Honoring Service and Sacrifice

Walter R. Hoenes ,

PM

During the sideline visitations and discussions in the Conference of Grand Masters in North America, in Portland, Oregon, February 2007, MW Steven R. Johnson, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, requested permission from MW Robert B. Heyat, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, to make a Minnesota resident, a patient in Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. a Mason at Sight. This request received a warm and supportive response and a date and time was set for this occasion. The candidate, John Kriesel, a Minnesota National Guard Soldier who had been seriously injured in a Fallujah blast in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was to be made a Mason at Sight and, to this end, the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Secretary and a number of other Grand Lodge officers from Minnesota, braving one of the late winter storms in our area, flew in to Washington, and gathered in a room designated for the purpose of making a Mason at Sight at Walter Reed AMC. The Grand Master of Masons in the District of Columbia, accompanied by a number of his Grand Line officers, was also in attendance to offer support. But it was not to be! Sgt. Kriesel was taken in for emergency procedures and as such was not able to attend the ceremony, following which it was decided that the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia will have the privilege of conferring this honor on the young soldier as a courtesy for the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. And so it was that on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 MW Robert Heyat, Grand Master, together with RW Akram R. Elias, Deputy Grand Master, in a very impressive ceremony made Sgt. John Kriesel, now Brother John, a Mason at Sight. Due to space limitations, only a small team of Grand Lodge officers accompanied the Grand Master: RW Mansour Hatefi, P.G.M., Grand Secretary, RW Robert F. Drechsler, P.G.M., Grand Treasurer, RW Sheldon I. Rappeport, Grand Lecturer, WB Gerhard Meinzer, Grand Tiler, WB Sissay Awoke, Grand Lodge Physician, and Brother Sviatoslav V. Voloshin, Grand Lodge Photographer. MW Richard E. Fletcher, PGM and Executive Secretary of Masonic Service Association of North America, who had been instrumental in making all this possible, was also present. The ceremony ended on a high note when Grand Master Johnson, who had been listening to the proceeding all along via a telephone hook up, congratulated the newly made Master Mason and encouraged him to affiliate with a local lodge of his choice at his earliest convenience.

The Grand Master and the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia is pleased and honored to have participated in this special occasion. We thank the Grand Lodge of Minnesota for the opportunity and extend our best wishes to Brother Kriesel and his family. Brother John Kriesel in a letter to MW Heyat, Grand Master and in response to a request for his biographical information writes: “Greetings Most Worshipful Grand Master, I want to thank you again for the wonderful ceremony on Wednesday evening. Here is my biography which includes the story of the blast that took my legs. For all of you that don't know me, my name is John Kriesel and I am a 25 year old National Guardsman (and now a Master Mason). I am also a husband and a father. Since September 2003 I have been on an active duty assignment all but 54 weeks. My first deployment was to Kosovo which lasted 12 months. The second deployment was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom which began October 1, 2005. I was 15 months into the 18 month deployment (now 22 months with the extension under President Bush's new plan) when I was seriously wounded in action. During the recovery process, I had plenty of time to gain perspective. My father-in-law Worshipful Brother Harold

Glazebrook has been a Mason for almost 20 years and has been a positive influence. So the seed was planted. Harold is a very good man and I knew that he was a Mason, although I never asked about it (even though I thought about it) until a couple of months ago. The incident that I am about to describe has changed mine and many other lives forever, but I have to try to find the positive in all things....good or bad. Becoming a Mason is one of the positive things that I've taken from being here. I truly miss the brotherhood of being with my fellow soldiers but have now found that same fraternal feeling among my brother Masons.

December 2, 2006 was like any other day. While on a routine patrol we received a change of mission from headquarters and were ordered to roll to another area. There was an M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle containing a crew of three leading our two vehicle convoy. Our up-armored humvee was at full capacity with four • SGT. JOHN KRIESEL, MASTER MASON passengers and one gunner; I was riding shotgun as vehicle commander. We were driving down the dirt road like any other day when everything went black. I remember hearing a muffled noise similar to the sound one hears when cannon-balling into a swimming pool. When I opened my eyes I saw what used to be our humvee not far in front of me, parts of the vehicle were everywhere. I heard screaming and yelling and then looked down at where my legs used to be. My left leg was blown off above my knee and all I could see of my right leg was hamburger from my knee down. I was covered in blood. At that point I yelled for tourniquets not even realizing they had already been applied. I had them tighten the right tourniquet and then closed my eyes and began to pray. For any of you wondering, your life really does flash before your eyes. As I was being loaded onto a stretcher for transport I told one of my buddies to tell my wife I loved her. Although I never gave up my fight to live, I didn't think I was going to make it. It is only through a miracle from God that I am here to tell this story and am able to tell my wife I love her myself. My thoughts and feelings about being in the military have not changed. I still support the war. I am still proud to have served with the members of Bravo Company and most of all 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad, my brothers with whom I will share a lifelong bond. There are people here at Walter Reed AMC that have changed their opinion and compromised their values because of their injuries, but the fact is we all serve in a volunteer army despite anyone's reason for joining. I joined in October of 1998 at age 17 for no other reason than wanting to serve my country. After taking my oath of enlistment I received only a t-shirt that simply stated "it all starts with attitude," which I firmly believe. I find myself in a circumstance right now that many people would rather be dead than be in. I am thankful to have lived through such a horrific event yet sorrowful that two of my best friends did not. Although I have lost both of my legs and am undergoing extensive rehabilitation to become proficient with prosthetics I will eventually be able to live a mostly "normal" life. I keep a positive attitude and although I know my life will never be exactly the same I draw strength from the fact that I have a wonderful wife, two wonderful little boys, and a good life waiting for me back in Minnesota. That is what is going to get me through this, a great family and a positive attitude. Just like the t-shirt reads, it all starts with attitude. I embrace the challenges that lie ahead. While some may dread physical therapy, I enjoy it and now do two sessions per day; it is my vehicle out of this place. I envision the day I can walk through the door of my new home and continue my life as a husband and father (and now a Mason) as if I never left.” –Brother John Kriesel

The Grand Master and the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia are pleased and honored to have participated in this special occasion. We thank the Grand Lodge of Minnesota for the opportunity and extend our best wishes to Brother Kriesel and his family. ■