Operation Welcome Home

Welcoming our troops home as heroes should be one of our primary goals. Whenever possible, as Brothers or family members begin to return from their duties, their fellow Lodge members and other local Masons should try greet them at the airport as a visible sign of support. Be creative. Make banners, bring balloons and flags. Use your imagination to think of how you would like to be welcomed back to your community. Muster as many Brothers as you can for this important effort.

We also recommend providing each Brother with some type of gift or token, which may include a Masonic memento to mark the occasion. Some ideas might include a gift certificate to dine out, a package of local delicacies, movie passes or tickets to a local event.

We understand that this may not always be feasible, but want to promote the effort just the same.

NEW, Because we care ...

Our New York Grand Lodge Military Outreach program now includes a program for sending gift packages to New Yorkers with a Masonic affilitiation on active duty anywhere in the world. Please send the name and APO address to : R..W.. Irving Breitbart

NEW

Operation Phone Home for Masonic-USO-AT&T free phone cards for service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan has been endorsed by the Grand Lodge of New York and we are soliciting contributions from Lodges and Districts. Checks and pledges were received at the 223rd Grand Lodge sessions. Additional contributions for this very worthwhile effort may be sent to the Office of the Grand Secretary. Checks should be made payable to the Masonic Service Association of North America.

NEW!

As part of our ongoing support for the men and women serving in the Armed Forces of our nation, Grand Lodge is sponsoring USO “Care Packages” currently being presented as gifts to troops being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. These are similar to the comfort gift packages provided by Grand Lodge to servicemen and women in World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam. Our first “down payment” on this commitment, a check for $7,000., was presented earlier this month to Daniel Rodriquez, the famed “singing cop” and now a prominent singing star, entertainer, and USO volunteer. This gift was made on behalf of the Grand Lodge Military Outreach Program and will provide for the distribution of thousands of these gift packages on Daniel Rodriquez’s forthcoming USO tour to Iraq.

Now, I am inviting every member Lodge within our Grand jurisdiction as well as District Associations, and Concordant and Affiliated Bodies to join in this patriotic effort by making a contribution to the Masonic Brotherhood Fund and earmarked for the “Military Care Package Program.” These contributions will provide for additional gift packages for our military personnel and is certainly in keeping with our Masonic obligations and traditions.

When contributions of a Lodge or District total $3,500 or more, you will be given the opportunity to have a special "Sponsor" stickers applied to copies of the new Daniel Rodriquez CD “In the Presence” … the stickers will carry your name as a Sponsor of 500 USO gift packages in which will be a copy of this new CD. And, as an added incentive, you will also be given an invitation to personally present these USO “Care Packages” to departing troops as they leave from Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

I urge your participation in this project as part of our Military Outreach Program. Thank you and God Bless our men and women on active military duty and all our Veterans.

Fraternally

Edward R. Trosin

GRAND MASTER

ALSO NEW!!!!

Dan Walther made sure he would return to Iraq armed with the proper equipment.

But Walther, a major in an Army National Guard unit based at the Connecticut Street Armory, didn't push more weapons and armored vehicles .

Instead, he obtained aprons, jewels, gavels, marble sounding blocks and an altar - the objects he needs to open a Masonic lodge at Forward Operating Base Speicher, where he has been stationed for the past year.

A third-generation Mason, Walther joined Master Builder Masonic Lodge 911 in Kenmore when he was 21, eventually serving as the lodge's master. Now 46, the Town of Tonawanda resident is returning to his base just north of Tikrit after a 15-day leave. He rejoined the National Guard's Engineer Brigade, 32nd Infantry Division, and will serve as the master of Land, Sea and Air Masonic Lodge 1, the only Masonic lodge in Iraq.

The United States is home to more than 13,000 Masonic lodges, whose members adhere to a motto of "friendship, morality, and brotherly love," according to the Grand Lodge of the State of New York's Web site. Masons are dedicated to doing good, not operating underground, Walther said.

"Masonry is not a secret society," he said. "Masonry is a society with secrets. If we were a secret society, we wouldn't have signs outside our buildings."

Opening a lodge outside Saddam Hussein's hometown required help from Masons across New York, Walther said.

"The Grand Lodge of the State of New York and all the Masons have been extremely supportive of everything we've done," he said. "When the word got around, there was a bunch of red tape to cut through, and everybody jumped up and said, "What can I do?' "

Edward R. Trosin, grand master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, granted the new lodge full dispensation, allowing its officers to induct new members. In addition, New York's Masonic War Veterans provided Walther with the supplies he needed at no cost, Walther said.

The Masons' tight knit relationships should attract new members from the base, Walther said.

"We all look for the opportunity to meet with those who have the same beliefs, who share the same likes and dislikes and enjoy the camaraderie and the values the organization teaches," he said.

Walther's commitment to Masonry is so deep that he kept his return home a secret from everyone, including his family, so that he could surprise his friend Kent Dorney when Dorney was sworn in as master of the Kenmore lodge. Walther arrived home on Memorial Day, but he had to hide from Dorney, who lives a half-mile away, until the ceremony five days later.

The surprise was worth the wait, Dorney said.

To send your regards or find out how you can help, please use this address: Dan Walther