PHILADELPHIA – Ronald A. Aungst Sr., the RW Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, was pleased to present the 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee, with the scale model Tun Tavern model at a Pentagon Ceremony on Oct. 18.
The Tun Tavern is very significant to the United States Marine Corps and Pennsylvania Freemasonry as both organizations had their 18th century beginnings in this structure. The model, which displays figures of Dr. Benjamin Franklin (a two term Grand Master) and the current RW Grand Master of Pennsylvania, is a special limited edition of 500 pieces produced to commemorate the 2006 275th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
“We were honored to meet Gen. Hagee and his staff,” said the Andrew Zellers-Frederick, executive director of the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, who accompanied the Grand Master and the organization’s curator, Dennis Buttlman, in traveling to Washington from Philadelphia for the small ceremony. “We are pleased that the Gen. accepted the Tun Tavern as a symbolic gesture of the significance both organizations place on the important historic site.”
Aungst also presented Hagee with a special “Letter of Commendation” to recognize his many accomplishments as a serving U.S. Marine Corps officer for nearly four decades.
