Newly elected American Legion national commander pays visit to Windham post

By Ed Pierce

Since the National Commander of the American Legion Daniel J. Seehafer of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin was elected to the position on Aug. 31, he’s only slept in his own bed at home for a total of three days. The remainder of his time has been spent on the road attending meetings and visiting posts like on Saturday, Nov. 4, when Seehafer and an entourage of Legion officials stopped in Windham and had lunch with Field-Allen Post 148 members and the Post 148 auxiliary.

The new National Commander of the
American Legion, Daniel J. Seehafer,
visited Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham
on Nov. 4 and had lunch with post and
auxiliary members. He also met with
World War II veteran Carroll McDonald
and Korean War veteran Walter Braley,
both of Windham, during his visit. 
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 
 

Seehafer is an ordained minister and served in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve as a military chaplain. He’s a longtime Legion member who has spent time in leadership positions at every level, including as national chaplain and as the commander of the Legion’s Department for Wisconsin.

He succeeded Post 148’s Vicent J. “Jim” Troiola as the National Commander for the American Legion and spent time during his visit speaking with World War II veteran Carroll McDonald, 98, and Korean War veterans Walter Braley, 92, both of Windham.

Post 148 members offered Seehafer traditional Maine favorites for lunch including authentic Italian sandwiches from Amato’s, two different kinds of whoopie pies and Moxie soft drinks. He said he enjoyed the sandwiches and whoopie pies but passed on sampling the Moxie.

According to Seehafer, he’s known for many years what his role would be in life and how happy he is to be leading a national veteran’s organization.

“I stopped saying ‘thank you for your service’ to veterans a few years ago,” Seehafer said. “Now I say to veterans ‘thank you for our freedom’ and I truly mean it. I’m grateful to veterans every single day and it’s never too late to tell them how much you appreciate what they have done for this nation.”

The American Legion’s mission of serving veterans and their families is personal to Seehafer and he’s embraced the Legion’s “Be the One” initiative to thwart veteran suicide in America. The national “Be the One” campaign strives to destigmatize veterans asking for mental health support, create opportunities for those with mental health issues to speak freely and get the support that they need; to provide peer to peer support and resources in local communities; and to identify issues affecting veterans and find resources for supporting veterans who may be struggling.

“We know that outreach saves lives,” he said. “Nothing is more important than our effort to reduce the number of veterans who die by suicide. We can’t stop. Not now, not ever.”

Nationally about 17 veterans or active-duty military members die by suicide every day and Seehafer says that number can be fewer if every Legion member makes a concerted effort to stay in touch and listen to veterans they know through the “Be the One” program.

“The life of one veteran saved makes all the difference in the world,” he said. “That gets to the heart of the ‘Be the One’ mission. While the initiative was only launched two years ago, it is already starting to make a difference. Somebody might be having a rough day, but you can change somebody’s life.”

Seehafer says that by helping to build on the momentum of ‘Be the One’ by raising awareness of the issue of veteran suicide, guiding them to resources to help and eliminating the stigma associated with mental health counseling, the veteran suicide rate nationally can be reduced.

“We are not just an organization, we are a family,” Seehafer said. “We’re a family that changes lives and saves lives.”

He also said he was saddened when he first heard about the mass shooting in Lewiston in October that claimed 18 lives.

“You always think that it couldn’t happen here in Maine, but sadly it did,” he said. “We’re doing all we can to assist the families of the victims and praying for the recovery of those who were injured.” After the lunch, Seehafer presented certificates to McDonald and Braley and had his photo taken with them before departing to visit the American Legion Post in Scarborough. <

American Legion's State Convention pays tribute to outstanding Windham officers

By Ed Pierce

Veterans from the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham have got to be happy and a bit humbled following the 102^nd Maine American Legion Convention in Brewer last weekend. During the convention, Post 148 was recognized with 13 different awards, including two of the most prestigious, Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for 2021 and the 2021 Humanitarian Award.

Windham Police Officer Ernest MacVane received the 2021
Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award during the 
American Legion's 102nd Annual Convention in Brewer on
Saturday, June 12. Presenting the award to MacVane are
Department of Maine American Legion Commander Matthew
Jaubaut, left, and Maine American Legion 2nd Vice
Commander Kurt Thurston. COURTESY PHOTO   

Windham Police Officer Ernest MacVane gratefully accepted the 2021 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award from the Department of Maine American Legion Commander Matthew Jabut during the convention on June 12 as his family watched.

MacVane was nominated for the award by Post 148 Adjutant David Tanguay for his consistent hard work and community engagement with the Windham Police. MacVane was recognized for successfully apprehending a felony drug suspect and executing a search warrant the led to the recovery of stolen property and a stolen firearm.

