07/30/2026
From the Aleppo Archives: I never thought it'd be "real"...
So, here's the story... we've had this giant 5 star flag in storage at Aleppo for many years. It used to hang in the auditorium. As far as I knew, it was made to hang there when we dedicated the building in the late 1970s in honor of Noble and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur whom the building is named after. When questioning our Recorder Emeritus, he mentioned he thought it had been on a train that MacArthur was on, but we also had a photo of a smaller flag that seemed to fit that bill, so I assumed that would have fit well on a train, though who knew what happened to that banner. So, this flag was put back into storage.
As some of you may remember from a previous post, when we purchased our building in the late 1970s, the Dumaine Family made a large donation to the building fund and were given naming rights. They chose two names: their ancestor, Most Worshipful Isaiah Thomas, and MacArthur who was a personal friend of their father, Frederic "Buck" Dumaine. Indeed, we even found a small collection of letters (mostly birthday greetings) from the late 1950s between Buck and the General. So few knew, but our building is officially "The Most Worshipful Isaiah Thomas and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur Mosque". We do have the dedication plaque and portrait of MacArthur which we hope to find a good spot for.
Anyway, I was planning to travel to Norfolk, VA for a family event and decided to look up what historically interesting sights were there. The Douglas MacArthur Memorial was only a block away from my hotel, so I of course decided to visit. In the back of my mind however, I remembered the flag we had tucked away and seeing on the Memorial website that they had an extensive archive, I decided to reach out on the off chance they might have any information. I quickly wrote an email to the Archivist explaining we had the flag and letters, and I was going to be in town in a few days, but I know you're probably busy, so there's no rush in getting back to me.... 15 minutes later I got a reply... MacArthur visited Boston in 1951 as part of his farewell tour, and he's sure he's seen a photo of a train with a big flag on it; so please let him know when I could come by.
Well, I hadn't even considered bringing the flag, it was huge, and I was only bringing a carryon bag. The email provided a spark of interest though and there was the mention of a train... so I arrived at the airport with my carryon bag and an extra backpack with the flag carefully folded within.
I made arrangements to meet the archivist the afternoon after I arrived in Norfolk. I walked over from my hotel about an hour and a half early and showed myself around the memorial and museum. I paid my respects at the tomb of the General and his wife, toured the wonderful exhibits, and took a selfie at the display which contained his Masonic apron and Shriner's fez.
It was time for my appointment, so I made my way to the archives. They were in the middle of a move as the building is set to be replaced with a new facility which will better house the archives, so almost everything was packed up in boxes. The archivist showed me into the vault where he worked which contained about a half a dozen long rows of moveable shelves containing stacks of archival boxes. He started pulling photo albums out of the General's fairwell tour. We found his Boston visit and examined photos of him with familiar politicians and officials, riding in parades, and addressing the state legislature, but nothing of the train.
Then came the boxes of newspapers... folder after folder... The Boston Globe.... The Boston Post.... The Herald Traveler.... The Boston Record.... so many articles, so many photos, so much coverage... wait, a train! Oh, no, that's the observation car with a small 5 star plaque... must be somewhere...
After scrutinizing stacks and stacks of newspapers, I thanked the archivist for his efforts and he promised to touch base if he found the photo he recalled...
But wait, there's one more place to look... the "official" scrapbook presented to the General of his trip by the City of Boston.... So off the shelf came a scrapbook about 6 inches thick. We started turning the pages. More photos, some actual photos of the ones we had seen in the articles, more of the same articles... then, towards the end... there it was! One small clipping of the train passing through Connecticut on its way to Boston. And hung across the front of the Alco diesel engine: a giant 5 star flag. I examined it very carefully... the spacing of the stars looked right, the amount of fabric above and below and on both sides, the proportions definitely seemed right for a train. Yes, this was it!
We declared victory! The archivist promised to let me know when he found the print of the photo which was somewhere in the archives and which would better confirm it, but he was confident, this was the same flag.
So there it was, the flag the signaled the arrival of MacArthur, attached to the train which carried him to Boston. Who knew, a piece with such history, connected to such an important event of the time, had been sitting in storage for so many years at the Shrine.
I left the archives with a grin on my face and stopped back in front of the Memorial. Despite a passing breeze which did not make it easy, I carefully draped the flag in front of MacArthur's statue and took a photo admiring the vivid red fabric, imagining it on the front of a speeding train 75 years ago, announcing the arrival of the iconic General to the crowds of thousands upon thousands who greeted him at every stop.
So what's next for it? Well, I think this is exactly the catalyst we needed to finally decide where to rehang the building dedication plaque. Next to it can go the portrait of MacArthur, some of his letters, and a new case for this incredible flag.
Shriners International
