The lasting fame of Charles A. Lindbergh stems from his success at being the first person to cross from New York to Paris non-stop in a solo airplane flight. Piloting “The Spirit of St. Louis”, a plane that was little more than a fuel tank with wings, carrying only a few sandwiches and virtually no navigational equipment, he made the crossing in 33-1/2 hours, landing at Le Bourget Field in Paris to become one of the greatest celebrities of the twentieth century.
Like many great men before and after him, Charles Lindbergh came to Freemasonry before coming to greatness. He completed his Masonic degrees in 1926 at Keystone Lodge No. 243 in Missouri – just months before his historic flight brought him world renown. Although little of his Masonic record is otherwise known, Lindbergh did wear a square and compass pin during his flight, and “The Spirit of St. Louis” was adorned with a Masonic emblem.
As a hero of aviation, Lindbergh stood for all that the public thought of as essentially American: Independence, self-reliance, courage, and perseverance. At a time when the West had been won and most thought the frontier gone, Lindbergh showed there was another kind of frontier to explore through science and technology.
Lindbergh, as a Freemason represents a long line of explorers and adventurers down through the ages who were members of the craft. From Lewis and Clark, to polar explorers to astronauts such as E. “Buzz” Aldrin who walked the surface of the moon – testament to the spirit of Freemasonry, all!
-excerpted from the Scottish Rite Journal