He also drew praise for his efforts while responding to a reported drug overdose in which his actions most likely saved a life. While off duty in another community, MacVane witnessed an attempted carjacking and leaped in to help, successfully detaining the suspect until local police officers arrived at the scene to make an arrest.

MacVane has 22 years of law enforcement experience and said he was deeply moved by the recognition and that his family was able to attend the event and see him receive the award for his work for the Windham Police Department.       

Windham resident and Post 148 member Brian McCarthy was honored during the convention with the 2021 Maine Humanitarian Award. McCarthy is a police officer in South Portland and was honored with the award for his continued efforts with the Guardian Ride, a fundraiser for the Maine Army National Guard’s 488^th Military Police Family Readiness Group.

McCarthy has served with South Portland Police Department for more than 12 years and has distinguished himself working in patrol, as well as in his additional duties as a member of the Southern Maine Regional SWAT. He served 20 years in the military before retiring and chose to undertake an annual fundraising bike ride to make a difference for members of his former military outfit, the 488^th Military Police Unit in Waterville.

For the past three years, McCarthy has taken off from work for seven-day trek across Maine on his mountain bike, taking pledges for the trip which spans as much as 350 miles at a time. His determination and willingness to help has raised more than $10,000 for the initiative in three years.  

All monies McCarthy collects from his “Guardian Ride” are used by the 488^th’s FRG for back-to-school supplies, a summer cookout for unit families and single soldiers alike with water sports and camping, a catered unit Christmas party with a visit from Santa, emergency relief funds for families in need, and for keeping unit families in touch with their soldiers stationed overseas.

Like Officer MacVane, McCarthy was nominated for the Humanitarian Award by Tanguay, who first heard about the Guardian Ride initiative during a function at the post in Windham.   

Three local American Legion members were recognized at the convention for their efforts on behalf of Post 148.

Henry “Chuck” Wynot was honored as Post Service Officer of the Year for 2020, his third such award in five years. Whynot, approached the post adjutant about starting a regular Veterans Social Coffee at the Windham Veterans Center in 2016. He had indicated that he visited four to five “housebound” veterans each week and found that some of them just needed a place outside the home that was safe for them to go.  

Initially established and advertised as a drop-off for ambulatory veterans to get out of the house and possibly allowing the veteran’s caregivers a little free time, the Veteran’s Socials are held from 9 to 11 a.m. each Wednesday morning at the Windham Veterans Center. The gathering was considered a success and plans continued for the weekly event which grew over the following years to about three dozen veterans. Many came for the camaraderie and coffee, others developed other interests such as playing cribbage and other board games.

Through the years, strong bonds of friendship have been formed with many of the members and because of the coffee, on average, some 15 new veterans have joined the Field-Allen post and many of them have become integral members of the organization. In March 2020, just two weeks before the fourth anniversary of the coffee, everything was halted because of concerns about the COVID-19 virus spreading in the community. This ended a 203-week run of the Veterans Coffee gathering without ever missing a single Wednesday.

But in early April 2020, an interesting thing happened. Whynot and several of the Veterans Coffee members started coming to the WVC on Wednesday around 9 a.m. and they set up chairs in the parking lot at appropriate social distances to spend some social time together. They brought their own coffee and face masks and the tradition for veterans continues to this day.

Jane Fisher was honored as Post Service Officer of the Year for 2021 at the convention. And David Tanguay himself was honored as Recruiter of the Year for 2021, his second such award in the last four years. 

Field-Allen Post also won a number of other American Legion Awards presented during the annual convention including:

** Post Excellence Award for 2020 and 2021 (consecutive honors from 2014 to 2021).

** Americanism And Youth Programs Award for 2020 and 2021, the fifth consecutive award.

** Department of Maine “Goal to Grow” membership award for 2020, the fourth consecutive) award.

** National Membership Award for achieving a “New High” in membership with awards for 2020 and 2021, marking 12 consecutive years of 100 percent-plus membership.

** Post Newsletter First Place Award for 2020 and 2021, for the eighth consecutive year.

** Post Narrative History for 2020 and 2021, First Place.

** Post Yearbook History for 2021, Third Place.

** Post member Edmund Pierce, the managing editor of The Windham Eagle newspaper, was honored with the Fourth Estate Award for 2021 for outstanding coverage of veterans and veterans’ issues in Maine. <

American Legion celebrates ‘Americanism Month’

By David Tanguay

February is 'Americanism Month' for American
Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham.
COURTESY PHOTO

Special to The Windham Eagle

“Americanism,” one of the American Legion’s four pillars, is the love of America, loyalty to its ideals and institutions, allegiance to the American flag, willingness to defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and a desire to advance the blessings of liberty to future Americanism generations.

February is the American Legion’s National Americanism Month. During this annual observance, the American Legion post asks that its members and all citizens reflect upon what it means to be an American and rededicate ourselves and our posts and to taking action that will uphold the principle of “100 percent Americanism.”

