1775 Club Member Spotlight: Buddy Chapel

Name: Buddy Chapel

Hometown: Grew up in Warren, Pa., and currently resides in Villages, Fla.

Where are you in your Marine Corps career?

Retired 22-year Marine Corps First Sergeant, combat veteran.

Why did you enlist in the 1775 Club?

My good friend and the Right Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania Rob Brink bought me my membership to the 1775 Club as a gift. When you become a member, you get a coin and I carry mine with me everywhere I go.

I look forward to the opening ceremony when I can sit at the bar with him and my coin and drink a beer. There is no doubt in my mind this place won’t get built.

What does rebuilding The Tun mean to you?

A couple of years ago, I spoke with Rob Brink about getting involved in this project to rebuild The Tun. I knew it as the birthplace of the Marine Corps, but what I failed to recognize was the part Freemasons played in establishing this country. I remember when I found out the first Commandant of the Marine Corps, Samuel Nicholas, was a Freemason, and realizing just how significant The Tun and the Freemasons were in shaping our nation’s history.

When it’s built, The Tun will be a place where Marines, Freemasons and Americans can gather to share our history. Through the museum, people will come to understand what I came to realize myself — that The Tun is bigger than them. It represents a time to grow a deeper appreciation for what The Tun means to this nation. And once it’s operational, proceeds from The Tun will support Marine Corps scholarship funds, making this project not only a tribute to our past, but an investment in our future.

Interested in becoming a member of the 1775 Club and being featured?