Great Start to Veterans Day Programs in November

Thank you John A. Brashear Lodge 743 for your warm hospitality November 3, 2009. Your unique Veterans Day program was very special and well received. The three speakers all presented on the veterans that had influenced their lives and how that brought them to serve in their own ways today.

A special thank you to Giulio Magrini, Barbara Magrini, Lee Wagner, Summer Tissue, Mariah Crilley, and Bob and Joyce Mente. You all made the evening so special. I'm honored to have been a part of it. Happy Veterans Day to you all.

A Very Special Veteran's Day Program- Join us in Pittsburgh November 3, 2009

On Tuesday, November 3, 2009 John A. Brashear Lodge No. 743 will conduct a new kind of Veterans Day celebration.

Typically we commemorate the day in many of the traditional ways we see in our communities. This year’s program is titled Three Veterans, Three Stories: Three Lives of Service. Our speakers will share their stories of veterans who touched their lives and how they’ve turned to serving thousands through their life’s work. Speakers include Lisa Spahr, author of World War II Radio Heroes; Sgt. Lee Wagner, USMC; and Summer Tissue, Founder of Military Connections.

We will welcome ladies and non masons to this event, in conjunction with the theme of the program. At 6:30 PM we will offer hot and cold hors d'oeuvres for our guests. At 7:30 PM our speakers will conduct a short presentation for our guests until they are joined by the members of our lodge at 8:15 PM to begin the formal program.

Evening Proceeds and Donations will be made to Military Connections, a non-profit organization that ships equipment, care packages, and supplies to troops stationed overseas. The holiday season is fast approaching and many of our Soldiers and Marines do not receive care packages from anyone, but Military Connections, who ships over 900 care packages a month. Over 700 of the troops on the Military Connection mailing list have no family or friends to send them a box. We want to ensure that they are not forgotten. This year, Military Connections is attempting to ship over 10,000 filled Christmas stockings to the troops. Each stocking costs $30 to fill and ship. Any support we receive for this project will boost morale at an especially difficult time.

Masons through history have supported their countries through military service, and they have been privileged to support the contributions of our veterans through the years. This year we are pleased to broaden our focus to the family and the community at large, and recognize their sacrifice. We grow as citizens through our families, and draw strength from the support of our communities. This will be the focus of our celebration for Veteran’s Day.

John A. Brashear Lodge No. 743
541 McNeilly Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15226

Meeting Mr. Jankauskas!

I finally got the chance to meet Flavius Jankauskas (K3JA). He was one of the heroes I wrote about in World War II Radio Heroes. He wrote to my family at the age of 16 and then shortly thereafter went to sail ships for the wars effort himself, with the Merchant Marines.

I found Flavius when I reached out to another Jankauskas in the Philly area. This lovely man called me and said, "I don't know Flavius. I'm not even related to him! But, I've heard of him. I'd like to help you find him." And, he did. Within a week he had a good phone number and address for Flavius. We connected and have stayed in touch ever since.

Flavius was responsible for much of what I learned about short wave and ham radio during WWII, and today. He sent me package after package of things he found in the attic and basement from those days. It was always like Christmas when I got something from Flavius!

It took me too long to get there- 3 years! But, alas, I was able to meet him and his lovely companion, Friedl, in person, just a few weeks ago.

I spent a few hours with them, chatting as though we were old friends. Well, we are- even though we had not met in person before. I learned about Flavius' days in the opera- how fantastic! We talked about radios and his life and the irony of us all finding each other so many years after his wonderful deed to my family.

Flavius gave me the Howard 430 radio that he heard my grandfather's name on in 1943. I told him I'd treasure it and share it with others on my book tours. When the time comes, we'll make sure it goes into a museum for all to enjoy long after us.

My visit was as wonderful as I had always envisioned. He and Friedl are as wonderful in person as they are over the phone and email. I'm very fortunate to have met them. I look forward to my next visit!

In Honor of the Navy: A Short History

Founded as the Continental Navy on October 13^th 1775, the navy of the United States actually predates the United States itself. After the Rhode Island General Assembly and George Washington began to amass naval might, the Continental Congress passed the resolution for the creation of a navy which would intercept and seize British arms and supplies. While the quick mobilization of the previously unruly colonies and the creation of the navy were impressive, America’s few ships paled in comparison to Britain’s royal fleet.

There were moments of glory for the small navy during the Revolution, however, a number of which came from the nation’s first naval hero, John Paul Jones. Originally hailing from Scotland and a close friend of Benjamin Franklin, Jones transplanted himself to the new world shortly before the Revolutionary war. With important men to vouch for his prolific nautical experience on merchants, brigs, and for a short time slavers, although he despised them and quit in the middle of the Caribbean, Jones was quickly placed at a high rank in the navy. Of his achievements, he took the British sloop of war, Drake, off the coast of Ireland and most famously captured the HMS Serapis. When locked in battle, the HMS Serapis’ captain questioned Jones, asking him if he was ready to surrender, or strike his colors, to which Jones merely quipped, legendly replying, “I have not begun to fight yet!”

