Cincinnati Air Force Woman Veteran Makes History as First
African-American Commander of Greater Cincinnati
American Legion’s Only All-Women’s Post in State of Ohio
CINCINNATI, OH—November 2025, Cincinnati Air Force veteran, Melanie Veal
has made American Legion and State of Ohio history by becoming the first African-
American woman-veteran to become commander of the Greater Cincinnati American
Legion All-Women Veteran’s Post 644. Post 644 is the only all-women veteran American
Legion Post in the state of Ohio.
Commander Veal is a native daughter of Dayton, who has lived in Cincinnati
since 2008. After graduating from Patterson Cooperative High School in Dayton, Veal
enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served during the Cold War era. Commander Veal’s
military service includes service as a USAF Food Service/Hospitality Specialist, a
position which took her from Lackland, AFB, Texas, to Lowry AFB in Colorado and to
Kadena AFB in Japan. Her final Air Force assignment was at Cannon Air Force Base in
Clovis, New Mexico. In all Commander Veal served three years in the U.S. Air Force. 
Her awards include Honor Flight 036, the Good Conduct Medal, Overseas Long Tour
and the AirForce Training Medal.
After her military service Commander Veal moved to Dallas, Texas where she
worked for several years for two Federal agencies and for both the City of Dallas and the
City of Waco. She obtained certification in Public Administration from El Centro
Community College. In October 2007, she began her career as a Human Resources
Specialist. This year she retired from her career as a Human Resources Director and
remains active in the community. She currently serves as President of the Quinn Chapel
Usher Board, and as Board Chair for the City of Forest Park’s Civil Service Commission.
 
Commander Veal is married to Kenneth L. Veal, I. Commander Veal and her
husband have a blended family of five adult children, and seven grandchildren ranging
in age from 1 year to 15 years old.

Commander Veal has been a member of Post 644 since November 2019, and has
served in Post 644 positions of Adjutant, 2 nd Vice Commander and 1 st Vice Commander.
This is Veal’s second term of service as Commander. She was first appointed Commander
in August 2024, when the previous Post Commander resigned. Commander Veal was
reelected to the position of Commander of Post 644 this past May 2025. Post 644 hosts
its officer elections each year during the Post’s annual convention when a new
commander is elected.  The Post Commander position extends for one year, but Post
bylaws allow for the Commander to be reelected with no limit on terms.
Commander Veal is also very active in local veterans events. She participated in
the Ohio Department of Veterans Services “I Am Not Invisible” women veterans public
relations and outreach campaign hosted in 2020 submitting a bio and photo (see photo
below). She was also interviewed by WVXU Cincinnati’s NPR News Station in 2021 as it
relates to the efforts and advocacy by national women veteran organizations for the
inclusion of the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act of 2021 in
the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act. Post 644 and its members were
recognized and honored at the Cincinnati Reds game on August 30, 2024, when then 1 st
Vice Commander Veal threw out the first pitch. Most recently the Post participated in
the Saturday, August 2025, Hamilton County Military & Veterans Appreciation event
covered by several media outlets including Fox19 NOW.

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Commander Veal’s vision and goals for Post 644 during her tenure as
Commander include:

 1) increasing Post 644 membership,

2) developing more
community outreach projects,

3) addressing the lack of recognition given to women who
serve or have served in the military,

4) finding a permanent home for the Post, which
lost its headquarters and offices due to asbestos; and

5) increasing the Post’s collaborative relations with other Ohio veterans service organizations.

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While the national American Legion organization acknowledges that it does not
keep statistics on history made by local post members, by searching the internet one
finds that Commander Veal joins at least three other history-making African-American
(and other women of color) American Legion women veterans members who upon their
election to their local position of Post Commander became the first African-American
female commander of their respective local American Legion post.  These other history-
making African-American, or women of color include the following American Legion
members:  Bobbie Smith, who was installed as the first African-American female
commander of American Legion Post 205 in North Augusta, South Carolina, in July
2015; Amber Viola, an African-American U.S. Navy veteran who became the first female
commander of American Legion Post 274 in Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania, in February
2022; and JoAnn Miller, who was elected the first female commander of the historically
African-American American Legion Post 197 in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1994. American
Legion Post 197 is the largest African-American Post in the State of Florida with over
400 members. 
While Commander Veal joins a sisterhood of female African-American
Legionnaires (i.e., American Legion members) who have made history by becoming
Commander of  their local post, she remains the first African-American woman veteran
in the State of Ohio to lead Greater Cincinnati’s Post 644. After extensive research, as
far as can be ascertained, Commander Veal appears to be the first African-American
woman veteran to serve as commander of an American Legion post in the State of Ohio.
According to its current website, the American Legion, America’s oldest
congressionally-charted veterans service organization, chartered in 1919, has 12,000
posts located in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, the
Philippines and Latin America.  Of these 12,000 posts, the national American Legion
veterans service organization has seven all-women veteran posts.  These are Cincinnati
Post 644, Post 404 in St. Louis, Missouri, Women Veterans of SW Missouri, American
Legion Post 1214, Heartland Women Veterans American Legion Post 1107 located in
Independence, Missouri, Post 539 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Jane Delano Post 448 in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Post 321 of the Oglala Sioux Tribe's Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in Oglala, South Dakota.

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