Missouri American Legion commander shares Veterans Day message across Warrensburg

Published 8:18 pm Wednesday, November 11, 2026

By Joe Andrews

WARRENSBURG — Every Veterans Day, Alex Slocum takes the initiative to share the significance of the holiday with the community.

Slocum, who served in the Air Force for 20 years and is currently the commander of the Missouri Department of the American Legion, participated in three speaking engagements across Warrensburg on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Through stops at Warrensburg Middle School, Maple Grove Elementary and the Missouri Veterans Home – Warrensburg, the messages he shared all aligned with his mission to highlight the importance of honoring those who have served in wartime or peacetime.

“Coming out with the kids, the kids have so much energy,” Slocum said. “It doesn’t matter which school you do. They have so much energy out there.”

At Maple Grove, which educates kindergarteners through second graders, Slocum highlighted the composition of the Legion.

He used the various caps of the American Legion to symbolize the differences to the students.

The colors include blue – representing the Post; a blue cap with a white top representing the district level; a solid white cap representing the state level and a red cap representing the national level.

“The red may be the highest, but actually they’re the least important,” Slocum said. “The most important one is the blue one, because the blue cap is the base of everything that goes on. If they didn’t have the blue caps, the other ones wouldn’t have a position.”

He also showed a purple cap belonging to ANAVICUS (Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada, United States).​

“The purple cap is from Canada,” Slocum said. “You have to be invited to join them. A couple of years ago, I was invited to join that organization.”

Slocum was elected to be Missouri’s Legion Commander in July. The position is a one-year term.

​“It’s something that I’m proud of,” Slocum said. “I never expected to move up to the rank … I’m very busy. I travel all over the state, all over the country a little bit. I’m glad I got the opportunity to do it. They always said, do it as soon as you can. Get it out of the way. A younger commander compared to some that we’ve had in past years just projects a better image for the Legion.”

The assembly at Maple Grove also included a performance from each grade level, conducted by music teacher Tammy Spratley.

Maple Grove also gave gifts to the veterans on its staff, and provided cookies to veterans in attendance.

In the hallways, patriotic art hung on display for visitors to see.

“My goal was two parts: one to let the young kids know what we do a little bit, but also to educate the parents. There are over 200,000 veterans in Missouri, but only 24,000 or so are in the Legion,” Slocum said.

Slocum said he began to realize the significance of Veterans Day once he retired.

“Now that I have been involved with the American Legion, Veterans Day – that’s special to me,” Slocum said. “I really appreciate the support that local schools give us, the local restaurants. I’m heading to Colton’s right after this for a free lunch. If I have time, I’ll get a free haircut at Great Clips. I appreciate them supporting us.”

Slocum began Veterans Day at Warrensburg Middle School, where he spoke alongside Master Sgt. Sarah Keonine from the 509th Bomb Wing Operations Support Squadron.

Wednesday afternoon, he spoke at the Veterans Home for their first Veterans Day program open to the public since 2019.

“The one at the middle school, they had a theme that they wanted to keep on track with,” Slocum said. “This one here, I had to make sure that the kids were kind of understanding kind of what I’m talking about. Then at the Veterans Home, it’s kind of personalized for a couple of Veterans who grew up in Missouri.”

Joe Andrews can be reached at 660-747-8123.