Jones and others like him fought heroically for the budding United States and, despite the exact numbers of wins and losses, proved to the downtrodden colonies that the British were not invincible and that was enough for the morale of the people.

After the Revolutionary War the size and even existence of the navy fluctuated over the years with the vicissitudes of need and money, but by the War of 1812 the navy was more formally established and ingrained into the seams of American society. By 1845 the United States Naval Academy was formed, where Jones is currently interred. In the following years the navy continued to expand through the Civil War and especially under the guidance of the later President Theodore Roosevelt, who firmly believed in the importance of the navy to the protection of the nation. The navy increased, decreased, and increased again through the World Wars and ultimately the Cold War. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States became the uncontested naval superpower in the world.

Recently the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard, have realized the adverse link between crises and the economy and are working with each other and international powers to prevent tragedies from occurring.

On this coming anniversary of the United States Navy’s creation, let us bear in mind all those who have gone before us and will come after us.

After Action Review of my Philly Tour: The Big Blue Marble

It was great to be back in the old city. I hit a few of my old haunts for good measure. The highlights were of course, finally meeting Flavius Jankauskas (one of the heroes in the book) and visiting readers at the Big Blue Marble Bookstore. (More on Flavius next week.)

The Big Blue Marble Bookstore is in Mt. Airy, a lovely neighborhood in Philadelphia. Sadly, I had never been there while living in Philly. Seeing it now, I sure wish I had. It’s filled with great big homes and warm neighbors. And, there is a cool co-op a few doors down from the bookshop.

I enjoyed my time getting to know Maleka and Mo, the shop’s keepers. They were surprised when I said my home base was Pittsburgh. What a drive!

The shop itself is a marvel. It’s not that unlike my own home. It was built more than 100 years ago, including 3 floors filled with books, and creaky narrow staircases. I loved it! They had a great children’s area downstairs and a delicious café upstairs- where the readings happen.

We had a small crowd who came because they love ham radio (Saul was our evening ham expert) or were simply interested in learning about a new topic. Even the young readers were intrigued by the subject matter. All in all- a good show. Thanks Blue Marble. I hope to return one day soon.

Frank William Crilley, Medal of Honor Winner

As a curious young girl, I was always in things I shouldn’t be- scaling closest shelves and plumbing the depths of attics to uncover hidden Christmas presents, foraging through drawers for secrets unknown, and rummaging through hidey-holes for stashed candy and treats. So naturally, after some thorough scavenging work, I came across my great-grandfather’s story. Tucked away in a cold, metal filing cabinet, I discovered a yellowing newspaper clipping with a colorful illustration of a diver, replete with large, metal, ominous helmet, surrounded by sharks of varying sizes and ferocity and an article detailing the heroic deeds of Frank William Crilley.

My great grandfather was a diver for the navy in the early twentieth century. A man who, as family traditions murmurs, taught Amelia Earhart how to dive. He wore the cumbersome, metal helmets, the ones seen in old Scooby-Doo episodes, a number of which account for the décor in my family home. While he was diving off the coast of Honolulu, one of his fellows, William F. Loughman, became trapped in the water, his air hose jeopardized. In danger not only of entrapment, but also of the pressure generated by the depth of the water, Loughman needed immediate attention. My great-frandather realized all of this. I can only imagine the tumult of emotions that must have assaulted him. Shock. Confusion. Fear. And finally determination, his single-mindedness in rushing to his friend’s aid. Under water for two hours and eleven minutes, my great-grandfather surfaced with Loughman, alive.

Frank William Crilley received a Medal of Honor for his courageous deed that day and recently a dive school in San Diego, California was named after him. Another building is also dedicated to the memory of my great-grandfather, located in the Navy Yard in Washington, DC. In addition to his Medal of Honor, he was awarded a Navy Cross. My own father, his grandson, followed in his footsteps and became a diver as well.

It is always amazing to discover pieces of your personal history. The awe of unearthing where your ancestors came from and the connections they have to your life is a bridging moment, an instance where history and the present flow together as one. All are alive in yourself and therefore society. When that history is alive and ebbing beneath the communal body the present and future are illuminated. To know that my great-grandfather not only participated in history but lives on written down and memorialized feels like a tribute to me and the person I am in some small way and I can only hope to add myself to that living memory.

Writer of this article, Mariah Crilley, has joined Lisa Spahr in promoting World War II Radio Heroes while a student at Chatham University.

Join me in Philadelphia on September 18th!

It will be so good to be back. I love and miss Philadelphia. I spent 2003-2007 at Temple University studying Psychology. I lived in the West, North and Art Museum areas. Boy, those were the days!

I'll be back the week of Sept 16-19. I'd love to see you at the Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Mt. Airy on Friday September 18th at 7 PM. I'll be signing books and doing a reading. Check out this link for more information and directions!

http://www.bigbluemarblebooks.com/events.html