Army
Richland County American Legion Post 6 in Columbia has recognized all six military service birthdays over the past six months with a monthly cake cutting and guest speaker program at its monthly meetings. It began in June 2025, when Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Jamie Walton, U.S. Army, from Fort Jackson helped cut the Army’s 250th birthday cake and spoke to the members of Post 6 about the Army’s impact on him and society.
In August, Petty Officer Robert Moore of the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Columbia Recruiting Office celebrated the 235th birthday of the USCG and spoke to the members and guests about his experiences in the Coast Guard.
At the September meeting, held on September 11, U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant (TSgt) Diane Kiser from New York spoke of 9/11 and her experiences that inspired her to join the U.S. Air Force and cut the cake with other Air Force Veterans to celebrate the 78th birthday of the U.S. Air Force.
Petty Officer Jordan Johnson from the University of South Carolina Navy Reserve Officer Training Course (NROTC) spoke to the members in October in honor of the U.S. Navy’s 250th Birthday and in November Gunnery Sergeant Zach Long from the U.S. Marine Corps spoke of his service and the service of other Marines in the defense of our nation during the recognition of the 250th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Moore with Palmetto Girls and Boys State students.
Finally, in December 2025 Post 6 will recognize the birthday of the U.S. Space Force with a cake during its Christmas party.
“It was quite the honor to be able to recognize the 250th birthdays of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps, and we thought, why not recognize all the services to celebrate our nation’s military,” said L.Z. Harrison Jr., the Post 6 Commander. “We wanted to recognize our members of each service, as well as currently serving members, and we were able to do that with these cake cutting ceremonies and guest speakers.”
Each of the guest speakers was recognized with a Post Commander’s Challenge Coin for exceptional service and for discussing their experiences with the members of Post 6.
NROTC Petty Officer Jordan Johnson and L.Z. Harrison Jr.
Richland County American Legion Post 6 at 200 Pickens Street in Columbia holds it’s monthly meeting on the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. with a meal and speakers. It also has an All Veterans Invited breakfast on the last Monday of each month at 8:30 a.m. For more information, call 803-799-2736 or check out the post’s website at www.rcamericanlegionpost6.com.
Richland County American Legion Post 6 is a chartered post Department of South Carolina, The American Legion. The American Legion is a 501(c)19 tax-exempt nonprofit Veterans Service Organization that provides support and assistance to Veterans and their families in the community.
U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Zack Long and Larry Willis
Each guest speaker receives a Post Commander’s Challenge Coin. U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Diane Kiser is pictured with L.Z. Harrison Jr.
Loading Comments