About Post #1
On March 5, 1918 at noon, the 151st Field Artillery took on a barrage of gas bombs and Theodor Petersen, a combat medic, was critically injured. He continued to instruct others on how to care for the wounded. He was the first to remove his mask to test gas exposure. He died that night.
The 151st Field Artillery Unit stuck together after the Great War and formed an American Legion Post at the St Louis caucus. Led by 151st Private (Now judge) Levi Hall, Minnesota Post One was issued a Temporary Charter on 6/24/1919, then a Permanent Charter was issued on 8/25/1921. 151st Lieutenant John Soper, Theodor’s Commanding Officer and the first Commander of Minnesota Post One, carried the 151st’s red Unit Guidon to all American Legion functions. The name was later changed to Theodor Petersen Post One.
At the NEC meeting in June of 1925, a motion was passed that allowed Post One to retain the red color for their post banner instead of the blue color that all other American Legion Posts are required to use.
In 1988, these five posts surrendered their Charters to the Department of Minnesota. The resulting merger created Minneapolis Post One: Theodor Petersen 1 (Governing Charter), William Laidlaw 208, Lawerence Wendell 233, Mill City 459, Navy-Marine 472, Paul Revere 624.
Delbert Rose was elected as the first Commander of the new post, which still has the ONLY red Post banner in the American Legion (15,000 posts worldwide.)
Theodor Petersen has a memorial plaque on Victory Memorial Drive in Minneapolis.
You can view the copy of the June 1925 American Legion NEC Minutes at the link below.