Freemasonry is a fraternity – the oldest and largest organization for men in the world. There are nearly 2 million Masons in the U.S. alone.

There are chances that your father, grandfather, or uncle was a member. You may have seen him wearing a ring or a lapel pin with the Masonic Square and Compasses design.

No one is certain as to when Freemasonry was actually started. It was probably 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, around 1670, 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 scientists, philosophers, merchants, farmers, musicians, and men in public life, but especially the great military leaders. It was no different in the Americas.

George Washington, the first commander in chief of the American Forces, was a member of the fraternity. 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.

Commodore John Paul Jones, the father of the United States Navy, was a Mason.

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.

Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, were Brother Masons, as well as explorers of the great American Northwest.

General Henry “Hap” 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: Gen. Omar Bradley, Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, Admiral Richard Byrd, General Mark Wayne Clark, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, Gen. George V. Marshall, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in World War II, Eddie Rickenbacker, the leading American Ace of the first World War, Gen. John Joseph Pershing, John H. Glenn, Buzz Aldrin (and 11 other astronauts) and General Walter Boomer.

A total of 224 of the men who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor have been Masons.

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 clearinghouse for contributions of time and money to help America’s veterans. The MSA Hospital Visitation Program is in more than 157 Veterans Administration Medical Centers, 26 state-operated Veterans Homes, and a number of military hospitals. Hundreds of Masonic volunteers give more than a quarter-million hours each year to help America’s veterans, regardless of whether the veteran is a Mason.

Sir Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and President Harry S. Truman were all Freemasons. During the height of the Second World War, Truman made a special appearance in the newsreels being shown in movie theatres 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 the 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.'”

Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said: “Freemasonry embraces the highest moral laws and will bear the test of any system of ethics or philosophy ever promulgated for the uplift of man.”

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 the Fraternity.

Why was it so important to these men to join before they went into battle? For one thing, they knew if they were killed, there would be help for their widows and children. Masons take care of their wives, widows, and orphans. But they also knew it was just as Brother and 33rd President Harry S. Truman said above; anywhere in the world they might be, even in a hostile country, they would find friends and Brothers. That is still true.

It’s also true that you’ll find in Freemasonry something else 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-ax, and it’s been a long time since masons built castles. The tools of both have changed – but the spirit has not.

Maybe Freemasonry is for you. It is for millions of men, young and old alike. And it exists all over the world.You are never too far from a Masonic Lodge as evidenced right here in Chautauqua County.

But you will have to ask to find out. We’re happy to give information, but it’s against very ancient rules for a Mason to try to talk someone into joining. It has to be your decision, of your own free will.

If you are interested, ask a Mason for a Petition for the Initiation Degrees and for additional information. Or, if you don’t know a Freemason or would just like more information, contact the Grand Lodge of New York (www.nymasons.org), or myself, Master of Dunkirk-Irondequoit Lodge 301 which meets at the historic Fredonia Grange building; modell2@stny.rr.com or 716-785-3610.

Mark Odell is Master of Dunkirk-Irondequoit Lodge 301 of the Freemasons.