This short talk bulletin was read by the Worshipful Master Lenthel C. Drachler at the November Stated Meeting and was dedicated to all Veterans.
No one knows, of course, when Freemasonry started. The operative Lodges, at least, seem to have been formed during the Middle Ages, among the craftsmen who built the cathedrals, castles, and fortifications in Europe. The Master Masons of the day worked with the fighting men to design stronger and better fortifications and strongholds.
By the time Freemasonry came to the American Colonies it had evolved into a Fraternity, composed of men from every walk of life, every profession, and every social class. In Europe, its membership included not only scientist, philosophers, merchants, farmers, musicians, and men in public life, but especially the great military leaders. It was no different in the Americas.
Brother George Washington was the first Commander in Chief of the American forces. Thirty-three of the men Washington picked to serve as General Officers under him were Freemasons, as were such Founding Fathers as Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. And the military connection is especially strong – each of the Armed Services was either founded or profoundly shaped be a Mason.
Commodore John Paul Jones – the father of the United States Navy, was a Freemason.
Baron Friedrich von Steuben – a Prussian Freemason who joined Washington at Valley Forge, is considered by many to be the founder of the U.S. Army as an effective and disciplined fighting force.
Samuel Nicholas – who created the U.S. Marine Corps, was a Freemason.
General Henry "Hep" Arnold – who was with the Air Force from its infancy and developed it into a separate branch of the Armed Services, was a Freemason.
William F. Reynolds – the first officer of the U.S. Coast Guard to become an Admiral, was a Freemason.
Many Masons have had outstanding military records. To list only a few:
General Omar Bradley
Admiral Richard Byrd
General Mark Wayne Clark
General Jimmy Doolittle
General George C. Marshall
General Douglas MacArthur
Audie Murphy – the most decorated soldier in the Second World War
Eddie Rickenbacker – leading American Ace of the First World War
General John J. Pershing
John Glenn
Buzz Aldrin (and 11 other astronauts)
General Walter Boomer
It’s worth noting that two hundred twenty-four of the men who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor were members of the Fraternity.
Masons care about our veterans, too. In 1918, Masonic leaders from across the nation met to form The Masonic Service Association. The purpose was to create a central clearing-house for contributions of time and money to help American’s veterans. The Hospital Visitations Program is in more that 157 Veterans Administration Medical Centers, 26 state-operated Veterans Homes, and a number of military hospitals. Hundred of Masonic volunteers give more than a quarter-million hours each year to help American’s veterans, regardless of whether or not they are a Mason.
Many of the world’s great civilian military leaders have been members of the Fraternity. Sir Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and President Harry S. Truman were all Freemasons. During the fight of the Second World War, Truman made a special appearance in the newsreels being shown in movie theaters all over America. He said, in part
"At this very moment, in foxholes and on shipboard, beneath the sea and in the air, countless hands are being clasped in fraternal recognition of each other in darkness as well as in the daylight. And countless fathers, bravely wishing God-speed to their departing sons, are saying ‘boy, when your hour of darkness and loneliness comes, find a Freemason, and tell him you are the son of a Freemason, and you’ll find a friend"
General Douglas MacArthur once said:
"Freemasonry embraces the highest moral laws and will bear the test of any system of ethics or philosophy even promulgated for the uplift of man."
During World War II so many young men wanted to join the Fraternity before going overseas that Lodges in the larger cities often worked 24 hours a day, six days a week conferring the three Degrees of Freemasonry.
Why was it so important to these men to join before they went into battle? For one thing, they knew if they didn’t come back, there would be help for their widows and children. Masons take care of the wives, widows, and orphans. But they also knew it was just as Harry Truman said – anywhere in the world they might be, even in a hostile country, they would find friends and brothers.
Often those Lodges, those friends and Brothers were on the battlefield as well, Masonic tradition says there was a military Lodge at Valley Forge.
