1976 swine flu outbreak strain. On July 23, the President sends a letter urging Congress to take action on indemnification. In early August an outbreak of illness in Philadelphia is thought to be related to swine flu. It is found to be an atypical pneumonia thereafter called Legionnaires' disease. On August 6, President Ford holds a press conference urging Congress to take action on the indemnification legislation. Four days later, both Houses of Congress pass the legislation. Merrill becomes the first company to submit samples to the FDA's Bureau of Biologics for safety testing, which approves it on September 2. Merck makes the first
American Legion Veterans of the Korean War were approved for membership in The American Legion in 1950, and The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation was formed in 1954. On May 30, 1969, the Cabin John Bridge, which carried the Capital Beltway (I-495) across the Potomac River northwest of Washington, was officially renamed to the "American Legion Memorial Bridge" in a ceremony led by Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, director of the U.S. Selective Service System. In 1976, an outbreak of bacterial pneumonia occurred in a convention of The American Legion at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. This pneumonia killed 34 people