Page 21 - Sojourner Newsletter-Fall 2025v2

Volume 102, Issue 3 21

Americanism and Bro. Joshua Lean
SPEECH AT THE OMAHA, NE 2025 ANC

Good evening, Sojourners, Ladies and Guests. I would first like to thank our National President Brother Carl
Diamond for giving me the honor to speak here this evening, I am truly humbled for this opportunity. My name is Joshua
Lean. I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my beautiful wife Corri Lean, and our daughter Evelynn Grace. I am the
President of Pittsburgh Chapter 38 National Sojourners, and a Past Commander of Isaac Craig Camp, Heroes of ‘76.
This evening, I would like to speak to you about my experiences in the military, Freemasonry, and what brings those two
walks of life together, the National Sojourners.

I served on active duty in the United Stated Marine Corps from 2007 to 2017. As my fellow Marines in the room
will tell you, there is just something special about the ‘spirit de corps’ as we say in the Marines. It’s something that you
will carry with you for the rest of your life. During my time on active duty, I was fortunate enough to serve with some
outstanding Marines. I was in the transportation corps and achieved the rank of Sergeant. I served communication units,
artillery batteries, line companies, logistics battalions, and training commands. I was stationed at places such as Marine
Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San
Diego. I deployed twice, once with Combat Logistics Regiment 15 to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring
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Freedom, and once with the 13 Marine Expeditionary Unit on LHD-4 the USS Boxer. To my fellow shipmates in the
room, I must take a moment to make this point. As most Marines would say, yes, I am in the Department of the Navy,
however I am in the men’s department. Once I got underway onboard the USS Boxer, I gained an entirely new
perspective on the U.S. Navy, and the rigors of sea duty. So, thank you all for your dedicated service, Sailors. There is
no Navy in the world like ours, and we will remain, the unbeatable Navy and Marine Corps team! Along those same
lines, there is understanding that we all have about inter-service rivalries. We all pick on each other relentlessly all in
good fun, as we should. And in that spirit, I’m sure the Coastguardsmen were glad to see the Space Force come into
existence, so we could all pick on the new guy. Unfortunately for them, the Space for is a Department of Defense branch
and we haven’t forgotten that you’re a Department of Homeland Security. One thing is for certain though, let a civilian
try to make a joke about any of the branches and we will all band together and ask you to please be seated. As some of
you have heard before, ‘we have had some levity at your expense, but that has now passed.’ The camaraderie each
service member in this room has experienced while serving our Nation is like no other. It’s a unique bond that cannot
fully be explained; it must be experienced firsthand to fully comprehend it. I had been told many times that the Corps is
a train that keeps going forever, once it drops you off at your exit upon the completion of your service, it keeps going. In
a way, it feels like you have been forgotten about. It can be painful at first, but I have learned it all about perspective. For
me, that was my experience. I felt like a huge part of my life had ended and a critical piece of my identity had been taken
from me. I had spent a third of my life, and all my adult life in the Marines. It was a bumpy transition to put it lightly,
and I thought the Brotherhood I had with my Marines was lost forever. So now we enter phase two, the fraternity.

At some point in their life, regardless of if it was before, during, or after your military service, every man in this
room was drawn to Freemasonry. We all filled out a petition to which we signed our name, stating our age, occupancy,
and place of residence. We were accompanied by our friend and guide, through the symbolic craft degrees of
Freemasonry to become a Master Mason. Beyond our Lodges, some of us if not most of us, traveled on into other
appendant bodies, such as the York Rite, Scottish Rite, Shrine and other Masonic organizations. I am very involved in
the York Rite of Freemasonry in Pittsburgh. I am a member of a Royal Arch Chapter, Cryptic Council, and Commandry
of Knights Templar. I am currently serving as Thrice Illustrious Master of Mt. Moriah Council No. 2, one of two
surviving Cryptic Councils that is as old as our Grand Council in Pennsylvania. In addition, I also belong to the Council
of Anointed Kings of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine. Each of
these bodies of Freemasonry has a sense of brotherhood among the membership. Some are stronger than others, but it
can be felt across the board in all Masonic organizations. When I first petitioned a Lodge for membership, I had three
men come to my home from the Lodge to speak to me about this petition, as I know you all has the same experience.
One of them said something profound to me that I will continue to reference throughout my journey. Brother Joe
Bahorich, who is a Past Master in his Lodge and a member of Pittsburgh Chapter 38 National Sojourners, told me that
the thing that drew him to the Craft was this concept. Joe said to me, “I love helping people. If I could give a million
dollars to every charitable organization that helps people, I would. But outside of hitting the Powerball, that just isn’t a
reality. But in this fraternity, we have a unique opportunity to combine everyone’s little bit so that they can give and turn
it into something large that we can contribute as a group.” That concept has stuck with me all these years and helped me
remain focused on why we do what we do in this fraternity. This sense of bringing men together to make a meaningful
impact in our communities is what helps build that sense of Brotherhood. I was thrilled at the opportunity to join an
organization that seemed to share the same sense of belonging that I was missing from my days on active duty. Once I