HOULTON, Maine — A large group of several hundred people filled Houlton’s Monument Park Monday morning for a tribute to area veterans.
Featured as part of the town’s Memorial Day festivities, the service included presentations by guest speakers and patriotic songs performed by the combined Houlton Middle and High School bands.
“I am honored to be speaking with you today on such an important occasion,” American Legion Chester L. Briggs Post No. 47 Commander Nelson Ouellette said. “We are here today to honor our service members and to remember the sacrifices they have made while in duty.”
Jerry Riley (left) and David Carpenter unfurl an American Flag before folding it as part of a ceremony Monday in Houlton. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
Ouellette said the service members the group were honoring came from a variety of walks of life, but all possessed several fundamental qualities. Those qualities include courage, pride, determination, selflessness, dedication to duty and integrity.
“All of these are needed to serve a cause other than one’s self,” he said. “Many didn’t ask to fight on distant battlefields. They didn’t go to war because they love fighting. They were called for something bigger than themselves.”
Veterans march through downtown Houlton Monday as part of the town’s Memorial Day celebration. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
Sue Tortello and Tony Bowers served as guest speakers for Monday’s ceremony. Although neither are veterans, they have several connections to members of the military through ancestors or children.
Tortello took a moment to give a little background on the Houlton men who gave their lives in the line of duty. Four veterans from Houlton were killed during World War I, 28 from World War II, one during the Korean War, three from the Vietnam War and one while fighting in Iraq.
“We don’t know them all, but we owe them all,” she said. “How many of us could do what they did? What kind of a person can make the cause of America their supreme choice and give the last full measure? All of them lived here, walked the streets, attended school and church and were part of this town.”
Bowers said he felt guilty being asked to speak at a Memorial Day ceremony when he did not serve in the military. Several members of his family, including his son Ted, are members of the military.
Members of the Houlton Middle and High School bands performed a number of patriotic songs at Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony in Houlton. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
“The closest I got (to serving) was watching the draft on television,” Bowers recalled. “My birthdate was called off and it was stated I was too young. I was lucky.”
Bowers added he had the privilege of officiating at a number of military funerals as an undertaker and is always moved when hearing the life history of those who served in the line of duty.
Prior to the ceremony, veterans gathered at Soldier Hill in Evergreen Cemetery with a placing of wreaths. A parade featuring marching units, members of the United Vets Motorcycle Club, as well as police and firefighters made their way along North Street, including a stop at the bridge to pay tribute to those veterans who lost their lives at sea, before ending at the park.
The Legion hosted a free luncheon at its post on the Bangor Road following the ceremony.
Tammy Britton of the American Legion Post No. 47 in Houlton tosses a wreath from the North Street Bridge Monday morning to honor those veterans who lost their lives at sea. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
