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The 80th session of American Legion Boys Nation began Friday; catch up on the weekend’s highlights.

Weeks after America’s 250^th birthday, 100 rising high school senior boys from across the nation headed to the nation’s capital to create their own nation of sorts.

As he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Tennessee’s Charlie Russell said it was good to be in Washington to see “the good nationalism that comes from being proud of our country and having good conversations about policy.”

The 80^th session of American Legion Boys Nation began July 17 with the senators from 49 states — Hawaii does not have a Boys State program — and the District of Columbia arriving at the Arlington, Va., campus of Marymount University. There they were divided into two parties, the Federalists and the Nationalists, for a week in which they will engage in political discourse within the framework of a mock U.S. senate.

The Boys Nation senators joined their counterparts from American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation on the National Mall Sunday night, posing for a picture on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before fanning out to visit the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and other landmarks.

“Just being able to be in America’s capital, especially 250 years after its founding, being able to see some of the main landmarks that make our country so great … definitely means a lot to me,” said Lincoln Laquidara, Pennsylvania’s Nationalist senator who was sponsored to Keystone Boys State by Post 571 in Erie.

“It’s really incredible to see how far we’ve come as a nation, and it makes me really inspired to also be that change in the future,” said Margaret Nunemaker, one of the Girls Nation senators from Ohio.

Closing the divide

The first Boys Nation senator to arrive on campus Friday morning was West Virginia Nationalist Amari Knights, who said his main goal for the “week that shapes a lifetime” was to find a way to bridge the gap when it comes to disagreements in the nation.

“Because any argument that you could point to about any hot topic debate, anything that gets remotely controversial, there’s always two sides and then the gap in the middle. There’s never any real attempts, at least in the general public, to reach an amenable agreement that is good for everybody; it’s always just like, ‘We think we’re right, and we have to prove you wrong,’” said Knights, who was sponsored to Mountaineer Boys State by Squadron 174 in Morgantown.

“So what I hope to accomplish at Boys Nation is either through legislation or just common practices, how we can start to talk to each other again, how we can repair and get back the ground that we’ve lost. And it comes from things like social media, things of that nature that feed into our own biases and give us what we want to hear. We’ve lost the ability to understand someone else’s perspective and what someone else is, where they’re coming from, why they’re believing what they’re believing and how that affects what they’re saying.”

‘Elite performers’

By the time the final senator arrived on campus at dinner time Friday night, the brotherhood of Boys Nation 2026 was already forming. It’s something that was reinforced by the messages this year’s senators heard from alumni of the 2015 and 2016 sessions who visited the program on Saturday.

“What shaped the rest of my life, what has shaped every mode of my life since I left Boys Nation, was the relationships that I made with the gentlemen around me,” 2015 alumnus Peter Hamilton told the senators. “One thing you’ll realize as you get older is that being in the company of elite performers is naturally rare. … This is an incredible opportunity to be surrounded by elite performers.”

This is the second consecutive year that Boys Nation alumni from 10 years before have returned to the area for a reunion and a meeting with the senators from the current program. For 2016 Boys Nation senator Rob Pekarek, he said it was important to return to help impact the next generation.

“I think that it’s really important that we as Americans and as patriotic Americans are giving back to the next generation because we’ve had so many before us that have given to us. So like when I was back at Boys Nation, class of 2016, we had counselors from the year or two before us. Having them mentor us and kind of pour into us and show us a path to go toward meant a lot to me and helped me chart my path forward,” Pekarek said.

“The other thing is we need more patriotic young Americans to stand up and say, ‘I do’ in service academies, assume the highest roles of leadership, command, government, citizenship. So if I can be a part of helping mentor the next generation, that’s something that’s really important to me.”

First elections

Prior to the alumni visit, the Boys Nation senators were officially sworn in by former National American Legion Legislative Chairman Matthew Shuman, who explained the meaning of the oath of office.

Then the senators voted in the first elections of the 2026 session. Georgia Federalist Brady Pace defeated North Carolina Federalist Krish Korrapati in the president pro tempore election, while Utah Nationalist John Alley Jr. won the secretary of the senate election over Arkansas Federalist Kemdi Ekeanyanwu.

“I served as the same position, president pro tempore, at Georgia Boys State. So being able to continue that work, being able to continue that journey, feeling very proud, feeling very happy, honoring the state, most of all, honoring the nation on its 250^th year, I think this is very important,” said Pace, who was sponsored to Georgia Boys State by Rabun-Dodson-Pope Post 70 in Villa Rica. “These are the leaders, these are the people that are going to step in, these are the people who are going to be in charge, and being able to be a part of that charge and even be a part of some sort of change and presiding over it, I’m aghast. I mean honestly, it’s just incredible.”

Pace will oversee the senate until the vice president is elected and sworn in on Wednesday.

In his speech before the final vote in the secretary election, Alley, who was sponsored to Utah Boys State by Post 79 in Bountiful, mentioned the influence his father had on his life.

“My father served in the Air Force, he was in training in Pensacola and died on duty when my mom was pregnant with me. So it’s just been me and her. His service in the military, everything he gave, has always driven me to be better, to do better for him. He sacrificed for me, and for our country, and I feel like I owe it to him to give it my all,” Alley said after his election.

More of #BoysNation2026 on social media

The annual ice cream social:

Highlights from Day 1:

Behind the scenes with our photo staff:

The swearing-in ceremony for Boys Nation 2026:

Highlights from Day 2:

Highlights from Day 3:

With Girls Nation on the National Mall:

Follow the happenings at #BoysNation2026 at Legion.org/BoysNation and on 91��ý’s social media channels.