BANGOR, Maine — There is a bond among members of the military who have served side by side that is strengthened every Veterans Day when they gather to honor those who came before them, one another and those who serve today.
It is the bond of brothers- and sisters-in-arms.
“It’s a chance for some camaraderie,” Galen Cole, a World War II veteran and founder of the Cole Land Transportation Museum, said just before the annual Bangor-Brewer Veterans Day parade began Thursday.
Cole mentioned a couple of reunion stories, one about two colonels “who hadn’t seen each other since World War II” until they met up again Thursday morning after six decades. The other involved Cole himself, who ran into a high school buddy he hadn’t seen in 15 years.
Veterans Day is a chance to be with people who experienced the same things and who lived to tell about it and to remember those who died on the battlefield, Cole said.
“It means remembrance of all those who fought to protect our country and to keep it free, but also to thank our present, living veterans,” he said.
Cole’s sentiments were echoed by several other veterans who walked in the parade, and by some who no longer have the ability to walk but who came out to be a part of the festivities.
Brewer resident Albert Gibson, an Air Force veteran who served during the Korean War, said the annual holiday is “a time to visit with fellow veterans. It’s a day to reminisce a little bit.”
Another Brewer resident, veteran Ray Parsons, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Air Force during Korea, said, “It’s a celebration of service.”
“The last justified war was World War II,” he said, but added, “I honor all those people who served.”
Parsons, like many in the group, continues to give back to his community. He serves as a Maine Troop Greeter, and is a volunteer at the Maine Veterans’ Home and the Cole Land Transportation Museum.
George McLaughlin of Calais, a U.S. Army and Army Guard veteran who served 37 years in the military, from the Vietnam War through Iraq, said the day of remembrance is “to honor all the veterans who came before us and those who served with me and who are still serving.”
Veteran Sharon McCarthy, a recently retired Army sergeant major who served for 28 years and now lives in Etna, said Veterans Day is set aside to “honor all those who have served and their families.”
She walked with veterans of the Global War on Terrorism.
Col. Eric Johns, medical group commander for the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing, based in Bangor, said all veterans “set an example for those who came after you and sustain our freedom” today. Johns is a Clifton resident.
Three veterans who have walked in the parade in the past but this year could not walk, positioned their chairs at the corner of Water and Main streets in Bangor.
Donald Bernatche, a World War II veteran who lives in Bangor and once served as commander of the state’s Disabled American Veterans chapter, said he looks forward to Veterans Day every year because “it means getting together with a lot of comrades.”
His son, Michael Bernatche, who served six years in the Army, said, “We appreciate everything they’ve done for us.”
Harrison Sylvester of Carmel, who served in the Navy during the Korean War and who is the former commander of his hometown’s American Legion group, said the holiday honors all the “boys and girls who served.”
Peter Ness of Levant is a Persian Gulf War veteran who reached the rank of captain after eight years in the Air Force and Maine National Guard. It is physically difficult for him to speak, but he answered “yes” when asked if he felt proud to be a veteran and if it filled his heart with joy to be honored.
Several veterans and active duty personnel who marched by during the parade stopped to shake Ness’ hand or salute him, which made his wife, Cory, beam with pride.
In addition to the military veterans, the parade included high school marching bands, area Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, other veterans groups, the 195th Army Band, and the Maine State Honor Guard. The MAINEiacs from the 101st conducted flyovers in a KC-135 tanker.
A three-volley salute was given by the Bangor High Junior ROTC, followed by a haunting rendition of taps.
People of all ages lined the parade route and thanked the former and current soldiers by waving flags and applauding as they passed. Many took off their hats and stood with their hands over their hearts as the national anthem and taps were played.
The veterans saluted.
Bangor City Councilor Gerry Palmer gave a short speech honoring the veterans, active service members and the Maine Trooper Greeters, who since 1991 have welcomed home or sent off every military transport plane that has come through Bangor. The Rev. Carl Schreiber gave the invocation. In addition, a letter was read from Gov. John Baldacci, who was at the funeral of a fallen Marine, 1st Lt. James Zimmerman, in Houlton.