The North Carolina Mason

Page 4 The North Carolina Mason September/October 2021 T h e m i s s i o n o f f r e e m a s o n r y i n n o r T h C a r o l i n a i s T o r a i s e T h e m o r a l , s o C i a l , i n T e l l e C T u a l , a n d s p i r i T u a l C o n s C i e n C e o f s o C i e T y b y T e a C h i n g T h e a n C i e n T a n d e n d u r i n g p h i l o s o p h i C a l TeneTs of broTherly love, relief, and TruTh, whiCh are expressed ouTwardly Through serviCe To god, family, CounTry, and self under The faTherhood of god wiThin The broTherhood of man. (USPS 598-260) is published bimonthly by e Grand Lodge of AF & AM of North Carolina, 2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608. ird class postage paid at Oxford, NC 27565. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to e North Carolina Mason, School Of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, Oxford, NC 27565. Grand Master R. David Wicker Jr. Board Of Publication Kenneth Lambert Adam Cloninger Dwight Decoskey omas VanEtten omas Pope Editor Beth Grace ncmason@glnc.us Good quality pictures are essential for suitable reproduction. e right to reject any submission is reserved. Pictures will be returned to the sender only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Email submissions are preferred: high resolution, unaltered JPGs and Rich Text Format documents only. Submissions and other correspondence should be sent to the editor at 2921 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, NC 27608 or NCMason@glnc.us. Each North Carolina Mason is a subscriber to The North Carolina Mason. If you know a member who is not receiving the paper, please send us his full name, complete address, and the name and number of his lodge. Masonic widows receive The Mason free upon request. Subscriptions are available to others at a rate of $5 per year. Subscription inquiries and address changes only should be sent to: e School of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, 600 College Street, Oxford, North Carolina 27565. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The North Carolina Mason, the Grand Lodge, or Board of Publications. Grand Master R. David Wicker Jr. ............................ dwicker@glnc.us Deputy Grand Master Larry B. ompson Jr. .......lthompson@glnc.us Senior Grand Warden Kevan D. Frazier .....................kfrazier@glnc.us Junior Grand Warden Donald E. Kehler ....................dkehler@glnc.us Grand Treasurer Lewis R. Ledford (PGM) ............... lledford@glnc.us Grand Secretary Jonathan Allen Underwood .... junderwood@glnc.us Senior Grand Deacon Robert W. Rideout ................. rrideout@glnc.us Junior Grand Deacon Steve M. Norris ........................ snorris@glnc.us Grand Marshal Gilbert D. Bailey ................................gbailey@glnc.us Grand Steward Michael A. Register .......................mregister@glnc.us Grand Steward Philip R. Johnson ............................ pjohnson@glnc.us Judge Advocate T. Marcus Browne III judge.advocate@grandlodge-nc.org Grand Chaplain Paul F. Menard Grand Tyler Calvin A. Rogers Jr. Grand Lecturer Herbert C. (Dicky) Lyon Grand Historian Daniel F. Finch Grand Orator E. Oscar Alleyne NORTH CAROLINA The Mason ■ see 9-11, page 7 From the editor's desk Have we forgotten heroes of 9/11 20 years ago? N ever forget. We promised we couldn't, we wouldn't. But for an entire genera- tion of young Americans, 9/11 is now little more than just a day they read about in history books. It is not an experience they lived. It is an experience they learn about. Right after 9/11, a team of scholars asked 3,000 people: Where were you when you learned of the terrorist attacks? A year later, they reinterviewed those people. Almost half had different – in some cases significantly different – memories of that moment. Never forget. Have we? Brother Pat Howard, a seven-year Master Mason and member of Junaluskee #145, has not. Will not. Couldn't possibly. Twenty years ago, while the former NYPD sergeant was managing the logistics of deploying hundreds of officers from the Bronx to the World Trade Center in Manhattan, his brother George, a 16-year Port Authority officer on his day off, dropped everything to head to Ground Zero with his colleagues from the elite JFK Airport Emergency Services Unit. All they wanted to do was help. George Howard arrived outside the North Tower just as it began to crumble. As he raced for cover, a piece of the tower's façade fell, pinning his entire body below. He was 44. He left behind two sons and a loving family, countless grieving friends and colleagues, a personal history of helping those in need … and an indelible impression on the leader of the free world. On Sept. 14, President George W. Bush visited with the victims' families. Some 200 people gathered to meet him; among them, Brother Pat and his mother, Arlene. "When President Bush walked in the room, all eyes were upon him," Pat says. "His expres- sion was one of deep sorrow and grief. It was real. He then slowly made his way about the room, speaking with each and every person there. … My mom was sitting in a chair a few steps away and as he approached her, she, being an old school WWII Navy veteran, began to rise to greet her president. "He looked at her and shook his head, implying for her to stay seated. As he leaned in to speak with her, she pressed my brother's By Beth Grace Editor George Howard, at left. President Bush (above) holding Howard's badge. In the background a view of the former World Trade Center Towers.

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