SPECIAL D-DAY MEMORIAL PLAQUE PRESENTATION PLANNED
The Grand Lodge of Virginia will be dedicating a special plaque on October 10, 2009, during a solemn ceremony, as part of the Masonic Home Family Day Celebration. This is being done to honor all military veterans, specifically the many Masons, who suffered, were maimed, or died before and during the World War II. We hope to have many Masons, especially military veterans, present for this memorial plaque dedication.
Due to the expense of the plaque, the Grand Lodge is hoping to have benefactors to underwrite its cost. Anyone interested is urged to donate to this cause honoring our Masonic war veterans. Donations of any size will be appreciated. For tax deduction purposes, checks should be made payable to the "Masonic Home of Virginia" and mailed to 4101 Nine Mile Road, Richmond, Virginia 23223-4916. In the memo line on the check, designate it for "Armed Services Memorial." Donations will be listed in the fall issue of the Virginia Masonic Herald and listed as Bronze, Silver, or Gold, with up to $100 as Bronze, $100 to $200 as silver, and any donations equal or exceeding $300 will be gold and a stone paver at the Memorial will also be engraved with the honoree’s name. Donations can be made in honor or memory of either a specific veteran or perhaps all of the military veterans in a Lodge. All donations received exceeding the cost of the plaque and expenditures will be donated to the Masonic Home of Virginia.
In preparation for this special memorial event, we are interviewing Masonic Brethren who were "Operation Overlord" (more commonly known as "D-Day") participants. We are asking them to share how Freemasonry has affected their lives. A video of the interview is currently being created to be shown in the Division Leadership Conferences. This video will forever preserve the heroism and courage of our Greatest Generation and will demonstrate the strength of the United States of America.
The contact person for this project is Right Worshipful Walter Winchell Young, Grand Provost, who can be reached at 804-794-5507 or grandprovost@verizon.net.
