Marion teen finds ‘brotherhood’ at American Legion’s Boys Nation

Sitting with the other 150-plus participants of the American Legion’s Iowa Boys State program earlier this summer, Matthew Ulmer heard his name and was “just in shock.”

That calling of his name meant he was one of the two Iowa Boys State participants to represent Iowa at the Boys Nation.

“It was kind of a blur,” said Ulmer, a senior at Linn-Mar High School. “Walking up, I was like, ‘Dang this is awesome.’ ”

The American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary hold Boys State and Girls State programs across the country for students going into their senior year or high school.

Boys Nation then includes two Boys State participants from each state. Iowa Boys State sent Ulmer from Marion and Caleb Spires from Dubuque in 2021.

“At Boys State, you have a brotherhood,” Ulmer said. “At Boys Nation, you have an even tighter brotherhood.”

The two delegates from each state make up a fictional federal governing body with two parties — the Federalists and Nationalists.

As a senator in the national government exercise, he proposed a bill to address human and sex trafficking. The bill passed the Senate and was signed by the president of Boys Nation.

The Boys Nation Senate also took on bills about controversial issues, including health care, education and the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It gave everyone hope because — all these boys from everywhere in the United States — we all have our opinions, yet we can all work together to help and promote the common good of America,“ Ulmer said. “It was thrilling to see what we could get accomplished compared to the actual (U.S.) Senate.”

Politics aside, Ulmer and other Boys Nation participants visited the Vietnam War Memorial with the American Legion’s national commander. As they walked across the monument, Ulmer was right next to the national commander, a Vietnam veteran.

“He talked about how the site gives you an eerie feeling because of all the young boys who just gave and sacrificed so much in Vietnam,” Ulmer said. “It really touched all the boys.”

Being around so many veterans was “humbling,” said Ulmer, who plans to attend Virginia Military Institute after graduation.

He remains in touch with the Boys Nation “brotherhood.“ Sometimes, that involves discussions about current events like the challenges facing Afghanistan. Other times, it’s about inside jokes.

To make sure everyone was there at a particular Boys Nation event, his group would count off, with each participant having the same number.

“Everyone had their assigned number,” Ulmer said. “Sometimes somebody will put a one in the group chat, and then people just go, two, three, four, five, six. It’s just funny.”

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