ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Members of the American Legion from across New York state are gathering for a conference and to hear a message from a descendant of the man who helped create the national organization a century ago.

The American Legion's Department of New York is holding its three-day mid-winter conference starting Friday at a suburban Albany hotel.

American Legion Post No. 1 in Albany was founded in 1919 and bears the name of Teddy Roosevelt, the nation's 26th president. His son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., helped start the organization in France after World War I.

Theodore Roosevelt IV recently sat with the American Legion's New York commander for a filmed interview that will be presented during the conference. The great-grandson of Teddy Roosevelt was a Navy SEAL who served in Vietnam.

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