American Legion at the convention and later became known as Legionnaires' disease ("Legionellosis"). The bacterium that causes the illness was later named "Legionella". In 1988, after over 44 years of opposing U.S. Merchant seamen from receiving benefits under the G.I. Bill, they allowed Merchant seamen to join The American Legion. This followed Merchant seamen being granted limited veterans status by the United States Secretary of the Air Force on January 19, 1988. After a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision ("Texas v. Johnson"), The American Legion launched and funded an unsuccessful campaign to win a constitutional amendment against harming the flag of the
Legionella clemsonensis Legionella clemsonensis Legionella clemsonensis was isolated in 2006, but was discovered in 2016 by Clemson University researchers. It is a Gram-negative bacterium. “"Legionella"” is named after the American Legion convention where the first outbreak occurred, killing 34 people and sickening 221 individuals in 1976. It occurred in Philadelphia during the convention for the association of the U.S. veterans. The specific name "clemsonensis"” derives from Clemson University, where undergraduates DNA-sequenced this new strain. "Legionella" has a correlation with another genus called "Coxiella". Both cause lung infection that can eventually lead to pneumonia due to the intracellular bacteria in aerosols. Based on