An emotional John P. “Jake” Comer, past national commander of The American Legion, speaks to the National Executive Committee Monday after he was surprised by a resolution to name the NEC Room at National Headquarters in Indianapolis in his honor.

PNC Comer honored by National Executive Committee

A U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War who had been aware in advance of nearly every resolution to come before The American Legion National Executive Committee over the last half-century had no idea about this one.

American Legion Past National Commander John P. “Jake” Comer of Massachusetts wiped tears from his eyes Monday when he stepped to the podium of the Pre-NEC meeting at the organization’s 105th National Convention, in New Orleans. The NEC had just passed Resolution 1, its only resolution heading into the convention, to name the historic NEC Room at The American Legion National Headquarters in his honor.

Three past national commanders – Paul Morin, David Rehbein and Daniel Dellinger – spoke to the committee about the impact of Comer’s mentorship to them. “I would not be standing here before you today if not for Jake Comer,” said Morin, a fellow Massachusetts Legionnaire, who served as national commander in 2006 and 2007.

Comer joined The American Legion in 1962 and held offices at every level of the organization, serving as national commander in 1987 and 1988. That year, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to travel to Nicaragua and return with a report on the Contras and deliver it directly back to him. He raised more than $1.1 million for the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation and more than $1 million for the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C. He was later instrumental in the move to establish a permanent home for the American Legion Baseball World Series in Shelby, N.C.

Moreover, according to a plaque that will hang in the NEC Room now bearing his name, “he devoted more than three decades to mentoring leaders at every level of The American Legion.”

For generations of Legionnaires who will vote on resolutions in decades to come, Comer’s name and legacy will be etched into the architecture of a room in Indianapolis where all resolutions – except one – have received his counsel for more than four decades: The John P. “Jake” Comer National Executive Committee Room.