In a time when the Shrine required Rite membership and prior to the advent of 1-day classes it sometimes took quite a while to become a Mason and then proceed to the appendant bodies. In 1945, the Grand Master of Kansas granted special dispensation to an American hero to receive the degrees in less than the required time. General Jonathan M. Wainwright had been awarded the Congressional Medal of honor as the hero of Bataan in the WWII Pacific battle, was a prisoner of war for 39 months and had distinguished himself in the WWII European campaign. To accommodate his schedule, Brother Wainwright was initiated, passed and raised May 16, 1946 in Union Lodge 7, Junction City, Kansas. The following day, he took the Scottish Rite and Shrine degrees, going from a non-member to a Shriner in two days, a record at that time.
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