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Emessay Notes July 2007Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. -- 1923-2007Walter M. Schirra, Jr., was the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Programs. Born March 12, 1923 in Hackensack, NJ—Died May 3, 2007, of a heart attack in La Jolla, CA at the age of 84. Bro. Schirra graduated from high school in Englewood, NJ, in 1940, studied aeronautical engineering at the Newark College of Engineering for two years and, in 1942, was appointed to the US Naval Academy receiving his degree in 1945. He was commissioned as an ensign and assigned to an armored battle cruiser bound for Japan. The war had ended by the time he arrived but he was assigned to the 7th Fleet in the Pacific. After completing pilot’s training he was designated a naval aviator and saw action in the Korean War. He served as a test pilot from 1952 to 1954 and then as a project pilot for various experimental aircraft. He was selected in 1959 as one of the Mercury Seven and in 1962 became the fifth American in space and third to orbit the Earth. He returned to space in 1965 as commander of Gemini 6 achieving the first rendezvous of two spacecraft in orbit. His third and final flight, aboard Apollo 7 in 1968, helped set the stage for the landing of man on the moon during the summer of 1969. He retired from the Navy in 1969 with the rank of Captain and became a commentator with CBS from 1969 to 1975. He complemented Walter Cronkite and the two became a powerful space-coverage team. He was engaged in a range of business activities and in 1979 formed his own consulting company, Schirra Enterprises. Bro. Schirra was made a Mason “at sight” in Jacksonville, FL Nov. 4, 1967 by M.W. John T. Rouse, Grand Master of Florida. He affiliated with Canaveral Lodge No. 339 at Cocoa Beach, FL; he was also a member of both Scottish Rite and York Rite Bodies and an Honorary Member of Arabian Temple at Fort Myers, FL. He received the 33rd Degree in Washington on Oct. 23, 1969. (Source: The Philatelic Freemason, Jul-Aug, 2007) Thought for July 4thDuty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Douglas MacArthur Fulfilling MasonrySometimes we focus too much on the negative. I think that is a reasonable assessment and I find myself doing it sometimes.
I will start: I am a zealot for progression in the Craft. I have often espoused the necessity for progression and I make no apologies for this… So the other day I am visiting a very small town country lodge. The kind that I often feel will be the slowest to change and the quickest to yell, “It’s never been done that way.” Then, when the time came for good of the order type stuff, one of the Brothers still crippled and on oxygen from a recent automobile accident stood up. He began to go around the room and thank the brothers.
and this went on for some time. I was humbled and reminded that Masonry exists in the hearts of the men who practice it. It does not make a difference where the men meet, the size of the room, or the price of the adornments. It is the “goodness” of the men and the Fraternity that brought them together that matter. (Source: From a posting on the Scottish Rite, SJ - Forum Website http://forum.srmason-sj.org) Masonic ThoughtTHE PLUMB Build up your life like the temple of old (Source: A Treasury of Masonic Thought – Edited by Carl Glick) |
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