Waco Lodge During World War II
If WWI was the busiest era in the history of our lodge, then WWII makes a close second. While 1,000+ degrees were performed during each year of WWI, the total of degrees performed during WWII was just shy of 1,000. Still, that makes for a very busy four years. More than 15,000 Texas Masons served in the second world war and many of them came from Waco Lodge. In addition to the members of Waco Lodge who served, there were also hundreds of men stationed at the nearby Air Force base who received their masonic degrees at Waco Lodge as a “courtesy” for other lodges in their hometowns. This means that those men were not technically members of this lodge but we still take great pride in knowing that their masonic journeys began in our lodge room. It is also worth noting that Waco Lodge was very busy during the war as it led the way for the new Grand Lodge building on Columbus Avenue which was dedicated to Masons who died in the war. Indeed, it was Waco Lodge that purchased the land where the Grand Lodge now stands and donated it for that purpose. Below is a list of our members that we know served in WWII. This list continues to grow as we examine our archives.
- Roy B. Alexander
- W.E. Ashcraft
- Joseph Frank Braun
