Memorial Day was a week ago, but I want to highlight something I mentioned then because I am in awe of the effort which has gone into it. SigEp Patriots Project (SPP), @SigEpsWhoServe on twitter, is a grassroots effort to document and honor the military service of Sigma Phi Epsilon members.
In March 2001, Ed Jones had finished his graduate work and was employed by Binghamton University. He said, “I missed my fraternity brothers, and I missed my Navy ‘Shipmates’ – I wanted more interaction / contact with both. As time was limited, I thought, ‘Why not reach out to the Sig Eps who are also military guys – kind of a two-birds-with-one-stone mindset.'” After the events of that September 11, his efforts took on a “bigger meaning.”
Early on, he began archiving information about Sig Eps serving in the military so that they could connect with one another. In November 2009, while Jones was serving in Afghanistan, the Sig Ep Patriots Project was born.
To commemorate Memorial Day 2018, a group of Sig Eps headed to Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of at least 181 members. The group visited the graves of about 50 of them, “among them were more than a dozen that we had found since our Veterans Day event, as well as brothers that we had not visited recently. They were brothers of various ages, branches, ranks and from Sig Ep chapters all over the country,” according to Jones. More than a dozen such visits to Arlington National Cemetery have taken place.
Among the graves visited last week was the one where Major James Winters, U.S. Army, a member of the Tennessee Alpha Chapter who served in the Vietnam War. When the group arrived at his grave, his widow was there. They shared with her the “Today in SigEp Patriot History” post about her husband. She “was thrilled to see that we were remembering her husband with a red rose on Memorial Day.” The red rose is one of Sig Ep’s flowers.
Over the years, SPP has identified and documented the service of more than 9,000 Sig Ep patriots, determined which Sig Eps are buried at Arlington, and discovered that Sig Ep Justice M. Chambers was awarded the Medal of Honor. The group established a scholarship in Chambers’ name that helps undergraduate members of the military.
More than 50 care packages have been sent to deployed brothers. The group the Flag Legacy Program, which facilitates the passing of a Sig Ep and U.S. flag among brothers who are deployed worldwide.
Nearly 1,200 military brothers are members of the SPP Facebook page, and the group “celebrates accomplishments, help brothers connect, assist guys that are transferring to a new duty station.” The “Today in SigEp Patriot History” is available on the Facebook page and the @SigEpsWhoServe twitter feed highlights that info, too.
Jones reiterated that SPP is a “grassroots effort meant to honor and remember our military brothers, ensure they are never forgotten, support those brothers who serve as well as their families, and educate others about these amazing men, their contributions, and in some cases their sacrifices.” I commend Jones and his group’s efforts to make sure the Sig Eps who have served our country are recognized and acknowledged for their service.
