Oregon State American Legion Corps
This is not an all-inclusive list, but a list of active corps with documentation.
Listing is alphabetical by city-ish
Select Red Text Below to Access More Data
(All Corps Listed Are Senior Corps Unless Otherwise Noted)
Links to More Data
1932 American Legion Nationals – Portland, OR
1965 American Legion Nationals – Portland, OR
1970 American Legion Nationals – Portland, OR
Oregon State AL Champions rev 01-07-22
Oregon State AL Convention Badges
Albany, AL Post #10 – Albany, OR
Junior Drum & Bugle Corps
Corps Established: 1938
Manager: P. J. Sheehan (1938)
Music Director: Ed Bryan (1938)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1938 – 1941
Oregon State Jr. AL Champions: 1940
Last Documentation: 1941
Disbanded: Unknown
Photo: 1941
Astoria, AL Post #12 – Astoria (Clatsop), OR
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1935
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1936, 37, 1949 – 1956
Last Documentation: 1957
Disbanded: Unknown
Sponsors of the Astoria Mariners Jr D&BC (1960 – 1965)
Colors:
1949: Maroon and grey
1952: White helmets, purple uniforms
Royal Chinooks, AL Post #12 – Astoria, OR
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1958 Sheridan Days Festival Parade
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1959 and 1960
Last Documentation: July 1961 Seaside Parade
Disbanded: Unknown
[The Chinook Indian Nation is made up of the five western-most Chinookan speaking tribes at the mouth of the Columbia River that runs between Washington and Oregon and into the Pacific Ocean. Astoria is located at the mouth of that river]
Some documentation has this corps located at AL Post #99 in Seaside Oregon, but the post historian has never heard of them and has no documentation of that corps. That begs the question; Is this corps the alter-ego of the Clatsop corps above?? We will figure this out and update the site accordingly.
Baker, AL Post #41 – Baker, OR
SENIOR Drum & Bugle Corps 1929 – 1930
Corps Established: 1929
Earliest Documentation: 1929
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1929
Last Documentation: 1930
Disbanded: Unknown
Colors: 1929 – Maroon Jackets, Mauve trousers
NOTE – Back in the 1920s, 30s, and 1940s they wore “Trousers” not “Pants”. Who says “Trousers” anymore?
While you’re at it, better go look up “Puttees” too. : >)
Baker, AL Post #41 – Baker, OR
JUNIOR Drum & Bugle Corps 1939 – 1941
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1939
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1940 and 1941
Oregon State Jr. AL Champions: 1941
Last Documentation: 1941 State Convention
Disbanded: Unknown
Colors: 1939 – Helmets, Red tunics, Blue trousers
Bend, AL Post #4 – Bend, OR
Corps Established: 1923
AKA: Percy A. Stevens Post
Manager: Jack Davis (1929), Miss Olga Sandine (1938)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1926 – 29, 31, 32
1930: Switched from straight bugles to “trumpets”. This move was state wide.
What they meant by “Trumpets” I do not know. Real trumpets or another type of bugle?
Last Documentation: 1932
Disbanded: Unknown
Colors: 1929 – Blue coats, White trousers
Clatskanie, AL Post #68 – Clatskanie, OR
JUNIOR Drum & Bugle Corps 1935 – 1940
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1935
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1936 – 1940
Oregon State AL Champions: 1937 and 1938
Last Documentation: 1940
Disbanded: Unknown
Clatskanie, AL Post #68 – Clatskanie, OR
SENIOR Drum & Bugle Corps 1946 – 1949
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1946 San Francisco convention
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1948
Last Documentation: 1949
Disbanded: Unknown
Coos Bay, AL Post #17 – Coos Bay, OR
AKA: Marshfield Post #17
Corps Established: Fall of 1926
Manager: Unknown
Instructor: Walter Galloway
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1926, 1927, 1928
Last Known Documentation: 1932
Disbanded: Unknown
Corvallis, AL Post #11 – Corvallis, OR
Post Established: 1922
Corps Established: 1926
Re-established: 1946
Manager: Dana Straw (1929)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1929, 1932 – 37, 39, 41
Last Documentation: 1946
Disbanded: Unknown
Colors: 1929 – Orange coats & caps, Black pants & Puttees
Eugene, AL Post #83, Eugene, OR
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1924
Manager: Unknown
1929: Reorganized after operations suspended
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1924, 26, 28, 29, 36, 39
Last Documentation: 1939
Disbanded: Unknown
Hillsboro, AL Post #6 – Hillsboro, OR
Corps Established: 1950
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1950 – 1953, 1955
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1950, 1951, 1952
Last Documentation: 1955
Disbanded: Unknown
Photo: 1952
Klamath Falls, AL Post #8 – Klamath Falls, OR
SENIOR Drum & Bugle Corps
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1923 Klamath Fund Raiser
Re-Activated: 1952 thru 1956.
