U.S. Masonic ?Veteran? medals

[FireMedals]

I recently gained access to a small collection of Masonic and fraternal medals and "stuff", and I'll be posting parts of it as time permits. It's not all purely Masonic, but as many of the fraternal organizations in the U.S. have copied the Masons in insignia and degree format, I'll freely list them under this topic unless there is opposition. Sorry for the overtext on the photos. These medals are part of a collection that I do not own, and may be sold in 2006, and the owner won?t let me post them without the text. I don't have access to photos of both sides at present.

Several Masonic jurisdictions in the U.S. present Veteran Medals. These are for long membership, usually for 50-years, in the Lodge, and HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MILITARY SERVICE. A Mason certainly may be a military veteran, but the two are not connected. Some Lodges recognize war service, and there is an American allied Masonic organization called the National Sojourners for Mason's in the military who are officers or warrant officers. I?ll add information on these aspects of Masonry at a later date as time permits.

I?ve attached photos of Veteran Medals from five U.S. Masonic jurisdictions; New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania (pin-back). The older versions tend to be named.

The medals are, l. to r.;

- New York State Grand Lodge, awarded 1945

- Ohio, no date but probably no later than c.1910

- Massachusetts, awarded 1905

- Rhode Island, not dated but probably c. 1930's

- Pennsylvania, silver service pin, length of service not noted,

reverse engraved with name and 1926 date. On the obverse,

at the bottom of the garter is the number "21". This refers to the man's

Lodge, which is the Perseverance Lodge in Harrisburg PA.

[Wyomingguy]

An interesting addenda. There is some debate about the number "21" on the Pennsylvania masonic world war 1 service badge. While Perseverance Lodge is #21 on the rolls of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, these badges were issued to Freemasons across the state who were not members of that lodge. An example in my collection was from a member of a lodge in Philadelphia. They are engraved and dated (mine is from 1937) on the reverse. I do not have a clear explanation for the 21 although I have suspected this may be when it was authorized but that is a case. They are in sterling. 

As an unrelated aside, for those interested in Masonic veterans, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania published a volume listing all World War 2 veterans. Titled HONOR ROLE: MILITARY AND NAVAL SERVICE WORLD WAR II, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1941-1945. The members are listed by lodge and there is no index sadly. However, it does include service information including decorations.