Page 11 - Sojourner Newsletter-WINTER 2021-2022

Vol. 9 Iss. 1 11

H I S T O R I A N’ S CORNER (HEROES OF ‘76)

®
Distinguished National Commanders of Heroes of ’76
Edward W. Nolte, Acting National Historian

This article (#2 in my series of NHist articles) addresses our five Emeritus and Honorary National Com-
manders and our only Honorary National President, some of their National Sojourners® and Heroes of ’76 ser-
vice credentials, and when the membership elected them to these honors.
Emeritus NC (1930): Bro. COL Christopher Van Deventer, 33°, instituted the Heroes of ’76 Degree and
chartered Bon Homme Richard Camp in Chicago Chapter in July 1922, while he was Chapter President. As
N2VP (1923-24) and N1VP (1924-27), he chartered many Camps and served as the Founding NC of Heroes of
’76 (1922-26), when Heroes of ’76 did not have any elected Officers. Bro. Van Deventer was elected NC in
1926, and other National Heroes of ’76 Officers were elected in 1927. Bro. Van Deventer served as NC until
1930, the only NC to serve multiple terms. He also served on the Committee of 33 (1925-33) and the National
Trustees (1933-36) and received the second Legion of Honor in 1962. He passed on 23 February 1964.
Honorary NC (1936): The first “Honorary” title went to Bro. MG Amos A. Fries, 33°, who was NP (1922-
30), the most terms in the Order’s history. As NP, he created the National Trustees in 1922 and served as a
Trustee (1931-63—also a record) and the Committee of Thirty-Three in 1925 and served there (1925-30), and
started the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Committee of 33 in 1926, now called the Mid-Winter Meeting. Dur-
ing WWII, he was Executive Committee Chairman, consisting of the National Progressive Line (NP- N3VP),
National Secretary-Treasurer, National Trustees, and PNPs. For four years (1942-46), he led and facilitated
the Order’s business for the membership, while WWII prevented Conventions. He received the first Legion of
Honor in 1961 and passed on 30 December 1963.

Honorary NP and NC (1947): The third and fourth honorary titles went to Bro. COL George F. Unmacht,
st
33°, a Founder and the first NP (1919-20) before the 1 Annual Meeting in 1921. He served as NS-T (1922-
47), on the Committee of Thirty-Three (not the number 33 until 1956)—(1926-30), and as National Historian
(1947-54). During WWII, he served as NS-T in Hawaii, his WWII station. During his 23-year tenure as Edi-
tor of The Sojourner, he published 273 monthly, yes monthly, issues from Oct 1924 to Jun 1947, more than
any other Editor in history. He is the only National Officer ever elected Honorary NP and the only National
Officer to hold two honorary titles—Honorary NP and Honorary NC. He passed on 10 January 1954.

Honorary NC (1952): The “honor” went to Bro. BGen Merritt B. Curtis, who was NP (1948-49), NS-T
(1949-53), Committee of 33 (1942-44), and National Trustee (1954-60). When the Honor Awards Committee
presented the Legion of Honor concept in 1960, he was immediately and unanimously elected to receive award
#1, before the medal design was finalized. He received a Certificate of Recognition instead. Interestingly, he
holds MIP #1. He passed on 16 May 1966 and never received the Legion of Honor the membership thought he
deserved.

Honorary NC (1953): The sixth “honor” went to Bro. MAJ William H.S. Bateman, who served on the
Committee of Thirty-Three (1934-49) and was its Chairman for many of those years. As the third Chairmen of
the Valley Forge Memorial Committee (1946-54), after Bro. Fries (1931-44) and Bro. Curtis (1944-46), he
saw the founding of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge in 1949 and the National Park Service’s approval in
1951 to place a statue of George Washington in the proposed Administration Building. He passed on 25
March 1960.
Perpetual, not Past: These distinguished Sojourners are listed in the Staff Directory among the PNPs and
PNCs. However, their titles are perpetual, not past, and have had no equal for 68+ years.