Windham resident celebrates milestone 102nd birthday

By Ed Pierce

As a child growing up in the West End of Boston, Concetta “Connie” Parisi always thought her birthday was March 21. It was something that her mother told her but later in life she learned her birthday was really March 22 as she was born at home and her birth certificate wasn’t filed with the city clerk right away. Nevertheless, over the weekend of March 21-22 this year, Connie Parisi of Windham celebrated her 102nd birthday with more than 50 family members on hand to wish her well.

Concetta 'Connie' Parisi of Windham turned
102 last weekend and celebrated at a birthday
party attended by more than 50 members of
her family. She loves to crochet and sing
and playing the game Rummikub.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Born Concetta Mary Tricomi in 1924, she had six brothers and attended Girls High and Latin School in Boston. She was an average student in school and was a member of the Biology Club and led an exercise class during recess. But it was in Chorus class where she developed a love for music that continues to this day.

In the school chorus, students would sing songs written by Sibelius, Mozart, and Ravel and upon her graduation in 1942, she was asked to be a special student at the Conservatory of Music in Boston. There Connie spent an entire year singing opera and decided to go to a new school that offered contemporary music and she also sang at church.

A neighbor named Hayes Gordon was appearing in a show at the Shubert Theater on Broadway called “Finian’s Rainbow” and offered Connie a singing position in the show’s chorus in New York at $100 a week.

“He said ‘Just send me a postcard and I’ll meet you’ but I never did because I knew my mother and father would not approve and I didn’t want to be confined to the theater,” she said. “I was an outdoors person and liked to sail, swim and horseback ride. So, I never told my parents.”

Connie’s mother was an orphan who had come to America from Italy at the age of 9. Her father was also an Italian immigrant and eloped with her mother at 19. They settled in Brooklyn, New York but later moved to Boston, where they raised seven children, six boys and one girl, Connie.

With World War II raging, Connie did what she could to assist, knitting navy blue children’s sweaters for children in England. Her brother Joseph was exempt from the draft because he was married and had children. Her brother Benjamin went to Hawaii to build aircraft for the war. Her brother Salvatore joined the Merchant Marines and died when the oil tanker he was on was torpedoed by a German U-boat. Her brother Tony joined the Navy and served in the Philippines. Her brother John also joined the Navy and served in Europe. Her brother Vincent was too young for World War II but at 18 was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Korea.

During the war years, Connie sang in the choir at Saint Joseph’s Church in Boston and performed at Fort Devens, the Navy Marine Hospital, and for other smaller military units.

When she was 22 years old, Connie’s brother Ben took her by trolley to her uncle's wake. There she met Sarro, the father of concert pianist Mary Ramirez.

“He invited me to visit. She played songs that I liked to sing and songs that she could play. She also wrote music,” Connie said. “Every Sunday, Ben would take me to visit, and we would practice music together. We would gather and sing. It was the first time I met her, and she was always good to me.”

During a rehearsal, Mary introduced Connie to Michael Parisi, a student at the Boston University School of Law. The couple dated for three years before he proposed to her on Dec. 19, 1948 in front of her father and mother.

“At that time, I was singing at different places,” she said. “I sang at a hotel near Copley Square. It was a small hotel near Copley Plaza. I decided to have my wedding reception there. We got married on Sept. 5, 1949. The wedding ceremony was at Saint Joseph's Church in the West End.”

Michael and Connie were blessed with five children Paul, who is now deceased; Elizabeth; Mary; Carol; and Lillian. Michael had a long career as an attorney and they raised their family in Everett, Massachusetts and would vacation at Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire.

She stayed at home to raise the children but eventually returned to work.

“After a while I went back to work as a key punch operator,” Connie said. “I took many Civil Service tests and worked my way up to a secretary. The last job I worked for was the Department of Education in Quincy, Massachusetts and retired at 66.”

In 2013, Connie moved to Brightview Senior Living in Danvers, Massachusetts where she entertained others with her repertoire of musical scores and performing six concerts there. Her husband Michael died in 2017.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Connie moved to Windham where she lives with her daughter Mary and her husband Roger by Little Sebago Lake. She reads, crochets and likes playing Rummikub.

For her birthday, Connie loved being close to her family on her special day which included a visit from her daughter-in-law Judy, her son Paul’s widow.

As she ate a piece of birthday cake, someone asked her what it felt like to be 102 years old.

“All I have to say is I made it,” she said. <     

Four Chaplains ceremony in Windham recognizes incredible acts of heroism

By Ed Pierce

Drizzling light rain fell as the SS Dorchester left New York harbor on the evening of Jan. 23, 1943, and sailed into the hearts and minds of those who choose to remember, including right here in Windham.

