First in the World Post #14 American Legion Ambulance Service - Delaware Public Archives

2019 marker text:
In 1924, the David C. Harrison American Legion Post #14 in Smyrna formed the first American Legion Ambulance Service in the world. The 18 founding members were veterans of World War I who volunteered to transport sick and injured community members to area hospitals. Prior to this time patients traveled by train, which delayed medical treatment. Services originally extended from Summit Bridge to Milford. In continuous operation since its founding, the Ambulance Service relocated from S. Main Street to Glenwood Avenue in 1961. A new facility that carries on the work of the original service opened in 2013 at the intersection of Routes 6 and 300.

Original marker text:
In 1924, the members of the David C. Harrison American Legion Post # 14 initiated the first American Legion ambulance service in the world. Its eighteen founding members were veterans of World War I who volunteered their time to transport the sick and injured to hospitals in Wilmington, Dover, Milford, and beyond. Prior to this time, persons needing medical assistance were transported by train. This practice was often time-consuming and thereby dangerous to patients who were seriously ill and in need of treatment. At the time of its founding, services were provided to a district that extended from Summit Bridge to Milford. Originally located on South Main Street in Smyrna, the service was moved to this location in 1961. The Post # 14 American Legion Ambulance Service has been in continuous operation since its founding, and now serves an area from the Delaware Bay to the Maryland border, from Collins Beach to Garrison’s Lake. Staffed largely by volunteers, the service was responsible for answering more than 25,000 calls for assistance during its first seventy-five years of operation.

KC-67: Installed in 2001. Reinstalled in 2019.