National Commander

The national commander is the executive head of The American Legion, with full power to enforce provisions of the Legion’s constitution, bylaws and resolutions of the national convention, which meets each year to govern the organization. Each national commander serves a one-year term, after which a new one is elected at the convention; five national vice commanders are also elected annually.

Clarence Hill of Martins Ferry, Ohio, was elected national commander of the 2.5 million-member American Legion on Aug. 27, 2009, in Louisville, Ky., during the 91st National Convention of the nation’s largest veterans organization.

He attended Buckeye Boys State in 1967 and was commissioned from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1972, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a history major.

He served 19 of the following 24 years on sea duty and retired as a captain in 1996. His afloat service included one frigate, two destroyers, two cruisers, Cruiser-Destroyer Group 12 in Mayport, Fla., and the Sixth Fleet in Gaeta, Italy. He served as officer-in-charge of a PT boat, commanded the Naval Communications Station United Kingdom in Thurso, Scotland, for three years, and the guided missile frigate USS McInerney (FFG-8) for two years, including combat operations during Operation Desert Storm. Ashore, he earned two masters degrees, one from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and the other from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.

A Legionnaire of 27 years, Hill is a life member and three-time commander of Post 316 in Atlantic Beach, Fla., a member of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 316 and a life member of Legion Riders Chapter 316. He attended the National American Legion College in 2000 and was an instructor in 2001. He was Florida’s department commander from July 2002 to July 2003, achieving an all-time-high in membership. He served for three years as the national chairman of the National Security Commission. He is married to the former Liz Robinson of Thurso, Scotland. They have three children and six grandchildren.