John G. Fullmer, Sr., 32°
141 Hobby Road
Sumner, Georgia 31789–4146

From Concord to Kosovo, America's veterans have protected the nation and preserved freedom.

In 1776 at Concord Bridge and when Washington crossed the Delaware, they were there!

When Frances Scott Key was held as a prisoner of war, he penned the words "O Say Can You See," and they were there!

When the cannons blared at Gettysburg, Bull Run, Antietam, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and Savannah, they were there!

When Brother Teddy and the Rough Riders charged San Juan Hill, they were there!

Flowers now grow on Flanders Field, where many fell because they were over there!

From the rocky cliffs of Normandy on to the death-strewn march to Berlin, they were there!

During the "Day of Infamy" on Pearl Harbor's shore, the Bataan Death March, and the triumphant raising of "Old Glory" on Iwo Jima, they were there!

In Korea, a place we knew so little about, but fought there for freedom's cause, they were there!

In Vietnam, conflict or war, depending on which side of the ocean you were on, politics or economics aside, they were there and some still are!

In Desert Storm, a stark sandy desert, a war fought like none before, the cold of night, the blistering heat of day, to put down another tyrant, they were there!

In Kosovo, peace negotiations by day, to no avail, aircraft sorties and rocket attacks by night, trying to stop the slaughter of innocent lives and protect another people's homeland, miraculously only three were taken prisoner, but thanks to God, they came out alive. So once again, men and women standing shoulder to shoulder, maneuvering ships at sea and Stealth bombers and Apache helicopters in the air, and our ground troops ready to maintain the fragile Peace Accord, they were there!

They? The men and women, the young and old, from every walk of life who proudly served their country, and lost their youth and innocence, and gave their lives. We proudly call them VETERANS! So on this Veterans Day, we thank God for those who have fought and died, and for the ones who are with us still. Amen.

John G. Fullmer, Sr. was raised a Master Mason in 1994 by Worth Lodge No. 194, Sylvester, Georgia, and in 1995, he became a member of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Albany, and of Hasan Shrine Temple, Albany, Ga. Bro. Fullmer is a fifth-generation Mason who, in 1995, proudly raised his son, now Junior Warden of Worth Lodge No. 194. Bro. Fullmer is a 30-year career employee of the United States Postal Service, Albany, Ga., and currently serves as Bi-Vocational Minister of Music, for Bethel Baptist Church of Sylvester, Ga., where he is also serving as Chairman of Public Relations for Worth Lodge No. 194.