The Americanism Pillar is divided into: Youth Programs, Flag Programs, Support for Veterans, and Community Outreach. The American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham has an Americanism Officer, David Horne, who annually coordinates and supports a variety of programs and projects that reflect the Americanism principals with support from the community and the post membership.

Under youth programs, the post supports the annual Boys State and Girls State (ALA Sponsored) program. The plan for 2020 was to begin the integration of these two programs, but, due to the pandemic, was canceled for that June. The program tutors our high school juniors in the process of local and state government and has sufficient funds to support four boys this year with scholarships. The Unit Auxiliary supports the same precepts for Girls State. Selections for Boys and Girls State will be in April. The post annually selects a male and female graduating student from the class who exemplifies leadership in school and the community.  The recipients receive a leadership “School” medallion, pin and certificate and is awarded a modest scholarship for use in their education.

The American Flag, the symbol of our great country, is a key precept of the Americanism Program.  The Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham supports flag etiquette and training programs for various organizations and schools.  If there is interest in these training opportunities, give the post a call. For the Flags Around Town Program, the post undertook an Americanism program in 2005 in collaboration with the town to place 100 U.S. flags on the utility poles on the highways and byways of Windham. In May of this year, the post will be undertaking that same goal for the 15^th consecutive year. 

Other programs that directly or indirectly support include our support for veterans and national security, blood drives and food drives.  Nationally, the American Legion supports more Red Cross blood drives than any other organization in the country. Since last June, the Post has collected on average of 30 units each, covering six events at the Windham Veterans Center. Additionally, the post collects food items annually for the local food pantry over Memorial Day weekend and collects food items in support of the Portland Vet Center food pantry for homeless veterans on a weekly basis at the Windham Veterans Center from 9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. The response since November from the community has been overwhelming and much appreciated.

The post also sponsors a very successful Vet Coffee program held each Wednesday at the Windham veterans Center from 9 to 11 a.m. This coffee gathering is multi-faceted in that it provides opportunity for local veterans to “drop-in” for a social experience with their peers. It also has a therapeutic element with many of our vets that gives them an opportunity to share experiences in a safe environment.

Americanism programs are a year-round opportunity for our members to serve their community. Often, they do not get the credit that they are due. If you see a Veteran, thank them for their service. If you see a Legion Member, thank them as well for all they do in your community.

If you want to be part of the team? Contact the Field-Allen Post Adjutant Dave Tanguay at 207-892-1306 or ask any post member. <

Dream Come True: Korean War veteran receives medals 70 years later

U.S. Army veteran Edward 'Ed' Salmon of
Windham displays medals, ribbons and a
certificate he received during a special
ceremony on Veterans Day at the Windham
Veterans Center. Salmon, 91, never received
the medals for his military service during the
Korean War following his discharge and return
to civilian life in 1952. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE   

By Ed Pierce

Nearly 70 years ago, Edward “Ed” Salmon answered the call to be drafted into the U.S. Army and logged two years creating critical lines of communication for soldiers in combat zones on the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War. When his time in the Army was up, Salmon returned to the United States vowing to make a life for himself, but there was always something missing.

On Veterans Day, Salmon, 91, of Windham, who went on to earn a college degree in civil engineering and served for 20 years as the Director of Plant Facilities for the University of Maine at Orono, was brought full-circle to his military career when he was awarded five medals and two ribbons for his service in Korea.

Born in 1929 in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania, Salmon just missed being drafted for service in World War II because he was too young, but as he was approaching his 21^st birthday in December 1950, he was drafted and was among the first soldiers to train for eight weeks at the newly reopened Fort Meade in Maryland. From there Private First Class Salmon was sent to Fort Benning in Georgia for further training and then he swapped places with a fellow solder going home on a hardship discharge and was sent to Korea early in 1951.

“It was brutally hot in the summer there and 20 to 40 degrees below zero in the winter,” Salmon said. “And it rained all spring.”

Working in heavily fortified areas, he learned to climb telephone poles and crisscrossed much of the
Korean Peninsula building, installing and maintaining communications lines. It was tough and dangerous work, under constant watch by the enemy and sometimes being shot at.

Because of the nature of their mission, his unit didn’t receive much recognition by the Eighth Army based in Tokyo and to a man was overlooked for promotions in rank and unheralded for their work under some of the most trying conditions of the war.

“I didn’t particularly care for any of it,” Salmon said. “You were constantly on the move and I didn’t like Korean food.”

After spending almost 13 months in the combat zone, Salmon was discharged and back in the USA by February 1953, feeling lucky to have survived the experience.

He was accepted for admission to the University of Maine and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He began his civilian career working as a structural design consultant for a Massachusetts firm and then returned to Maine to work for a construction company in Yarmouth.

