The American Legion turns 103: A brief history of the organization formed to aid WWI veterans

The American Legion is celebrating 103 years of remarkable and continued service to U.S. military veterans and their families, ever since it was chartered on this day in history, Sept. 16, 1919.

A Memorial Day celebration at American Legion Post 482 in Scio, Ohio, on May 30, 1924. (Minnesota Historical Society/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) The reviewing stand for the American Legion convention parade in New Orleans was erected in front of the city hall on Charles Street. Prominent reviewing officers are shown in the front row, center, above; from left to right, Commissioner of Public Safety Stanley W. Ray, Samuel Gompers, Judge Kenshaw, Mountain Landis and (second from Judge Landis), Andrew McShane, mayor, on Oct. 1, 1922. (Getty Images) Retiring National Commander Harry Colmery of Topeka, Kansas, is pictured (above left) with his successor, National Commander Daniel J. Doherty, of Woburn, Massachusetts, after the latter was elected at the American Legion Convention in the Metropolitan Opera House on Jan. 1, 1937. (Getty Images) An American Legion billboard in Brownwood, Texas, on November 1939. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Complete with Legion cap on his head, then-Sen. John F. Kennedy addresses the 42nd National Convention of the American Legion in Miami Beach, Fla. Kennedy shared the speaker's platform with Vice President Richard M. Nixon on Oct. 18, 1960. (Getty Images) A portrait of members of the American Legion, South Boston post, number 6536, showing a resolute and determined appearance in Boston, 1971. (Spencer Grant/Getty Images) Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle writer for Fox News Digital. Follow her on Twitter at @atstabile.

The group quickly evolved from "war-weary" veterans to "one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States," according to the American Legion's website.