To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of its formation in 1919, Walter Fraser American Legion Post 108 in Oxford is inviting veterans and their families enjoy a free meal and learn more about the organization.

Located at 130 E. Drahner Rd., the post is holding a special luncheon on Sunday, June 9 beginning at noon. In addition to breaking bread together, the event will offer veterans an opportunity to mingle with each other, tour the post’s extensive military museum and potentially join the Legion.

“I really would encourage people to come out and see what we’re all about,” said Dave Perry, who took over as Post 108’s commander earlier this month. “It’s well worth their time.”

Perry, who lives in Rochester Hills, said Post 108 is using its 100th anniversary as an opportunity to recruit new members.

“The Oxford Legion is made up of a lot of Vietnam vets. Because of that, we’re older folks. We’re all in our 70s or (older). We need to get an infusion of young people if we can, so they can pick up the ball and run (with it),” he explained.

Although Perry’s only been attached to Post 108 for a couple years, he’s been a member of the American Legion since 1993. A veteran of the United States Air Force, Perry served from 1970-74.

“I spent almost all my time underground at a nuclear missile silo (in Tucson, Arizona),” he said. “I was part of the launch team (for intercontinental ballistic missiles). We were the guys with our fingers on the nuclear button.”

Perry joined Post 108 because of how “closely tied” it is to the community “in all aspects,” from assisting local veterans to supporting families in need.

“That’s what appealed to me – the fact that we could get in there and actually help people,” he said.

Post 108 is quite active. It sponsors a Boy Scout troop and a Cub Scout pack. It annually awards scholarships to graduating Oxford High School students. It marches in local parades. It hosts packing parties for troops serving overseas. It helps connect local veterans with the benefits to which they’re entitled. It provides free eye exams for veterans and community members. It provides Christmas gifts to children. It gives tours of its military museum to local students.

Perry believes the American Legion is the perfect organization for veterans who want to be active in their community.

“Most veterans want to be involved in something,” he said. “They’re used to giving and (this is) another way to give.”

Going forward, Post 108 will not be able to continue serving Oxford without new blood to replenish its ranks.

“We’ve lost 19 Legion members this past year,” noted Jim Parkhurst, a 30-year member and past commander.

“We’re going downhill quickly because of our age group,” Perry said. “We’re not getting a lot of new members from the younger (generation). . . We’re trying to get them to come out and give us a hand. I think what they will find is it’s a very rewarding (organization).”

Who was Walter Fraser?

Walter Fraser American Legion Post 108 was organized and chartered in 1919.

It was named in honor of Private First Class Walter W. Fraser, an Oxford Village resident who lived at 11 Mechanic St. and served in World War I.

Fraser, who worked as a railroad section hand before the war, was part of the U.S. Army’s 16th Regiment of Engineers, Michigan’s only all-volunteer regiment.

The regiment was organized, mobilized and trained in Detroit and sailed for Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Force on Aug. 1, 1917. It arrived in France nearly a month later.

Fraser’s wartime letters to friends and family showed he was enthusiastic about serving his country and defeating the enemy.

“I hope to see some of the boys over here soon. The sooner, the better. We have a great task, but we must do what we can and make old Germany lay down,” he wrote to his friend, Dewey Parker, in January 1918.

“I am always hopeful that I may be able to get a crack at the Huns,” Fraser wrote in a July 1918 letter to his mother, Jessie Fraser, and brother, John Fraser.

Although he survived WWI, which ended with the signing of the armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, Fraser never made it back to Oxford. He died of tuberculosis meningitis in France on Feb. 9, 1919 at the age of 22.

Fraser is buried in Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial just outside Paris. The 7.5-acre cemetery contains the remains of 1,541 Americans who died in WWI and 23 unknown dead from WWII, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Irene Lagiere, a resident of Bordeaux, France, wrote to Fraser’s mother in March 1919 to inform her that she had located his grave. She promised to put flowers there “as often as possible.”

“He is lost to you, forever: but be very sure that France will never forget any of those who died for her,” Lagiere wrote.