Salmon married his first wife and they had four sons together. After his marriage fell apart, he met his current wife, Pat, in Portland and they have been married for 37 years, moving to Windham about 15 years ago.

“He didn’t talk about his time in the military,” Pat Salmon said. “About four or five years ago, we started going to the Togus VA Center for a  hearing problem he has and it was then he started thinking and talking about the medals he never received for his military service.”

She said that he knew he had been awarded some medals for his time in Korea but had never physically received them.

“It was something that had passed long ago,” Salmon said. “I did my job and came back. But I had a life to lead and went on with my life. Over the years I forgot all about them.”

Being around other veterans at the Togus VA Center rekindled his desire to obtain his medals, he said.

Pat Salmon helped him fill out paperwork to receive his medals, but a few issues stalled the process.

“His DD 214 discharge papers had his birthday wrong,” she said. “They had his birthday off by one day and getting that corrected took some time.”

The Salmons then met Lin and David Tanguay, who live in their neighborhood. Lin Tanguay told Pat Salmon that her husband David could help in Ed Salmon’s quest to receive his medals and suggested that they join the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham.

In his role as Adjutant of the American Legion post, David Tanguay was able to obtain the medals for
Ed Salmon.

During a special ceremony at the Windham Veterans Center on Veterans Day, Salmon received not three medals as he had thought he had coming, but five medals and two ribbons.

He received the National Defense Service Medal Award retroactive to 1950; the Korean War Service Medal, the United Nations Korean War Service Medal; the Korean Commemorative Medal; the Korean Service Medal; the U.S. Army Presidential Citation Ribbon; and the Korean Presidential Citation ribbon.

“I was very pleased to get them and with two of my kids there to watch me receive them,” Salmon said.

The framed medals, ribbons and a commemorative certificate from the American Legion now occupy a prominent place in the family’s living room and are a source of great pride for them.   

According to Pat Salmon, the family is grateful to Tanguay and the American Legion for helping fulfill Ed Salmon’s dream of receiving the medals he earned in Korea and for the camaraderie of being around other veterans.

“He needed the social outlet,” Pat Salmon said. “It has allowed him to meet and talk with others who have shared his experience. We can’t thank David and his wife Lin enough for their efforts in introducing us to the group and helping make this such a memorable time for us.” <

Everlasting Gratitude Wreath Program seeks volunteer wreath makers

American Legion Field-Allen Post 148
and Unit 148 (Auxiliary) will be making
six large wreaths and 15 small wreaths
as part of its Everlasting Gratitude Wreaths
Program and is seeking community volunteers
to help. Wreath making starts at 9 a.m. Saturday,
Nov. 7 at Libby's Warehouse, 7 Architectural
Drive in Windham. SUBMITTED PHOTO

By David Tanguay

Special to The Windham Eagle

The Field-Allen Post ran an article several months ago in The Windham Eagle providing information about the Everlasting Gratitude Wreath Program that has been so popular over the last six years, with more than 950 wreaths placed on veteran’s graves in Windham last year.

Unfortunately, because of continued concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the wreath program was reduced in scope to the placement of several large and smaller wreaths at each Windham cemetery with veterans interred there.

The time has come to make the wreaths. American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 and Unit 148 (Auxiliary) will be making the six large wreaths and 15 small wreaths starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The wreaths will be made at Libby's Warehouse, 7 Architectural Drive in Windham. Volunteers are asked to drive between Rose's and Chutes and go to the last warehouse.

The post is looking for a few community volunteers to help cut the tips, wrap the tips in bundles and attach them to the frames. They will also need volunteers to make some large bows with instruction provided.  

The wreaths will then be divided among the volunteers and post members to be placed at the cemeteries.

At the larger cemeteries, a wooden post has been set in the ground near the cemetery Sign for the wreaths to be attached to. Wreaths at the smaller cemeteries will be hung on the cemetery sign or another appropriate location.   

The Everlasting Gratitude Wreath Program was launched in late 2013 and was the idea of the owners of Studio Flora of North Windham who funded the program for its first few years with some support from the community.

The tradition of remembering veterans is as old as the nation is itself. The name wreath is derived from
a middle English word, wrethe, meaning a twisted band or ring of leaves or flowers in a garland. The popular placement of holly berries on wreaths were done so for their supposed magical powers as they are a shiny berry that keeps its red color and bright green leaves throughout the long winter months.

 

Dried fruit or flowers were originally placed in a wreath to symbolize the promise of spring and can still serve the same purpose today. It’s said that Gen. George Washington of the Continental Army initiated the practice of placing wreaths upon fallen soldiers while encamped at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania during the winter of 1777-1778 as a way to honor their service. The tradition continues to this day right here in Windham. 

 

Please contact Larry De Hof at 207-310-8952 or send him an email at ledmassage@gmail.com) if you want to learn how to make wreaths and help with the project. <