American Legion Post 38 in Floresville, Texas, exists because veterans chose to look after one another. A Buddy Check is that charge in its simplest form: a telephone call, a visit, or a question honestly asked. It is not a speech and not a committee. It is the habit of noticing who has not been seen.
The American Legion's Be the One initiative asks every member to be the one who notices, the one who listens, and the one who acts. Isolation does not wait for a crisis that makes the papers. A Legionnaire who misses two meetings, a rider who used to be at every Tailgate, a neighbor whose name has gone quiet — those are the moments a Buddy Check is for.
Our Hall at 1412 4th Street is built for that work. General Membership Meetings on the second Thursday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m., and Veteran's Tailgates on the third Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., are more than the business of the Post. They are the places we see one another. A chair saved, a plate passed, a ride offered — these are Buddy Checks by another name. We invite every member to use them that way.
If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, dial 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line. Help is available around the clock. The rest of us can do the quieter work: keep the list of who belongs to this Post alive in our minds, and do not let a comrade slip out of sight.
Isolation is not always visible at a crowded tailgate. Members who cannot get to 1412 4th Street still belong to this Post. A Buddy Check can be two minutes. If the conversation turns toward crisis, stay with them and dial 988, then press 1.
Post 38 – Be the One. Make the Call.