 17, at Merriconeag Grange, 529 Harpswell Neck Road, to nominate new officers. All veterans in the community are invited to attend.
Doyle said the commander’s role requires about 20 hours of work in a typical month.
“I’m personally tired of doing everything basically by myself,” he said. “We just need people to think of their fellow veterans, come on out and help (them).”
