Commander’s Welcome

Hello Fellow Legionnaires, Veterans, Neighbors, and Friends – Thank you for visiting the Peter J. Courcy American Legion Post 178 website. I am honored to be serving as Commander of Post 178, one of the most active and honored posts in Texas!  I look forward to continuing the great work that my predecessors have accomplished, strengthening our key activities, and expanding our Veterans outreach to help as many of our Brothers & Sisters as possible. I’d like all local Frisco Veterans to be a part of this endeavor in 2022-2023!

Most of you know that the American Legion is the nation’s largest and most influential network of U.S. wartime veterans, it was chartered by Congress in 1919 and we perform as a non-profit organization.

What you may NOT know is that our Post Membership is now open to ALL who served honorably since December 7, 1941! No identified conflicts or wartime activity is required. If you served our great nation, we want you to be a part of helping us serve our great Frisco community! One of my goals this year is to reach out to all fellow Veterans who were formerly unable to join us when there were time-period requirements and bring them into our American Legion family – if you are one of those, I want you to be a part of Post 178!

Our Post was chartered in 2014 and is named in honor of Peter J. Courcy, a 2004 graduate of Frisco High School who was killed in combat in 2009 while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. With the blessing of his family, we have been honored and privileged to serve our community in his name.

Our Post has quickly become popular throughout the Frisco community for many of its activities, including these that many have seen in action:

American Legion Boys State – Frisco American Legion Post 178 has fully funded and graduated 154 students from this program since June 2014. Our selection of up to 25 elite boys will join over 1,100 male students from across the State of Texas for the program.

American Legion Oratorical Scholarship Competition – An academic speaking challenge for high school students to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the U. S. Constitution. Our 2022 Oratorical Scholarship Contest will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2022, at 9 am in the main auditorium at The Grove.

Honor/Color Guard – Our Post Honor Guard has been seen at both major and local area events, as well as special memorials and dedications, including the Gold Star Family Monument Dedication and annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies held at the Frisco Commons Veterans Park. Our Color Guard team trains regularly to maintain its high level of precision and sharpness.

We are looking for more members to join these three activities to help us ensure we can perform these activities for many years to come. But we also have some new (and former) activities that we want to establish this year, including:

American Legion Riders – We are rebuilding our team of members who take to their motorcycles and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for various post and local programs. If you’re a motorcycle rider, we would love for you to be a part of this very special team.

Law & Order – As a former Military Police OIC, I look forward to establishing this committee, which Identifies, selects, and honors community law enforcement, firefighters, first responders, and reservist.

Legislative & Voter Registration – A critical part of our civic duties, this committee monitors national, state, and local legislation; encourages members to contact their congressional representatives; and plans ‘Get Out the Vote’ registration events.

Wreaths Across America – We will continue to expand our involvement in this humbling activity, which assists with distributing, laying, and retrieving wreaths at the D/FW National Cemetery.

American Legion School Awards – We will prepare for these awards for the next academic year, which will highlight six core qualities in students and award those selected by teachers and counselors.

We have many other committees that I look forward to promoting and empowering with enthusiastic legionnaires – like hopefully many of you reading this! If you have a strong desire to be a part of one or more of these, reach out to me or one of our post officers. We’ll find the right activities to ignite your passion.

But all of these activities are done to support our most important activity – serving our fellow community Veterans and families in need and to support and help inspire our local youth on the importance of Americanism and Patriotism. This is why we do what we do, and what unifies us – our mutual love for this great nation and appreciation for all of those who have fought to make and keep it so!

Thank you so much for reading through this message! I hope it has given you some inspiration to find a post activity and become one of our active members!

Please do not hesitate to contact me – I am honored to be the Post Commander for the best Veterans organization here in Frisco – the best community in Texas, and this great nation!

Very Respectfully,

John S. Stammreich
Commander, Peter J Courcy American Legion Post 178
“Fortune Favors the Bold” – USNA 1992