American Legion announces Windham Memorial Day celebration plans

More than 950 flags will be placed on the graves of Windham's
fallen veterans as part of the American Legion Post 148's 
celebration of Memorial Day this year. Other activities
include a parade, a gathering and observance at Windham 
High School, and a picnic at the Windham Veterans Center on
Memorial Day, May 30. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE   

By Ed Pierce

American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 invites the community to join its local veterans as they observe Windham’s Memorial Day celebration.  

Legion members say they missed seeing the public turn out on Memorial Day the last two years. The pandemic put a halt to the celebration in May 2020 and a torrential rain washed out last year’s event.

For more than 30 years, the Field-Allen Post has been planning the town’s Memorial Day events.

This year the Legion will be conducting its traditional events with a few new twists. They are asking the community to increase their involvement with floats or decorated vehicles to replace some of the more traditional entries that may not be available.

At one time in the past the Memorial Day parade was the largest parade in town with no competition from Summerfest and was extremely well attended. Over the past few years, it has become a shadow of its former self, said Post 148 Adjutant David Tanguay. 

“The good news is that the Windham High School Marching Band is back this year along with the Windham Primary School chorus,” he said.  

The Legion’s preparation for the Memorial Day events starts in January each year with notifications, requests and planning of the respective events. In early May the flags that are to be hung on the utility poles around town are assembled and made ready.

New flags are ordered as needed, as well as ordering some 950-plus flags to be placed on the graves of our fallen veterans. Since 2005, the Legion has placed the 100 flags around town in preparation for the summer and Memorial Day.

Tanguay said that this year the flags will go up on the weekend of May 21. The program is a collaboration between the Town and the Legion. Windham purchases the flags on a triennial cycle and the post provides the hardware and manpower to place the flags. 

The flags fly until Labor Day, Tanguay said.

During the week before May 21, teams of veterans will fan out over the 22 smaller cemeteries in Windham for the veterans buried there, to replace/place the flags on their grave sites.

“On May 21, weather permitting, teams of veterans and community members will meet at 9 a.m. at Arlington Cemetery in North Windham adjacent to the fire station to place the final 350-plus flags on the veteran’s graves. 

Tanguay asked that if any families or groups are interested in helping, a great opportunity exists for the community to have a teaching moment and share in the flag program.  

“At Smith Cemetery, the town is fortunate to have a group of our young cadets from the Windham High School who will place over 200 flags at the cemeteries at the rotary,” he said.

Memorial Day on Monday May 30 will be the Legion’s busiest day with multiple events and several opportunities for the community to get involved.

Windham’s Memorial Day Parade begins at 9 a.m. from the Town Hall on School Road and proceeds onto Route 202 in the direction of Windham High School. 

The best vantage point for viewing the parade is from the area around the intersection of Windham Center Road and Route 202.  

“This year the Legion is asking for business and community support to make the parade truly memorable,” Tanguay said. “There is also a need for open vehicles, convertibles preferred, to provide rides for some of our less ambulatory, senior veterans. We will be using the Korean War-era M-37 Truck for our veterans as well and ask that if any vet would like to join us in the parade, please give me a call. We will find room for you.”

He said that the parade is not limited to a specific war era, any veteran who would like to march with the Legion or VFW component is welcome. All groups or individuals desiring to join the parade should meet and check in by 8:45 a.m. in front of the Windham Town Hall on School Road.

According to Tanguay, advanced registration would be helpful. When you arrive, you will receive a location in the parade. If you march, please do not throw items that may draw young individuals into the line of march or traffic.  

The parade is a short jaunt from School Road to the Windham High School lower parking area and terminates at the town’s Veterans Memorial Flagpole in front of Windham High School.

“At 10 a.m. the Memorial Day Ceremony commences,” Tanguay said. “Our guest speaker this year is U.S. Army Lt. Col. Wally Clark.”

