STILL SERVING AMERICA

Montana Boys Nation Senator

July 19, 2009 – Boys Nation Senator Cody Donaugh of Park City, Montana will participate in a Wreath-Laying Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on July 20. The ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The American Legion Boys Nation Senators will travel to Arlington Cemetery to visit the Tomb of the Unknowns, President Kennedy's gravesite, the Eternal Flame and thousands of other American service members' graves. Arlington National Cemetery has the second-largest number of people buried in any national cemetery within the United States, with more than 250,000 burials representing the nation's wars from the American Revolution through Enduring Freedom. The Senators will participate in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony to honor the unknown soldiers buried there.

Senators Cody Donaugh, of Montana, and Graham Wyatt, of Minnesota, will represent all 98 Boys Nation Senators in the ceremony with American Legion National Commander David Rehbein and National Chaplain Lawrence Vollink.

The American Legion Boys Nation program provides a week of government training in the nation's capital, comprised of lectures and forums with visits to federal agencies, institutions, memorials and historical sites. Valuable experience of the political process is gained through the organization of party conventions, the introduction and debate on bills and resolutions, and the election of an American Legion Boys Nation President and Vice President.

The young participants were selected for the 2009 American Legion Boys Nation program based on their academic record, leadership potential and previous activities associated with The American Legion Boys State program in each participant's state.

Each American Legion Boys Nation delegate represents his home state as a "Senator." The "Senators" caucus at the beginning of the session, organize into committees and conduct hearings on bills, allowing delegates to learn the proper legislative procedures according to the U.S. Senate. American Legion Boys Nation provides aspiring young men with the opportunity to learn about the federal government while participating in a hands-on experience with the electoral process.

Additional information and photo galleries are available at: www.legion.org/boysnation/

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