Building a Beacon

The American Legion: Four Years to Build a Community Beacon in the Palisades

By American Legion Palisades Post 283

Following the vision of Post Commander Jim Cragg, the American Legion Post in Pacific Palisades embarked on a four-year mission to become a cornerstone of one of the most influential communities in the United States with a mission to improve the standing of veterans in American society.

The recently renamed Ronald Reagan-Palisades Post 283, named after one of its former members, has been a solid but relatively quiet pillar of the Palisades since 1927. Upon his election to Post Commander in 2020, Cragg laid out an ambitious three-phase plan.

First his team would undertake a multi-million-dollar remodel to the Post headquarters. Next, he would restructure the Post’s operating processes, promoting equity and transparency, and establishing a separate grant-making foundation to regulate its financial gifting.

And finally, they invested in developing programs and events to bond veteran families, support veteran career enhancement, and provide Post members with opportunities to continue to serve the community and their nation.

All of this was done while conducting a community outreach campaign that has resulted in establishing this American Legion Post as a family-friendly community center, drawing in all citizens with its programs.

The original Post facility was sufficient, but the joke about town was that it resembled the Post Office next door and that people frequently walked in to drop off their mail. Cragg and his team set off to create the look and feel of an exclusive club worthy of Pacific Palisades.

A wooden exterior resembling old Navy sailing ships with military brass lettering greets visitors as they approach a lobby adorned with a mural dedicated to the diversity of American veterans. Visitors are also greeted by a modern painting of Ronald Reagan—or “Comrade Reagan” in Legion terminology—set as an inspiration that any veteran can achieve great heights.

The decor of the main hall resembles a military museum with a subtle effort to show that veterans of all generations served and sacrificed similarly, no matter their role or standing. This decor enhances a setting for fun and camaraderie, best seen at the Post’s legendary dances, comedy events and lounge nights.

A relaxed dining and lounge area are supported by a modern bar and kitchen facility. All of this created the setting for the community-engaging events envisioned by Cragg, and was epitomized in the Grand Opening Ceremony in January 2023.

Shutting down the street, the community came together for a ceremony emceed by actor Joe Mantegna, attended by local politicians and dignitaries, and with music provided by the USC marching band. The opening fulfilled the vision of its coordinators, Cragg, Jay McCann and Kevin Niles.

First and foremost, Cragg saw the Legion as a place of leadership for the community, and immediately interfaced with local emergency services and government. Cragg created a postcard with a phone directory titled “Who to Call for Help in the Palisades,” which the Post mailed to every address in town.

Cragg invited the community to come in and listen to briefings by the Los Angeles Police Department West LA Division, LA Sheriff’s Department Homeless Task Force, Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69 and an LASD briefing on active shooter response. These town hall meetings were free to the public in an effort to inform and promote dialogue with these agencies.

During the COVID shutdowns, Cragg and Post members Kurt Heite and Peng Vang distributed face masks in the community and to hospitals sewn by Cragg’s company, S.O.Tech Inc. And taking it a step further, Cragg organized classes for members and local educators in first aid, stop the bleed, CPR and even Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, taught by himself and other veterans medics.

The Post already had a robust HAM radio program dedicated to supporting community emergencies. The philosophy behind this was to provide the veterans with an opportunity to feel like they were continuing to serve after they had left the military. They even organized efforts to send chaplains, funding and personnel to assist the homeless veteran issues developing at the West LA Veterans Administration.

In parallel, the Post’s Chapter of the American Legion Auxiliary launched a women’s self-defense class, and are planning a young people’s etiquette and leadership class based on the West Point model.

As a successful businessman and retiring Army Reserve Officer finishing a 30-year career in Special Operations, Cragg wanted to institute projects to enhance the careers of veterans. He saw the leadership, teamwork, organizational skills and performance-under-pressure skills ingrained in veterans, and sought to bring these out through speakers, trainers and networking opportunities.

The highpoint of this effort was a business leadership discussion led by Medal of Honor recipients Gary Littrell and Jim McCloughan, attended by veterans and public servants from across Southern California.

The Post has also supported events with Toastmasters, the Heroes Linked Veterans professional networking site, the Polk Institute’s Veterans Shark Tank, the West Point Society, the Association of the U.S. Army, and a number of speaking presentations and networking events with the Post’s chapter of the Sons of the American Legion.

Near to his heart as the father to a 9-year-old daughter are family programs in the American Legion.

“Veterans aren’t just struggling to improve their jobs, they are struggling to get quality time with their families too,” Cragg said.

As a flagship yearly event, Cragg established the Veteran Family Weekend at Emerald Bay, taking over 100 veteran families to Catalina Island each year and renting out the Scout Camp. They replace many of the scout events with military skills, like night vision goggles, emergency radio, survival field craft and a drone class, where the veteran parent teaches their kids while bonding with them. In 2024 they added SCUBA diving and listened to guest speaker Littrell talk with the kids about values.

Another event hosted at the Post included five Medal of Honor recipients on stage talking to young people about the principals and values of the Medal.

“Watching my daughter stand up and say what freedom meant to her in answer to a question from a man who received the Medal of Honor was one of my highpoints as a Legionnaire and as a parent,” Cragg said tearfully.

Post 283 has multiple kids’ programs, including leadership classes, picnics and camping. In an effort to become more cutting edge, Cragg suggested drone classes, SCUBA classes and HAM radio classes for kids interested in communications. And for those of faith, Cragg asked Chaplain Joe Ramirez to establish a non-denominational spiritual support program that has evolved into Sunday services at the Post.

Cragg said his hope is that this all comes together to form a place in the Palisades that attracts veterans and non-veterans alike to share in camaraderie, enhance their families’ lives and engage their skills to support their community. If there is any metric for success, they can point to the influx of new members to say they have hit the right note.

And to open their doors even further, they’ve established a new status at the Post called “Friends of Post 283.” For those people who didn’t serve and don’t have an immediate family member that served (these are standard requirements for Legion membership and Legion family membership requirements, respectively), they created the “Friends” status so veteran-friendly members of the community can apply and get on their mailing list to attend Post events. Notably, “Friends of Post 283” can attend events but do not have a vote in membership meetings.

And what does the future hold for Cragg now that he is stepping down as Post Commander? Since they’ve established Post 283 as a pillar of Pacific Palisades, providing a fulsome image of the successful veteran family in the community, he’s identified an opportunity change the way society perceives and treats its veterans.

McCann and Cragg crafted a resolution with Jason Mayo to “Restore Respect for the Military and Veterans,” which has been approved by the Post and is on its way to Department and hopefully Legion National. This is a resolution to compel Legionnaires to go out to schools and all those who influence opinions and provide a positive role model to change the way young people are being influenced to regard veterans.

And locally, he intends to approach the media to discuss improving the way veterans and active duty are portrayed to diminish the stigma that has been put on those who have worn the uniform.

This 4th of July, you will see Post 283 making great efforts to show the community and media the strength of the military and veterans—they will have the West Point Superintendent, a Medal of Honor recipient, a team of Green Berets, and groups of active military and Team RWB taking part in the events of the day: “We will make an impression.”

Cragg will be speaking on the subject at the Pentagon in July to provide awareness of the efforts Post 283 is taking to change the way American society has stigmatized its military and veterans.

Cragg is now passing leadership to Ramirez, a longtime member who is invested in Post programs and its future. His thoughts are melded with Cragg’s, and the future is bright for the Post, its members, its family and the Palisades community.

Both Cragg and Ramirez hope every member of the community will find something at Post 283 that draws them in!

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