Plan a visit to a Maine monument honoring our veterans

WRITTEN BY RICHARD SHAW

Maine has to be among the most patriotic of all the 50 states. Every community seems to have a veterans’ roll of honor or monument from all wars, dating back to the American Revolution. The grave sites of those who served are sacred ground, decorated with flowers and U.S. flags by volunteers. Civil War historian Brian Swartz claims Bangor alone may enjoy the honor of having more veterans’ memorials than any other place in the state. Monuments and graves at Mount Hope Cemetery, the Cole Land Transportation Museum, and in downtown parks remember sons and daughters from another time. Following is a sampling of some noteworthy examples. Why not spend a day, or longer, gratefully visiting every one of them? 

Civil War Monuments 

Maine’s nearly 200 monuments honoring Union Army veterans who served are scattered from Kittery to Presque Isle. Many date to the 19th century, and another, Bangor’s modern 2nd Maine memorial in Mount Hope Cemetery, erected in 1962, depicts an angel carrying a wounded soldier. Nearby is the 1864 soldiers’ monument, possibly the nation’s first civilian-funded memorial, bordered by veterans’ graves. The book, “Silent Sentinels — Maine’s Civil War Monuments,” coming out in 2027, will feature, in words and photos, backgrounds on all the memorials. It was co-written by Swartz, Earle Shettleworth, and Ford Reiche. Numerous websites help guide visitors to each site.

World Wars I and II

Probably because the isolationist United States didn’t enter World War I until April 1917, three years after the conflict began, state memorials recalling The War to End All Wars are not plentiful. But at least two — Lincoln’s exceptional doughboy statue (doughboy was a popular nickname for a United States infantryman during World War I) and Farmington’s impressive memorial arch — are worth the visit. 

World War II monuments are easier to find. New Sweden’s Memorial Gate is at Thomas Park. And the Cole museum is home to a “man in a jeep” monument, dedicated in 1997, honoring casualty Charlie Flanagan of Bangor, the city’s other 4,914 citizens who served in that war, and the 110 who lost their lives. An adjacent granite monument lists all of their names. And a Portland memorial honors the 255 area service members who were killed in the Second World War.

Korea and Vietnam

Two post-World War II conflicts are also remembered in a number of Maine monuments. The State of Maine Korean War Memorial, dedicated on July 29, 1995, inside Mount Hope Cemetery, honors veterans who served and the nearly 250 who died  in the three-year conflict (1950-1953). The state’s three Medal of Honor recipients’ names are inscribed on the monument, alongside those of fallen and missing service members. Vietnam War veterans are remembered at several Cole museum monuments. Augusta’s Capital Park is home to the Maine Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which features a metal sculpture of three soldiers who cast an image that moves with the sun’s transit.

Other Notable Memorials

Spanish-American War sailors and casualties are remembered at Bangor’s Davenport Park, which features a monument containing the shield and scrollwork of the USS Maine, sunk in Havana Harbor on Feb. 15, 1898. Other memorials of note are located throughout the state. Who knew that a Confederate soldier was the model for a monument in York? Or, that the state’s shortest Civil War statue depicts a soldier in Vienna? Augusta’s Maine Veterans Cemetery and the Acadia National Cemetery near Columbia Falls are also noteworthy. 

In the words of Cole Land Transportation Museum executive director Jennifer Munson, “Our freedoms were secured through courage, duty, and extraordinary sacrifice. These memorials ensure that personal stories remain visible, personal, and meaningful for the generations to follow.”