John C. Cole, Jr., 32°
7181 Grays Mill Road, Warrenton, Virginia 20187–4535

Members of National Sojourners have a distinguished history and, potentially, a superb future.

In the past 85 years, National Sojourner members have numbered in the tens of thousands in over 500 chapters located in every state and in more than thirty countries. We have a distinguished history and a potentially superb future. Our military service to our country and the fraternal bonds that have joined us as military Masons ensure that National Sojourners will exist in perpetuity.

February 18, 1918, is recognized as the date of the establishment for our first and unnumbered chapter in Chicago, Illinois. Sixteen months later, Detroit Chapter No. 1 was chartered in Detroit, Michigan, and nine months later Camp Grant Chapter No. 2 was chartered in Rockford, Illinois. By January 1930, there were 98 chapters. Our newest chapter is Wayne W. Gatewood Chapter No. 536 chartered on August 1, 1998.

In the United States, chapters have been chartered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Regarding each state's number of chapters, California leads with 41 chapters, 20 of which are still active. On the other side of the country, there is only one chapter located in Rhode Island and one in Vermont. Over the years, not all chapters have survived, and there are currently 160 active chapters.

A review of the location of inactive chapters explains their inactivation. Most chapters were formed during wartime, and/or where no Lodges or other Masonic activities were available, to allow military Freemasons to meet, enjoy each other's fellowship, and pursue the Masonic patriotic activities which are the purposes of National Sojourners. In addition to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Panama Canal Zone, more than 100 chapters have been located in over 30 foreign countries. These countries include Austria, Canada, China/Burma/India (theatre of operations), Cuba, England (8 chapters), France (10), French Morocco, Germany (24), Greenland, Guam, Haiti, Iceland, India, Iran, Italy (4), Japan (13), Korea (9), Libya, Mexico, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Okinawa, Peru, Philippine Islands, Sampan, Taiwan, Vietnam (5), and the West Indies (Jamaica).

One additional chapter, Semper Fidelis Chapter No. 242, has been an interesting mystery. This chapter was chartered on August 14, 1944, with 30 members. No member held rank above Lieutenant Colonel, and 13 members were listed only by their last names. The chapter's name would indicate it was probably a U.S. Marine Corps chapter. Its APO would indicate it was located in Benghazi, Libya. The Marine Corps Historical Branch reports no such unit. All indications are that its members were Office of Strategic Services personnel involved in clandestine operations. It is one of many examples of the fraternal bonds that exist among military Masons and their desire to meet Masonically. In the absence of local Masonic Lodges and the provisional military or "field" Lodges of the past, Sojourner chapters are the logical solution.

No circumstance of duty, location, or affiliation has presented an insurmountable obstacle. Every United States Grand Jurisdiction is represented by our members. Our ranks include military and Masonic leaders recognized nationally and internationally as well as our future leaders in every Grand Jurisdiction.

Sojourners, despite separation from their Mother Lodges, are credited with attending Lodge more than twice as often as civilian Masons who live near their Lodges. Proportionately, Sojourners have served as Masters of their Lodges or are currently serving as Lodge Officers more than twice as often as local civilian Masons.

This article would be incomplete without an explanation as to what happened to the more than 350 Sojourner Chapters that have "gone dark" over the years. There are several easily understandable and positive explanations. First, many chapters were organized during World War II, the Korean War, and the War in Vietnam. Also, all of these chapters were chartered on or near military bases. As the wars ended, bases were closed, and overseas troops were returned home. That resulted in the demise of all of the chapters in Japan, France, Korea, England, Vietnam, Italy, Canada, Philippines, and 18 additional foreign countries.

The demise of most of Germany's chapters (only two of the original 24 remain) is a bit more complicated and exemplifies one of National Sojourners most important and unwritten purposes: to establish, strengthen, and support Masonic Lodges wherever they are—or should be. It is a matter of record that after the end of WW II, because of systematic Nazi persecution, no Masonic Lodges existed in Germany. There were less than 10,000 identifiable German Masons left in the country. Several Sojourner Chapters, aware of the Masonic void, petitioned for Lodge Chapters from United States Grand Jurisdictions and established English-speaking Lodges with Sojourners as the principal officers. Once chartered, these Lodges then petitioned for German-speaking charters and, upon receipt, with formal Masonry re-established, the Chapters closed. There can be no doubt that Sojourner actions significantly aided in rebuilding Masonry in Germany.

A history of National Sojourners gives us the following somewhat similar account of how sojourning military Masons established Masonry in foreign countries nearly a century ago (and then ceased to formally exist): "Early in 1900 after the North Dakota Regiment departed the Philippines with its Field Lodge dispensation, a group of Masons organized an informal club and named it 'Sojourners.' In 1901 these Sojourners provided the impetus, funds, and paraphernalia to charter the Manila Lodge under the Grand Lodge of California. One of the original Sojourners, Surgeon Captain Harry Eugene Stafford, 33°, charter Master of Manila Lodge, in 1913 became the first Grand Master of the newly created Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands."

The apparent demise of many Sojourner chapters in the United States is deceiving. A number of chapters, of course, "went dark" when bases closed in rural areas and near small towns, which could no longer support an active chapter. But there was also another problem, a numbers problem. National Sojourners Headquarters always approved new chapters wherever a need existed and chartering requirements were met. This sometimes resulted in more than one chapter being located in a city or location where several different bases and/or military organizations existed. With the transfer of units or base closings in an area where several chapters existed, they usually either merged or closed. Sometimes if they all closed, a group of remaining Sojourners petitioned for a new chapter, which might use one (or more) of the old names. Until 1985, chapters were always assigned new numbers, thus inflating the apparent total number of chapters. One small city, which no longer has a chapter, has been the home of five different chapter names. Chapter numbers are now being reassigned when chartered or rechartered where chapters formally existed.

The more active chapters that exist, the better National Sojourners can perform its unwritten purpose of strengthening Masonry. Active Sojourners are the principal conduits for military men in Masonry. This includes men of all ranks, active duty, reserve, and retired. Our military is so important to the United States that it must have a significant number of Masons throughout its structure. Masonic morality and integrity are absolutely vital to the future of our military and naval establishments—and to our country.

John C. Cole, Jr. was stationed at Fort McPhearson, Atlanta, in 1953, and prior to a Far East assignment, he was raised in Capital View Lodge No. 640, joined the Atlanta Scottish Rite, Yaarab Temple, and Fort McPhearson Chapter No. 60, National Sojourners. Since his assignment to Walter Reed Army Hospital in 1960, he has joined Walter Reed Chapter No. 303 of National Sojourners and is very active locally and nationally. For 35 years he has been the representative of the Masonic Service Association at the Army Hospital. He is also an Associate Director of the Foundation for Collingwood Library and Museum on Americanism.