Nov 19, 2011
Nov 11, 2011
Masonic Veterans Memorial Dedication
11-11-11
We are here today to recognize the value of those among us who, throughout our history, have served the country in the military. In its very birth and throughout the generations our nation has called for its citizens to report for duty, train, protect our shores and interests, and ultimately fight the many conflicts which have shaped our history.
Within a few years of Rochelle, then known as Lane, becoming a city, local Masons held their first meeting. It was June of 1857 in a brick building known as the "Republican Block" in the SE corner of Cherry av and Lincoln Hwy. Soon the Union would face one of its worst crisis in the form of a long and bloody Civil War.
Soldiers come from all walks of life. They are an accurate sample of our population, because they come from and eventually return to the communities which raised them, some of them only to find their final resting place in our cemeteries.
So it is not surprising that many members of various local organizations are veterans. One of them, Charles "Bud" Elkin, a Korean War Era Army Veteran and a member of our Fraternity, wanted to leave something to his community in the form of this memorial, so that, when going about our usual vocations downtown Rochelle, our minds would pause for a second as we reflect on what we owe to our Military servicemen and women.
Today marks the anniversary of the end of the Great War or WWI which crushed millions of lives. Survivors in 1918 truly believed it was going to be the last war, as there just could never be, in their minds, another horror of this magnitude.
Halas, since then the call to arms has come again and our sons and daughters have responded. Americans have fought on every terrain and in every condition, so many never to come home. As we speak, these colors are worn proudly by our troops from Baghdad to Afghanistan and everywhere our leaders sent them. Others, back home, are training to replace them.
The military has produced some of the finest men and women, some famous like Georges Washington, others known only to their local communities. But to each of them, serving was a duty they owed to God, their country, their family, their neighbor, and themselves.
This makes them one of the strongest threads in the fabric of our nation. Today we pay tribute to them, to the fallen and to their families, as we publicly renew our obligation to them, by recognizing their valor and sacrifice.
Eric Da Costa
Worshipful Master
We are here today to recognize the value of those among us who, throughout our history, have served the country in the military. In its very birth and throughout the generations our nation has called for its citizens to report for duty, train, protect our shores and interests, and ultimately fight the many conflicts which have shaped our history.
Within a few years of Rochelle, then known as Lane, becoming a city, local Masons held their first meeting. It was June of 1857 in a brick building known as the "Republican Block" in the SE corner of Cherry av and Lincoln Hwy. Soon the Union would face one of its worst crisis in the form of a long and bloody Civil War.
Soldiers come from all walks of life. They are an accurate sample of our population, because they come from and eventually return to the communities which raised them, some of them only to find their final resting place in our cemeteries.
So it is not surprising that many members of various local organizations are veterans. One of them, Charles "Bud" Elkin, a Korean War Era Army Veteran and a member of our Fraternity, wanted to leave something to his community in the form of this memorial, so that, when going about our usual vocations downtown Rochelle, our minds would pause for a second as we reflect on what we owe to our Military servicemen and women.
Today marks the anniversary of the end of the Great War or WWI which crushed millions of lives. Survivors in 1918 truly believed it was going to be the last war, as there just could never be, in their minds, another horror of this magnitude.
Halas, since then the call to arms has come again and our sons and daughters have responded. Americans have fought on every terrain and in every condition, so many never to come home. As we speak, these colors are worn proudly by our troops from Baghdad to Afghanistan and everywhere our leaders sent them. Others, back home, are training to replace them.
The military has produced some of the finest men and women, some famous like Georges Washington, others known only to their local communities. But to each of them, serving was a duty they owed to God, their country, their family, their neighbor, and themselves.
This makes them one of the strongest threads in the fabric of our nation. Today we pay tribute to them, to the fallen and to their families, as we publicly renew our obligation to them, by recognizing their valor and sacrifice.
Eric Da Costa
Worshipful Master
