WEST POINT – Members of the Benjamin A. Gilman Lodge of Perfection, Valley of Hudson (formerly known as the Middletown Lodge of Perfection) joined with the late Congressman Ben Gilman’s widow Georgia, friends and former staff recently to honor the memory and legacy of the congressman with a wreath at his graveside.
Gilman served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1945 during World War II. During that conflict, he flew 35 missions over Japan, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters.
“We as Freemasons, are citizens of two worlds, as such we know that Brother Ben is smiling down on us today and waiting to greet us all once again at the Supreme Celestial Lodge. We will never forget his love for freemasonry
and the especially the Lodge that he cared for so much and today carries his name,” said D.B. Louis Irizarry, II 32 MSA and Thrice Potent Master of the Benjamin A. Gilman Lodge of Perfection, Valley of the Hudson.
Gilman, who represented Orange and Rockland counties in the U.S. House of Representatives longer than any member in the history of the Republic, was a member of Middletown’s Hoffmann Masonic Lodge and a 33rd degree Mason.
