Work is underway on a new American Legion Post in Pharr, replacing a more than 100-year-old building.

After serving his country, Miguel Flores left behind a country he felt abandoned him.

"I didn't want to do anything with my country, my service, or what I did," Flores said.

Flores says he was denied benefits from the Veteran Affairs Department because he was over the income limit.

"I was angry and rightfully so," Flores said.

Flores served as a Military Police Officer in South Korea towards the end of the Vietnam War.

His life after the war focused on his family and his utilities business. He's also a Tejano artist, and his music led him to fellow vets.

"Why don't you become a member? We're constantly bringing in speakers in here," Flores said.

Fifty years after serving in the Vietnam War, he joined a group that understood him, the American Legion 101 Post in Pharr.

"We were the dance promoters and the American Legion would run the concession," Flores said.

Since 1921, Post 101 has called a building in Pharr off Cage Boulevard home. Seven years ago, members started collecting money to build a brand-new center.

"We were not getting any new members because of the ancient building," 1st Vice Commander Mike Navarro said.

They believed, in order to keep the camaraderie alive, a new legion needed to replace the over 100-year-old building.

"Leave a legacy for our future generations," Navarro said.

To help out with the project, the Pharr Economic Development Corporation approved $195,000 for the new building. That includes a $75,000 infrastructure development grant and a $120,000 low-interest loan.

The Hidalgo County commissioners also pitched in. They approved $450,000 in pandemic-era federal funding, earmarked for Precinct 2, to be put towards the construction of the new building.

"Now we have the monies, let's get it done," Navarro said.

Construction for the new legion center is expected to wrap up in the next four months.

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