Showing posts with label heroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heroes. Show all posts

Remembering a Hero

by Senior Midnight Freemason Contributor
WB Gregory J. Knott

I was on a Sunday afternoon drive near Pembroke, Kentucky when I came upon a rural cemetery.  I love exploring cemeteries and learning about the life and history of those that rest there.   Rosedale cemetery is well kept, with a road in the middle of it with majestic maple trees on each side of it.  These trees were providing some wonderful shade on a hot August afternoon.


Working my way down the various rows, I studied a number of gravestones.  I utilize the website Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/ as a resource to learn about the cemetery and those who are there.  It is an amazing tool to have on your mobile phone.  


One headstone in the distance caught my attention as it had a square and compass on it.  I worked my way over to it and discovered it belonged to Earl George Collins.  Mr. Collins was born on 27 August 1888 and died on 23 October 1961.  According to his obituary, he was a retired farmer and a member of the Pembroke Baptist Church.  He was married to Clara Lanier Collins (1887-1962) and they had three sons, Tommy Collins, John David Collins, and James Earl “Jimmie” Collins.   While his obituary didn’t specifically mention it, I am assuming Earl Collins was a Freemason since there was a square and compass on the headstone.


As I examined the other headstones near Earl’s, I saw his wife Clara next to him.  Next to Clara was their son James Earl Collins.   

Jimmie’s tombstone indicated he was born 8 December 1920 and died on 7 December 1941, just one day short of his 21st birthday.   7 December 1941 is a famous date in American history with it being the attack by Japan on the American fleet at Pearl Harbour.   This was the beginning of the involvement of the United States in WWII. James' tombstone indicated that he had died at Pearl Harbour and was aboard the USS Oklahoma.


The USS Oklahoma was a Nevada class battleship, having launched in 1914, later seeing service in WWI.  On the morning of December 7, the USS Oklahoma was docked at Pearl Harbour along with numerous others moored in battleship row.  During the attack, several Japanese torpedoes hit the USS Oklahoma and it was eventually seriously damaged and capsized.  429 crew members perished in the attack, including James Earl Collins.


In a 2007 article in the Kentucky New Era newspaper, family members of Jimmie recounted receiving word of Jimmie’s death with a December 15, 1941 telegram that said “The Navy Department deeply regrets to inform you that your son, James Earl Collins, Seaman First Class, U.S. Navy, was lost in action in the performance of his duty and in service to his country …”

Jimmie was initially buried in a cemetery in Hawaii and on October 28, 1947, he was re-interred at Rosedale Cemetery in Pembroke.


The simple fate of my finding this cemetery on a Sunday afternoon summer drive, finding the square and compass on Jimmie’s dad’s monument, and then learning about Jimmie and his sacrifice for our freedom.  Rest in peace Seaman First Class James Earl “Jimmie” Collins, we honor and remember your sacrifice for all of us.


~GJK


WB Gregory J. Knott is a founding member and Senior Contributor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign-Urbana. He is also a member of ANSAR Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and The Philathes Society. He is a charter member of a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter U.D. and serves as its Secretary. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts—an Eagle Scout himself, he is a member of the National Association of Masonic Scouters. You can contact him at gknott63@gmail.com

Remembering Pearl Harbor

By Midnight Freemason Contributor
WB Gregory J. Knott
Attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
December 7, 2016 is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Empire of Japan. This day marked the entry of the United States into World War II and changed the course of history of the world.

Over four years, 1941-1945, 16 million Americans served in the US armed forces, with 416,800 paying the ultimate price. Defeating the Axis powers in Europe, total victory was achieved as the war ended with surrender of Japan aboard the USS Missouri where the Japanese government signed a treaty to end the war.

These service men and women came home and resumed their lives, raised a families and became active in their communities, including many who joined the Masonic fraternity in record numbers.

Today, the veterans who served in this war are quickly passing away and a few of them will gather one more time at Pearl Harbor to remember their fallen comrades. The years may go by, but the pain suffered by many is still very real.

Pearl Harbor Survivor Remembers Fallen Colleagues
It’s impossible to fully thank these Veterans for their service and sacrifice, but the herculean task they performed to save the world will never be forgotten. 

Tom Brokaw in his book The Greatest Generation ended when he said, “After talking to so many of them and reflecting on what they have meant in my own life, I now know that it is in those small ceremonies and quiet moments that this generation is appropriately honored. No fanfare is required. They’ve had their parades. They’ve heard the speeches. They know what they have accomplished, and they are proud. They will have their World War II memorial and their place in the ledgers of history, but no block of marble or elaborate edifice can equal their lives of sacrifice and achievement, duty and honor, as monuments to their time.

As you go about your day, take a few minutes to think of their sacrifice and the freedom they have ensured for all of us.

Thank you.
~GJK


WB Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL) and Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC.   He serves as Sovereign Master of Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 of the Allied Masonic Degrees and is a charter member of the new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter U.D.  Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The Masonic Society and is very involved with the Boy Scouts of America and is himself an Eagle Scout.  He is Assistant Dean of the University of Illinois Library.  You can contact him at gknott63@gmail.com.  

To Be Heroes

by Midnight Freemason Contributor
RWB Michael H. Shirley



”High sentiments always win in the end, The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic." -- George Orwell

People want to be inspired to do great things and to become great themselves. We all secretly see ourselves as heroes, but know deep down that by ourselves we aren’t. Those who enable us to become what we want to be are the best leaders, because ultimately, leadership is about inspiring others to be great. That lesson is too often lost in our lodges, with the mundane business of running things driving out aspirations to a higher purpose. It’s hard to remember why we became Masons during the second hour of minutia-ridden discussion about the advisability of adding waffles to the pancake breakfast menu.

Masonry is a progressive moral science, whose principles and mystic ceremonies are constructed to convey eternal truths through allegory and beautiful language. It calls us, through its ritual, to live heroically. We cannot ignore the mundane things required to exist in the profane world, but if they become the center of our lives, then we have removed ourselves from the essence of Masonry. We have chosen to be mundane.


To live heroically does not mean that we should routinely charge into burning buildings or seek out danger. It means simply that we should aspire to live lives of great purpose, always looking to improve ourselves, and ever seeking to give voice to the better angels of our nature. Masons are called to be heroes in everyday clothing, helping one another and doing good wherever possible. Let us live, Brethren, in the ever-present creative promise of today. Let us be the heroes needed in this moment, now, for ourselves and others. Let us be Masons.

~MHS

R.W.B. Michael H. Shirley serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois, A.F. & A.M, as Leadership Development Chairman and Assistant Area Deputy Grand Master of the Eastern Area. A Certified Lodge Instructor, he is a Past Master and Life Member of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and a plural member of Island City Lodge No. 330, F & AM, in Minocqua, Wisconsin. He is Past Most Wise Master of the George E. Burow Chapter of Rose Croix in the Valley of Danville, IL; he is also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the York Rite, Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, Eastern Star, Illini High Twelve, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon.The author of several article on British and American history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.You can contact him at: m.h.shirley@gmail.com