Joseph "Joe" Lysaght was elected as a National Vice Commander of The American Legion during the 105th National Convention in New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2024.
Lysaght has been a Paid Up For Life member of the Ralph H. Johnson American Legion Post 147 in James Island, S.C., since 1998. He has served in many post and department positions that include district commander (2014-15) and department of South Carolina commander (2015-16). He has served on the South Carolina Department Executive Committee for 11 years. At the national level he has served on the Legislative Council (2018-2022), Security Council (2018-2019), Security Commission (2019-2020), alternate National Executive Committeeman (2022-2024), NEC liaison to the Legislative Commission (2022-2024) and NEC liaison to the Americanism Commission (2023-2024).
Lysaght served in the U.S. Air Force from 1964-1968, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1965. He continued his military service in the South Carolina State Guard and retired from the South Carolina State Guard in 2014 as a lieutenant colonel. He also served eight years as the deputy director of Veterans Affairs for Charleston County, S.C., the third largest veteran claims processing center in the state.
He is very active in his community and state and has been recognized with numerous awards. His state awarded him the Order of the Silver Crest, the highest award given to any citizen for exemplary service to the state.
Lysaght has been married to his wife, Letha, since 2001 and together they have six children, 11 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