The Master of Ceremonies for the event will be Post 148 Commander Tom Theriault. Ceremonial events include: WHS band performances, a wreath laying, a bell tolling for our lost Windham veterans this year and ceremonial burning of flags removed from veterans’ graves, followed by the traditional rifle salute and the playing of Taps.

Those events will be followed with an open house at noon at the Windham Veterans Center with a picnic style luncheon open to the public hosted by the Field-Allen Post.  There will be a brief wreath ceremony prior to the picnic in the Windham Veterans Center Memorial Garden. Following the ceremony, a picnic luncheon will be provided.

All the events are free and open to the public. Please note that some COVID-19 protocols may still be in place for these events based on guidelines for the end of May.

“The post sincerely hopes that you can find the time to join us for one or more of these events over the Memorial Day period and help us celebrate the 104th years of service by the Legion to veterans and the community,” Tanguay said.

To volunteer support or register an entry in the parade please contact Tanguay at 207-892-1306. <

Memorial Day recalls ultimate sacrifices made by military on behalf of nation

A large American flag flies on the grounds of Camping World
on Route 302 in Windham. A number of Memorial Day activities
are scheduled in Windham on Memorial Day, including a parade,
a bell ceremony at Windham High School, and a picnic
luncheon at the Windham Veterans Center. 
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

By Ed Pierce

As many of us use the Memorial Day Weekend to mark the official launch of summer, the Memorial Day holiday itself is steeped in tradition and remembrances that pay tribute to those who gave their lives in defense of freedom.

Legends passed down through the generations suggest that General John A. Logan, commander of the Civil War veterans organization known as The Grand Army of the Republic, came up with the idea in 1868 for a national day of commemoration for soldiers who lost their lives in battle. He called this “Decoration Day” and recommended that Americans everywhere take time to pause and reflect on May 30, 1868 about the courage and valor these men demonstrated with flowers and prayer.

Newspaper accounts of the time reported that Logan selected May 30 as the date for “Decoration Day” because it was not a day that a Civil War battle had been fought, while others speculated it allowed for spring flowers to reach full bloom and be in plentiful supply.

Logan himself served with distinction during the war, sustaining serious wounds at the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862. After regaining his health, Logan, whose nickname was "Black Jack," became a command officer and served under Union generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant.

 

He later served Illinois as a member of the House of Representatives and as a U.S. Senator and joined Maine’s James G. Blaine on the Republican ticket as vice presidential candidate in 1884, which lost the election to the Democrats, led by Grover Cleveland.

Upon his death in 1886, Logan became one of just 40 Americans who have laid in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, the latest being U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last fall.

For more than 100 years, Americans came to cherish “Decoration Day” and used the occasion to commemorate all of those who perished during American wars.

In 1972, the federal government’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved “Decoration Day” from May 30 to the last Monday in May with the new official name of “Memorial Day.” Reasons given for the change were to standardize the holiday to a Monday since May 30 could fall on any day of the week.

Coming out of the pandemic this year, Memorial Day activities in Windham will be hosted by the American Legion and are designed to allow the public to observe Memorial Day more traditionally, says David Tanguay, adjutant for the Legion’s Field -Allen Post 148.

“Please join the community and the Legion this Memorial Day, May 31, in the more traditional festivities,” Tanguay said. “For years the Field-Allen Post has been the architect of the Town’s Memorial Day events. It most likely has been longer, but I’ve only been involved for the past 27 years.”

Tanguay said that preparation work for the Memorial Day events has been completed.

“In early May, flags were hung on the utility poles around the town’s highways and byways. New flags were needed as well as ordering some 950 flags placed on the graves of our fallen veterans,” Tanguay said. “Since 2005 the Legion has placed 100 flags around town in preparation for the summer and Memorial Day. The flags went up this year on the weekend of May 22 and the program is a collaboration between the Town of Windham and the Legion. The Town purchases the flags on a triennial cycle and the Post provides the hardware and manpower to place the flags. The flags fly until Labor Day.”

A Memorial Day parade begins at 9 a.m. Monday from the Windham Town Hall and proceeds onto Route 202 in the direction of the High School.

