Grateful Ex-GI’s Son Buys and Fixes Up Legion Hall

Out of work and far from his family after the end of World War II, a Japanese-American ex-GI was turned away from other American Legion halls because of his race. But he ate Thanksgiving dinner at Beverly Hills Post No. 253.

The memory of that meal was still warm four decades later, when his son heard about Post 253’s plight: Faced with the need to put on a $50,000 roof that the post could not afford, its commander was offering to surrender the bunker-like meeting hall to developers in exchange for space in a new office building, but there were no takers.

The son, who asked that his family not be identified by name, sent a copy of the story to his father, now a prosperous Northern California businessman.

The father consulted with his brothers, fellow veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a largely Japanese-American unit that fought with distinction in Italy.

Welcome Exception

“These guys went straight from the (internment) camps to the front lines,” the son recalls. As Japanese-Americans, they were not welcomed everywhere when they came home, but the Thanksgiving dinner on Robertson Boulevard was an exception.

“My dad and uncles said, ‘These people let us in!’ So I bought the property for a substantial amount of money.”

The sale was recorded April 24. But there will be no new building. Instead, the American Legion post will retain control of its meeting hall for five years, paying rent of $1 a month.

The new owner already has sent workers to install the new roof, paint the walls inside and out, and put in a new kitchen and bar.

After five years, he plans to take control of the building and convert it into a restaurant or some other venture.

“I’ll think about it then,” said the buyer.

Meeting Place Assured

But the veterans will be able to keep meeting within its nine-inch-thick concrete walls at least one Monday a month until the year 2014, if there are enough of them around to keep the post going.

The Legion’s bylaws require that veterans must have served in wartime to be eligible for membership. By 2014, even the youngest of the relatively few Vietnam vet Legionnaires will be nearing old age.

“You can’t ask for anything better. When you’ve found an angel, you don’t need a developer,” said Ruth Langes, a Coast Guard veteran who is adjutant of the post. She also chairs the board of the Beverly Hills American Legion Community Clubhouse Inc., a separate legal entity that owns the meeting hall and its 6,612-square-foot lot on Robertson Boulevard.

The post has been meeting there since the building was erected in 1937, but it came into its glory days during World War II, when Marlene Dietrich sang for servicemen and Red Skelton drew crowds there with impromptu performances.

Years of Neglect

That period of prosperity was followed by years of neglect. The World War I vets who founded the organization grew old and died, many of their younger comrades from World War II turned their attention elsewhere and Vietnam vets hardly joined at all.

“That’s why this makes sense for us,” said the 31-year-old buyer. “Most of these guys won’t be alive in 25 years, and at the end of 25 years the building is mine. . . . When I’m 50 years old, it’s going to be worth a lot.”

Purchased from the city of Beverly Hills for $10 in 1936, the land was recently valued at about $1 million.

But it had little appeal for developers, because the Legion’s demand for space on the ground floor would have meant a drastic reduction in rental income from an office building or other commercial development.

Zoning Restrictions

Any project would have been further complicated by zoning regulations, which limit construction to three stories or 45 feet in height and require two stories of underground parking.

“You’re never going to be able to tear that building down. It’s not economical to tear it down,” the buyer said.

Although sales records indicate that the full price of the property was $200,000, the real estate agent who arranged the deal said that future payments will bring the total cost to nearly $1 million.

For now, the new paint job and other improvements are bringing back some members who have not been seen around the meeting hall for years, Langes said.

“We’re getting quite a crowd at our monthly meeting, which is beautiful,” she said. “This last time we had 25 people in there, which is more than we’ve had in ages.”

The Beverly Hills group has 326 members. But it is expected to increase to more than 500 in June, when it is scheduled to be merged with the Palomar post, which now meets in a Knights of Columbus hall in downtown Los Angeles.