West Point – Members of the Benjamin A. Gilman Lodge of Perfection, Valley of Hudson, recently joined with the former Congressman’s family, friends, and former staff to recall his remarkable years of public service.
Gilam died in December 2016 at the age of 94. The Republican served in Congress under seven presidents during a 30-year term that ran from 1973 to 2003. Gilman was buried at the U.S. Military Academy’s cemetery in West Point.
Gilman’s widow, Georgia Tingus Gilman, his son Jonathan Gilman, Peter Tingus, and grandchildren all attended the event. The ceremony began with the Thrice Potent Master, Davon Alston, welcoming and thanking the attendees for their attendance and recounting how Mr. Gilman still brings together people from all walks of life, determined to make America and the world a better place. Chaplain and Brother Jim Herndon led the assembly with an opening prayer commending service to others, and peace for the world, as only those who have known war can appreciate.
Congressman Gilman, a veteran of World War II, flew 35 missions over Japan while serving in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 until the end of the war in 1945. Gilman earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster,s surviving two crash landings on the island of Iwo Jima.
The formal ceremony concluded with a formal wreath presentation at the gravesite.
After the ceremony, as has become the tradition at this annual event, attendees shared personal remembrances, not only of Gilman’s legendary work ethic and constituent service, but also stories of his kindness and sense of humor.
A lively conversation centered on the ongoing work of the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship, which has awarded 50,000 merit-based scholarships to American students participating in study abroad and internship programs, helping American students to understand different cultures while advancing American security and economic interests. Applications are currently being accepted for this year, and further information is available here
During his time in Congress, Gilman chaired the House International Relations Committee and served twice as a Congressional Delegate to the United Nations. His commitment to eliminating hunger, fostering peace across the globe by promoting youth exchange programs stemmed and supporting human rights stemmed from the events he witnessed as a young boy in early Nazi Germany and the horrors of World War II.
Gilman, who represented Orange and Rockland counties in the United States House of Representatives longer than any member in the history of the Republic, was a proud member of Middletown’s Hoffmann Masonic Lodge and a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason.