Last summer, American Legion National Commander Paul A. Morin gave me an opportunity that will guide not only my own year as national commander but the rest of my life. He gave me the opportunity to visit our troops at war in Iraq. There, I gained invaluable firsthand insight into the biggest issue facing the world today, and I discovered firsthand how The American Legion is impacting it.

When I walked up to a group of soldiers, I simply introduced myself with a handshake. "I'm Marty Conatser," I said. "I'm with The American Legion."

Without exception, someone in the group would say, "Thanks for your Auxiliary, your Sons and Legionnaires staying in touch with word from back home, sending us care packages and taking care of us." They were fully aware and deeply appreciative of our support. Sometimes we might think what we're doing is not noticed. I'm here to tell you that the young soldiers in Iraq do notice, and our support matters deeply to them. That was heartening.

When I was there, Gen. David Petraeus gave me one of his challenge pins. I take it as a challenge for myself and every Legionnaire and Legion family member to continue to support our U.S. military mission in Iraq. These are simple, logical orders if you think about it. If we put soldiers in boots, and we put those boots in harm's way, it is our responsibility as a Legion family to support, in every way, the man or woman inside them.

That is how we demonstrate the value of membership in The American Legion. It's a value that needs to be understood by those card-carrying members who never set foot in our posts, our units or our squadrons. It's a value that we know reaches those who volunteer every day. It's the value of Boys State and Boys Nation. It's the value of high-school oratorical competition, American Legion Baseball, shooting sports and Boy Scouts. It's the value of hurricane recovery, hospital volunteerism, scholarship fund-raising and grassroots advocacy on behalf of our fellow veterans. It's a value we must continue to embody for all veterans who want to continue serving their communities and country.

The young soldiers I met in Iraq understand that The American Legion is an organization built on values they share. As young veterans, they see positive support activities by posts, units and squadrons and understandably want to join and become part of our success, our quality and our commitment. These values are time-honored, and our young soldiers and veterans understand that, too. The American Legion has stayed true to the four pillars of its founding - national security, care for veterans, patriotism and youth - since that first group of war-weary World War I troops gathered in Paris to start the organization in 1919.

It is a rare and wonderful phenomenon that today, 89 years later, the founding vision still connects deeply with young U.S. servicemembers risking their lives on foreign soil. We know we must never let them down. They are reflections of ourselves, our experiences and our values. They are our past, present and future. They are us.