Message From Our Chaplain

Solon American Legion Stinocher Post 460

Veteran-Owned and Serving You Since 1902

At Solon American Legion Stinocher Post 460, we know how much it means to serve. As a veteran-owned organization, we are committed to meeting the needs of those in our community. We’ve been open since 1902, and that means we’ve spent over 120 years helping people right here in Solon, IA.

As part of our mission, we are open to the public for meals, special events, and more. To learn more about Solon American Legion Stinocher Post 460 and what we’re all about, read this recent letter from our chaplain from December 2024.

A Message From Chaplain Doug Thompson

John, at the age of thirteen, served aboard several merchant ships and then took positions aboard several slave ships. Four years later, John left the slave trade in 1768, which he described as an “abominable trade.” John signed onto a Scottish merchant ship, where his naval career suddenly skyrocketed after the captain and the senior ranking first mate both took ill with yellow fever and died. The crew of the ship asked John to take command of the ship, but John was reluctant. The crew took a vote and with the majority voting for John, he accepted the command. Under his leadership the ship and her crew sailed into a safe port. The owners of the merchant ship were so impressed with John's seamanship that they promoted him to the Master of the ship and gave him ten percent of the cargo. 

In 1770 John's career took a turn downward, when he had one of the crew flogged for mutinous actions. The mutinous crewman died a few weeks later as the result of the flogging. John was arrested and charged with unjustified brutality. John was later acquitted of all charges, but his reputation had been soiled. 

John signed on to the British ship Betsy, not as the captain, but as a junior officer. Eighteen months later John found himself once again in trouble for killing a mutinous crewman, this time with his sword. John claimed it was in self-defense. John decided rather than wait around for several months for the Admirals Court to convene, he fled and changed his last name to Jones. Even though he maintained his innocence, he felt that the family of the man who had died earlier due to the flogging would use their status to place undue influence upon the Admirals Court. Over the next eighteen months, it became rumored that John had joined up with pirates. John claimed this rumor was started by his detractors. The rumor persisted and John fled to the British Colony of Virginia where his older brother lived. During that time John made friends with many influential people, one of whom was Benjamin Franklin. John wrote Franklin a letter describing the past events and the false rumor of piracy and declaring his innocence of any crime. 

In 1775, the newly formed Continental Navy was in desperate need of naval officers and experienced seaman. John volunteered his services and was commissioned as a First Lieutenant. John proved himself to be, not only a knowledgeable naval officer, but one who was fearless. So much so that he gained international fame. The French gave now Captain Jones a refurbished merchant ship that was turned into the frigate Bonhomme Richard. The Bonhomme Richard under John's command sailed all along the British coastline sinking or capturing British ships and terrorizing the British citizens who lived along the coast. In turn, the British sent out her best ship the HMS Serapis with orders to find Captain John Paul Jones and sink the Bonhomme Richard. 

On September 23, 1779, the Serapis found her quarry, an intense battle followed lasting four hours leaving the Bonhomme Richard severely damaged. The Captain of the British ship, with bigger and more guns, called out for Jones to surrender. Jones' response to surrender was, “I have not yet begun to fight!” Then Captain Jones gave the order for his ship to close and to board the British warship. Hand to hand fighting ensued as the Colonial crew boarded the Serapis. The Captain of the Serapis, thinking he still had the upper hand, once again called out for Jones to strike his colors or sink. The crew of the Bonhomme Richard heard their Captain's reply “I may sink but I'll be damned if I strike!” Those words carried the Continental Sailors and Marines forward, forcing the crew and the officers of the Serapis to surrender their ship. As Captain John Paul Jones prepared the newly captured Serapis to set sail with his British prisoners for neutral Holland, the Bonhomme Richard slipped beneath the waves. 

History glossed over Captain John Paul Jones imperfections. Yet those imperfections did not define him as person. Despite his brashness while at sea, when in port and off duty, he was reserved and soft spoken. He was described as the epitome of a refined gentleman. 

Captain John Paul Jones, just like all of us, was a mixture of good and bad qualities. Fortunately, it is the sum total of these qualities that will tilt the scale in how a person will be judged.



Doug Thompson, Chaplain dotandjot@aol.com