Milwaukee Chapter No. 27, National Sojourners

10/04/2026

In the early morning of October 4th, due to lack of space for personnel in the armored vehicles used for exfil from the battle space, several combat troops had to run alongside the armored vehicles dodging direct enemy fire.

This is where the term "Mogadishu mile" comes from. It is about digging deep inside for that last ounce of courage and fortitude to finish the mission against overwhelming odds and well beyond the point of exhaustion.

May God continue to watch over all our troops that were there in Somalia, and may He bless the families of the fallen.

09/24/2026

In 1774, Most Worshipful Brother Joseph Warren wrote in a correspondence to Josiah Quincy, Jr. "It is the united voice of America to preserve their freedom or lose their lives in defense of it. Their resolutions are not the effects of inconsiderate Rashness, but the sound result of sober inquiry and deliberation. I am convinced that the true Spirit of Liberty was never so universally diffused through all ranks and orders of People, in any Country on the face of the Earth as it now is through all North America."

Dr. Joseph Warren was a key figure in Boston's struggles against the king before the war began. He was serving the craft as the Grand Master of Massachusetts when he was killed in action for the cause of liberty at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

09/18/2026

09/14/2026

On this day in 1814, a turning point in the War of 1812.

British warships sat outside the range of the weapons at Baltimore Harbor's Fort McHenry, rocketing (new tech at the time) and shelling the Americans relentlessly for about 25 hours straight. Over 1,500 rockets and cannonballs were fired from the morning of September 13th to the morning of September 14th, killing and injuring dozens of Americans.

In the early sunrise light of dawn, the British were expecting to see a sign of surrender or American defeat. Instead, the American military personnel of Baltimore Maryland raised a massive 30'x42' garrison flag, flying high with it's fifteen stars and fifteen stripes in a beautiful and bold red, white, and blue.

This inspired Francis Scott Key, who was an attorney imprisoned on a British ship parked off the Harbor, to write the poem about the defense of Fort McHenry. Lines from this poem would later become our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.

SO. If you see an American home or vessel flying the 15-star Fort McHenry flag on Monday September 14th, now you know why!! It's literally the "Star Spangled Banner."

09/11/2026

God Bless the USA! 🇺🇸

08/28/2026

On this day 250 years ago, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War took place on Long Island, NY. General Howe’s British forces, using a pass revealed to them by Loyalists, were able to outflank George Washington’s army defending Brooklyn.

It was a major defeat for the Americans and the start of a long retreat. Yet, though the odds were against them, the Continental army showed they could hold their own. In particular, the legendary “Maryland 400” (1st Maryland Regiment) fought heroically against superior numbers to buy Washington’s army more time.

Two days later, in one of the most daring moves of his career, George Washington evacuated his entire army to Manhattan with no loss of life, slipping undetected across the East River. When the British reached the American fortifications, they were astounded to find them empty. Thanks to their tenacity and strategic brilliance, Washington’s army survived to fight another day—and the American Revolution was kept alive.

08/16/2026

When we celebrate the revolution against the English Empire that became a free country of many free states, there are many names that often go unmentioned. John Stark is one of those names.

John Stark was born in New Hampshire in 1728 and lived to be 94 years old, the last surviving Revolutionary War general in 1822. He was the first to express what would become the New Hampshire motto when he said "Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils."

He embodied this motto further when he stated "Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and ten pence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it! Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" before the Battle of Bennington.

John Stark served in the infamous Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War, where he gained the experience he would need for the Revolution. He was a brilliant military mind with several critical victories due to his ability to correctly determine his opponents' next moves. He was a hero during the Siege of Boston (Bunker Hill), protecting the patriot left flank on the Charlestown peninsula against three waves of British attacks. He was also an effective leader during the battles of Trenton and Princeton in late 1776.

In 1777, John Stark organized a well-trained fighting force as a New Hampshire militia officer to defend from a northern British attack that the rest of the Continental Army officers did not believe would happen. This led to the very important British losses at both Bennington and Saratoga.

Please take the time to look up John Stark and learn of his service to his beloved New Hampshire, and to the American experiment of a free country. Remember him every time you see or hear or BELIEVE in "Live free, or die."

07/23/2026

07/06/2026

John Paul was born in Scotland on July 6, 1747. At the age of 13, he went to sea as an apprentice. By the age of 19, he was a captain. He was raised a Master Mason at St Bernard's Masonic Lodge No. 122 in Kirkcudbright Scotland.

He captained different merchant vessels for several years until he killed a mutinous subordinate and didn't like his chances in court. John Paul fled to America in 1774 and added Jones to his name to receive a land grant in Virginia. Not long afterwards, Captain John Paul Jones was recruited to the American Revolution, commissioned as one of the first officers in the Continental Navy.

Jones was the first to fly the Continental Union Flag aboard a US Navy vessel and was in command of the USS Ranger in 1778 when she became the first ship to be saluted by a foreign country. After many naval battles, French King Louis XVI honored Jones with the title of Chevalier.

Brother Captain John Paul Jones is known as the Father of the American Navy. After being reinterred in a bronze and marble sarcophagus, he now rests eternally at the Naval Academy Chapel in Maryland.

07/04/2026

Past President and current Paul Revere Heroes of 76 Camp Commander W.B. Jeremy Mathis joined his home lodge, Waukesha Lodge 37, in their parade group today.

Pocket Declaration of Independence/U.S. Constitution books were distributed by fellow Waukesha Freemasons as he read the Declaration to parade goers on Independence Day 2026, 250 years after the signing of this bold and beautiful document.