Re-re-activated: 1961
Manager: A. H. Bussman (1935). Jack Benner (1952)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances:1934 – 1939, 1952 – 1956, 1961
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1934, ’36 – ’39, 1953 – 1956
Last Documentation: 1961
Disbanded: Unknown
Photo: 1952
Klamath Falls, AL Post #8 – Klamath, OR
JUNIOR Drum & Bugle Corps
Corps Established: 1938
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1938 and 1939
Oregon State Jr. AL Champions: 1939
Last Documentation: 1939
Disbanded: Unknown
La Grande, AL Post #43 – La Grande, OR
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: Active 1923 thru 1935?
Re-formed: 1948 thru 1955?
Manager: Jess Rosenbaum
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1924, 25,
1927 – 1935, 1948 – 1951, 1953, 1955
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1933, 1948, 1949
Last Documentation: 1955
Disbanded: Unknown
Colors:
1929: “Bright mustard”
1933: “Shining plated helmets”, Gold coats, black breeches
1949: “Deep green” with gold stripes
Photo: 1933
Pendleton, AL Post #23 – Pendleton, OR
JUNIOR Drum & Bugle Corps
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1925 Pendleton Round-Up
Winner of the July 12, 1939 Oregon State VFW Championships
Director: Frank Rehberg
Drum Major: Darcia Lee Skiff
Last Known Documentation: Sept 10, 1941 football game
Uniforms: Cowboy
Portland, AL Post #1 – Portland, OR
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1924 Linn Fair Show
Manager: Unknown
Music Instructor: Hal Campbell (1940)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1927 – 1929, 31, 1933 – 1939, 41, 49, 52
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1928, 1929, 1935
Last Documentation: 1954 Portland Rose Parade
Disbanded: Unknown
Photo: 1952
Colors: 1929 – 1954, Red coats, blue pants
Leathernecks, AL Post #169 – Portland, OR
Corps Established: 1955
Manager: Bruce Plumb (1955)
(From 1963 – 1973, Bruce Plumb will Instruct & Direct The Royal Lancers of Portland.
Prior to the Leathernecks, Bruce was with the State Champion Hillsboro Corps)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1956, 1958 – 1961, 63, 65
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1958 – 1961, 1963
Last Documentation: 1969
Disbanded: Unknown
Photo: 1957
Roseburg, AL Post #16 – Roseburg, OR
AKA: Umpqua Post #16
Corps Established: Unknown
Corps Name: “Blue Devils”
Earliest Documentation: 1924
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1924, 28, 33 – 37, 39, 41
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1924 – The first Oregon AL Convention drum corps show.
Last Documentation: 1948 Reformation of old Corps
Disbanded: Unknown
Colors: 1924 – White duck trousers, Blue Blouses, Blue tam o’shanters, Flowing yellow ties.
Capitol Post #9 – Salem, OR
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: Active from 1924 thru 1933
Re-formed: 1948
Manager: Unknown
Instructor: Dr. Carl Wonner (1924)
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1925 – 1928, 1930 – 1932
Oregon State Sr. AL Champions: 1925 – 1927, 1930 – 1932
1928: AL Nationals in San Antonio, TX: Second place
1932: AL Nationals in Portland, OR: First place
Last Documentation: 1950 Flag pole dedication
Disbanded: 1933 (first time)
Sons of the American Legion Squadron #136 – Salem, OR
Junior Drum & Bugle Corps
Corps Established: April 1958
Manager: Joseph Morecraft
1962: Changed name to The Optimist Flamingos
1965: Merged & changed name to the Flamingo-Lancers
1966: Changed name to The Flamingos
1975: Changed name to the Argonauts
Last Documentation: 1987
Disbanded: 1987
Photo: 1959
See Flamingos & Argonauts under Western Oregon Corps for more data
Tillamook, Post #47 – Tillamook, OR
AKA: “Tillamook Cheesemakers”
Corps Established: Unknown
Earliest Documentation: 1936
Manager: Unknown
Oregon State AL Championship appearances: 1936, 39, 48, 49
Last Documentation: 1951 Rockaway Parade
Disbanded: Unknown
Uniforms 1936 – 1951:
Casual – Overalls, straw hat, red handkerchief around their necks
Dress – Blue and yellow West Point-type uniform
1954 – 1958: Tillamook is back as the Tillamook Elks Drum Corps wearing the same casual uniforms as the Legion sponsored corps did.