Throughout the Civil War, we have records – in the diaries and letters of soldiers – Masonry binding brothers to brother in spite of blue or gray. National Zouave Lodge U.D., a Union military Lodge, including captured Southern soldiers as equals in their meetings. After the siege at Vicksburg, the Union Officers who were Masons invited the Masonic Confederate officers to a meal aboard a Union gunship, treating them as honored guests. The Masonic monument of the battlefield of Gettysburg commemorates another fraternal moment in the midst of strife.
Not everything Freemasonry does is as obvious as holding a Lodge on a battlefield so men can share in fellowship or mourn their dead. We know, for example, that one concern a man must face when he leave his family to go to a foreign country to fight is a concern for his children. What if he has to be gone at a critical time in the child’s life when a male role model is important? What if he doesn’t come back at all?
Freemasonry offers organizations for young men and women. The Order of DeMolay is for boys, the Order of the Rainbow girls, and Job’s Daughters are for young women. These organizations teach leadership, social skills, self-confidence, and character. No organization can take the place of a father, of course. But we can help make sure the young person in not left without male role models.
The Fraternity supports the military in other ways. Many Lodges raise funds to send special needed supplies to the troops in the Middle East. Other Lodges have raised funds for the Family Support Groups on military bases. The youth groups have sent candy and other goodies to the troops.
Just recently a new program call Operations Phone Home was begun. America’s Freemasons, partnering with the USO, are involved in a program that provides 100 minute, prepaid, International Phone Cards so that our military personnel serving in trouble spots overseas may call home.
It’s also true that something else is found in Freemasonry that’s found in the military – men you can trust. Men who will back you, no matter what. Men who understand what it means to live lives of honor and integrity. Men who won’t leave you to face the enemy, or the world, by yourself.
It’s been a long time since warriors went into battle on horseback, armed with lance and battle-axe, and it’s been a long time since masons built castles. The tools of both have changes – but the spirit hasn’t.
Brethren From Warren Lodge 240 who were veterans:
Ward B. Beck, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
George P. Little, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
George L. Brown, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
Paul Snell McCain, U.S Navy 1914 - 1918
Fred N. Hardy, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
Paul E. Sechler, U.S. Navy 1914 - 1918
John M. Jenkins, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
A. Carlisle Smith, U.S. Navy 1914 - 1918
Z. Davis Jenkins, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
George Francis Spencer, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
Edward pope Little, U.S. Army 1914 - 1918
Harold E. Warner U.S. Navy 1914 - 1918
(Killed during the war)
Allen Jones U.S. Army 1942 - 1946
Braton D. Baker, U.S. Army 1941 - 1945
Richard R. Benedict, U.S. Army 1943 - 1945
Donald Caterson, U.S. Army 1943 - 1943
Robert K. Caterson, U.S. Army 1943 - 1945
Allen C. Hunsinger, U.S. Navy 1941 - 1945
Searle Abram Lake U.S. Army 1943 - 1946
Clyde E. Lathrop, U.S Army 1943 - 1946
Edger H. Lutz, U.S. Army 1942 - 1946
Lee B. Noble, U.S. Army 1943 - 1946
Gerald David Thomas, U.S. Navy 1942 - 1945
Harvey W. Bateson U.S. Navy 1943 – 1946
Paul B. Kerr U.S. Army 1943 - 1946
Donald Wood U.S. Army Air Corps 1944 – 1946
Richard Allen U.S. Army 1945 – 1947
Paul B. Kerr U.S. Army 1952 – 1954
John Bechtel U.S. Air Force 1955 – 1959
Jerry A. Myers US Navy 1957 - 1960
Jack Gilroy U.S. Marine Corps 1963 – 1969
Austin Blochberger U.S. Navy 1966 – 1970
Jan Quackenbush U.S. Army 1968 – 1971
Fred B. Baker . II U.S. Army 1969 - 1971
Lenthel C. Drachler U.S. Navy 1983 - 1992
U.S. Navy 1997 - 2003
U.S. Air Force 2003 - present