photo by: Jennifer Blohm/The American Legion

Dan Wiley, a Lawrence High and University of Kansas graduate, was elected National Commander of the American Legion on Aug. 28, 2025.

A Lawrence High and University of Kansas graduate recently was elected as the new National Commander of the American Legion.

Lawrence native Dan Wiley won the election for the organization’s top post and was installed as the American Legion’s new leader last week at a national convention in Tampa.

Wiley — who lives in Leavenworth County and served as a district court judge there — is a 1983 graduate of Lawrence High who later went on to graduate from KU’s law school after service in the U.S. Air Force.

With his election as national commander, Wiley now serves as the top executive for the nation’s largest U.S. veterans organization with more than 1.6 million members.

Wiley’s campaign for the position focused on the importance of suicide prevention and the Legion’s “Be the One” program. Wiley told attendees at the national convention of when he was an attorney applying to become a Kansas circuit court judge but was worried about disclosing that he was on medication for mental health care.

Wiley even had planned to stop taking his medication so that he would not be obligated to list it on his application form for the judicial appointment, according to an article reported by the American Legion. But his doctor told him that wasn’t acceptable, and said the judicial selectors would recognize that receiving mental health treatment isn’t a sign of weakness but rather an act of people helping themselves.

“That’s why the Be the One mission is important to me. It’s personal,” Wiley told the convention crowd, according to American Legion reporting. “I can’t tell you that Dr. Richard Whitlow saved my life. I can tell you he made a difference in my life. He made it better.”

In addition to promoting and growing the Be the One program, Wiley — the son of Donna Wiley and the late Emil Wiley — said he’ll also focus on the Legion’s legislative agenda and be part of the planning for a celebration of America’s 250th birthday in 2026.

The American Legion, which was founded in the months following World War I, has been a major advocate for numerous programs serving veterans, including the creation of what is now the U.S. Veterans Administration, the GI Bill, and legislation to help veterans impacted by Agent Orange, among other initiatives.

Wiley, who has held top American Legion leadership positions at the state level, was elected to a one-year term in his new post.