Tanguay said that the best vantage point for viewing the parade is from the area around the intersection of Windham Center Road and Route 202.

“We will be using the Korean War era M-37 Truck for our veterans. The parade is not limited to a specific war era, any veteran who would like to march with the Legion or VFW component is welcome,” Tanguay said. “All groups or individuals desiring to join the parade should meet and check in by 8:45 in front of the Town Hall on School Road.”

The parade terminates at the Town’s Veterans Memorial Flag Pole at Windham High School. At 10 a.m. Memorial Day ceremonies commence with guest speaker U.S. Army Major Brenda Pennels, who is currently serving as Maine’s Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the U S Army (CASA).

Master of ceremonies at the event will be American Legion Post 148 Commander Eric Bickford, who will coordinate the ceremonial events including a ceremonial wreath laying, the bell tolling for lost veterans from the community this year, a ceremonial burning of flags removed from local veterans’ graves, and a traditional rifle salute and the playing of “Taps.”

“Last on the agenda is an open house at noon at the Windham Veterans Center with a picnic style luncheon open to the public hosted by the Field-Allen Post,” Tanguay said. “There will be a brief recognition ceremony prior to the picnic in the Windham Veterans Center Memorial Garden with a dedication of a granite bench to one of our own World War II veterans, the late John Cooper of Windham. Following the ceremony, a picnic luncheon will be provided.”

During the picnic lunch, poppies to wear in remembrance of veterans will be available to anyone who wants one on a donation-only basis. Donations from the poppies will be used for local veterans’ support.

The practice of remembering veterans by wearing poppies in Windham dates to 1920. The red poppy is a nationally recognized symbol of sacrifice worn by Americans since World War I to honor those who served and died for our country in all wars. It reminds Americans of the sacrifices made by our veterans while protecting our freedoms.

All the events are free and open to the public. <

Veterans honored at Memorial Day ceremony in Windham despite call for rain - By Michelle Libby

Despite the cancellation of the parade and ceremony at Windham High School, ceremonies, both solemn and uplifting, were put on by members of Windham Veterans Center and special guests, who paid tribute to the men and women of the five military services who have served the country.

In opening remarks on Memorial Day, former state senator Gary Plummer discussed conflicts throughout American’s history, quoting Maine’s Joshua Chamberlain in words spoken 150 years ago, “We have come here, friends, not for things that die, but for things that cannot die.”

The Field-Allen Post 148 recognized Norma Rogers for supporting the veteran center programs, Brenda Pennels, who will be stepping down from her leadership role at the post, Charlie Tufts for his organization for Red Cross blood drives, and John Hill for his dedication and support for Girls and Boys State.  

Jeff Riddle, teacher at Windham High School, was selected as the American Legion Post 148 Educator of the Year and at the ceremony to recognize him, he was told he was also being recognized as the American Legion Department of Maine Educator of the Year for his “unfaltering support of veterans and the Toby Pennels 5K for the second year,” said Post Commander Mel Greenier. He will be honored at the state level on Saturday, June 18^th at 10:45 a.m.

“It’s challenging to receive an award that distinguishes me above my colleagues. I’m humbly honored to receive this recognition today,” Riddle said, emotionally. 

The guest speaker was Mark Franklin from Washington, who is part of The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. The Windham post was one of 10,000 around the country to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Vietnam conflict. During the conflict the United States lost approximately 380 Vietnam veterans a day.

After the indoor ceremony, which included the reading of Windham and post veterans who have passed in the past year, concluded, Rod Voisine lead the crowd outside in the sunshine to dedicate the new 50^th anniversary pavers installed at the Vietnam War memorial. Then veteran commemorative pavers were dedicated. 

Representatives from the Southern Maine Detachment of the Marine Corps League did a 21-gun salute and Dean Preston from Troop 805 played taps on the bugle. In all 169 commemorative pavers were placed to honor living, passed and soldiers killed in action. 

Family members took pictures and honored their loved ones service.