Bucksport Area Veterans Memorial

by Dave Milan - Several Members of the Bucksport Area Veterans Memorial Committee were assisted by community members to install three flag poles at Peary's Landing, future home to a Veteran's Memorial.

By Dave Milan (Email)

Recently the Bucksport Area Veterans Memorial Committee spent the afternoon together bolting flag poles to their bases in advance of a fund raising effort to be kicked off on Veterans Day. They are very busy men and women who believe that it is very important to erect a memorial to honor not only the men and women that have paid the ultimate price for their country, but to ALL of the men and women that have served their country with the pride and professionalism that identifies them as a United States Military Veteran.

I have had the honor to work with these men and women for the past year on this very deserving project. And on the day the first three flag poles were mounted to their bases, I was fortunate enough to have remembered my camera so I could record the work they were doing. And looking through the camera viewfinder I found myself looking into the souls of each and every one of these men. And when I looked at the photo later that day I wondered what others saw when they watched this memorial gradually take place. I suspect that they saw fathers, grandfathers, brothers, husbands, sons and buddies. They saw mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends. They saw fellow workers and neighbors, customers and employers.

But let me take a minute to let you know what I saw on this day. I saw scared teenagers in newly issued battle dress uniforms known as BDU's. Wondering what was going to happen next and could it be any worse than what has happened so far. I saw sailors working 24 hours a day in punishing tropical heat to make sure that "the old man, the skipper or the Captain" was happy with their work. I saw soldiers crawling across a beach with so much noise going on around them that there was absolutely no noise heard within their ears. And I saw the same soldiers wading through a swamped rice field hoping not to see another human being. I saw airmen with brown, sweat filled T-shirts loading bombs under a wing of a plane and wondering if the pilot would make it back this next trip. I saw petty officers diving into the ice cold Atlantic Ocean to rescue a family from their swamped sailboat with no regard for their own personal safety.

And I saw men and women writing letters to their loved ones under a flashlight just to be able to feel connected to that other world. The world that they couldn't wait to get back to. The world that they knew was a better place because of the women and men fighting next to them. The world that looked different now. Older now. I saw fathers that weren't home for their children's birth, mothers that weren't home when their child rode their bicycle for the first time. I saw sons & daughters that weren’t home for their parents funeral.

 Some people just see the flag pole. What I see are heroes standing in front of the greatest flag in the world. I see men and women that make me want to be the best person I can be each and every day. Because each and every one of them have given me the privilege to live in the best country in the world.

The Bucksport Area Veterans Memorial will be built in 2009. The money will be raised by those that feel the same way I do. But the veterans don't even know that they have already given me the best gift of all; getting to know them. Whether you donate funds to this worthy project or not, the next time you speak with a veteran, shake their hand, thank them and look beyond the flag pole.

Pine Tree Engineering - Site Plan for development of Peary's Landing

As with most communities within the State of Maine, Bucksport has a deep respect and appreciation for their military veterans. The local American Legion Bucksport Post 93 is an active organization committed to supporting military members and their families.

In 2007, Post 93 began working with the Town of Bucksport to develop a memorial that would honor all the military veterans from Bucksport that have served their country. Ames AE, an architectural and engineering firm located in Bangor, Maine was hired to work with the local committee in the development of a concept for the memorial.

In 2008, the Bucksport Area Veterans Memorial Committee received 33 responses from companies qualified to construct such an important structure. After a lengthy review, Freshwater Stone Inc. of Orland, Maine was selected to develop the memorial from Maine granite cut from Freshwater Stone's own local quarry.

Though the location originally selected for the memorial was at the intersection of Nicholson Ave and Broadway Ave, a waterfront location became available in 2008 and the committee asked the Bucksport Town Council to consider locating the memorial at Peary's Landing. As the gateway to downtown Bucksport, this location by the intersection of US Rte 1 and Main Street was quickly adopted as the preferred site.

The fund raising portion of the project has begun with hopes of raising the necessary $80,000 by spring so that the memorial can be completed in the summer of 2009. The Bucksport Town Council has led the way with a $15,000 donation and the Lane Construction Corporation has generously donated all of the earth work and foundation construction for the project.

On Veterans Day, 2008, a ceremony was held to bless three flag poles that were erected at the site which officially kicked off the building of the memorial. They now hold three symbols that are very dear to every veterans hearts; flags of the United States of America, the State of Maine and the Prisoners of War/ Missing in Action.

Lane Construction - Premier Sponsor


Freshwater Stone - Premier Sponsor


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