Indiana Legion Post Reopening After Fire

An American Legion post named after a man who was the first Hoosier to die in World War II is reopening three months after a fire.

The Tribune-Star reports that the Wayne Newton American Legion Post 346 is scheduled to reopen Monday evening following $200,000 in repairs.

Post secretary Linda Gross said the Terre Haute post suffered extensive smoke and water damage in an Aug. 10 electrical fire and needed to be rewired and repainted, among other upgrades.

Gross says the post has about 600 active Legion members. It’s named for Terre Haute native Wayne Edward Newton, who died aboard the battleship U.S.S. California in Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor.

In 2001, Gov. Frank O’Bannon declared Newton the first Hoosier killed in World War II.