— Ch. 1 · Founding And Early Growth —
501st Legion.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
Albin Johnson set up a GeoCities website called Detention Block 2551 in August 1997. He posted photos of himself and his friend Tom Crews wearing homemade Stormtrooper costumes on the site. Arnie DeHerrera started Stormtrooperland at the same time that year. Email conversations began between Johnson, Crews, and DeHerrera. Scott McArthur of Canada joined shortly after and developed the original logo with the words The Fighting 501st as its catch phrase. The design featured a stormtrooper helmet with red eyes in front of a purple Imperial logo. This evolved quickly into the current red, black, and white logo with the phrase Vader's Fist to express the force with which the Legion led. Within weeks of launching the sites, Albin was fielding email requests from people across the country and around the world looking to be featured on his website in their own homemade Stormtrooper armor. The Legion ranks swelled rapidly during this initial period. Regional subdivisions called Garrisons, Squads, and Outposts were created to facilitate the organization of events and appearances on a local level.
Evolution Of Costume Standards
The Legion's costuming standards are listed online in the 501st Legion Costume Reference Library. All costumes must meet the base requirements listed there in order to be considered for approval. Custom creations are generally not eligible for membership. All applicants are reviewed by their local units and Legion Membership Officers prior to approval into the member database. Members of the 501st Legion refer to themselves by a letter-number combination such as TK-899 or TR-3774. This tradition originates from a line in Star Wars where a character asks TK-421 why they aren't at their post. The founder of the 501st Legion decided that Desert Troopers would be labeled TD and came from specialized training schools for their missions. Snowtroopers would be TS while Biker Scouts would become TB as each group of costumes carries a specific letter designation. Members of the Legion are issued with individual identification numbers upon joining. It becomes their number for life and will never be given to anyone else even after they die. Because of that many members pick a number that has a significant meaning to them. Combining a costume code with a member's identification number creates a unique in-universe designation for each Legion member and each one of their costumes.