A special interfaith ceremony open to the public will be held
at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Windham Veterans Center to
honor the Four Chaplains who died aboard the S.S. Dorchester
during World War II saving the lives of American soldiers
when that ship was struck by a German torpedo.
SUBMITTED PHOTO   

The Dorchester was part of a convoy of six ships headed for a U.S. Army base at Narsarsuag in Greenland. The other ships in the convoy were merchant vessels the SS Lutz, the SS Biscaya, and the three U.S. Coast Guard Cutters escorting them on the voyage, the Comanche, the Tampa and the Escanaba.

At 12;55 a.m. Feb. 3, 1943, in the open Atlantic Ocean, the SS Dorchester was struck by a torpedo fired at it by German submarine U-223. Dorchester’s damage was catastrophic and all boiler power was lost and that prevented the crew from sending a radio distress signal, and no rockets or flares were launched to alert the escort ships. Because of severe listing, some port side lifeboats of the ship couldn’t be launched, and other lifeboats capsized from overcrowding.

The ship sank within 20 minutes, killing 674 of the 904 servicemen on board. Survivors thrown into the water were so stiff from the cold that they could not even grasp the cargo nets on rescue vessels. The crew of Escanaba employed a new "retriever" rescue technique with swimmers wearing wetsuits swam to victims in the water and secured a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. By this method, the Escanaba saved 133 soldiers, although one later died, and the Comanche crew saved 97 others.

Life jackets offered little protection from hypothermia though as the water temperature was just 34 degrees and the air temperature was 36 degrees.

The loss of the S.S. Dorchester was the worst single loss of American military members on any American naval convoy during World War II, but it’s remembered more today more for four incredible acts of heroism.

Four U.S. Army chaplains – a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers – remained calm during the sudden panic following the torpedo attack. They worked to distribute life preservers and assisted others abandoning the ship, and then unselfishly gave up their own life preservers and were observed praying as S.S. Dorchester disappeared beneath the waves.

Methodist minister George L. Fox, Reformed Church of America minister Clark V. Poling, Catholic priest Rev. John P. Washington and Jewish Rabbi Alexander B. Goode died that evening and were later honored when the U.S. Congress established Feb. 3 as "Four Chaplains Day" to commemorate this act of heroism. In 1948, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp to pay tribute to the heroism and sacrifice of the chaplains. In 1960, Congress authorized the creation of the Chaplain’s Medal for Heroism, which was presented posthumously to the next of kin of each of the four chaplains by the Secretary of the Army.

To remember their brave sacrifice, a “Four Chaplains” ceremony has been offered by a number of American Legion posts in Maine and throughout the country on the date closest to the sinking of the S.S. Dorchester in February. Planning for the original ceremony three years ago was done by the Windham Legion Post 148’s 2nd Vice Commander Yvonne Johnson.

She says she was inspired by the story of the Four Chaplains and wanted to carry the tradition to Windham. Planning for this year’s event started a year ago following the 2025 ceremony.

This year’s Four Chaplains Interfaith Ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive in Windham. and is free and open to the public. The story of the four Army chaplains onboard the S.S. Dorchester who solemnly gave up their life jackets and seats on the lifeboats so that others might survive will be told during the event.

Religious participation will be from four local churches representing the respective affiliations of each of the four chaplains and there will be refreshments and a social gathering following the ceremony.

Participating clergy this year are Heather Wiedeman, director of clergy support at Maine Medical Center; Chaplain Michelle Bernier of Mercy Hospital; Rabbi Chaim Wilansky of Chadbad of Maine from Portland; and the Rev. Lou Phillips of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Windham.

“The ceremony celebrates the Four Chaplains from very different denominations, a willingness to represent the core value of their respective faiths and to give their lives so that others might survive,” Johnson said. “The ceremony is an inspiration to all who attend.” <

Windham’s last surviving World War II veteran Carroll McDonald dies at 99

By Ed Pierce

And then there were none. Carroll McDonald, the last surviving World War II veteran living in Windham, died at the age of 99 on Nov. 14.

Carroll McDonald, the last surviving World War II veteran
in Windham, died at the age of 99 on Nov. 14. He trained
as a P-51 pilot during World War II and later served as a
postal carrier, seaplane pilot, Meals on Wheels driver and
was a former commander of American Legion Field-Allen
Post 148 in Windham. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

Born on his parents’ dairy farm in South Windham on March 1, 1925, he was the first son of Edwin and Nellie McDonald and would soon be joined by a younger brother, Kenneth. From an early age he was fascinated by airplanes, and it was a passion he never lost sight of.

“When I was about 4 years old, I heard a biplane flying near a school,” McDonald said. “The sound of it going up and down and buzzing all around stirred my interest and it never left me when I was growing up. It was doing spins and barrel rolls overhead. At first, I was scared, but the longer I watched that old biplane, the more impressed I became, and I knew from that moment that I wanted to become a pilot someday. The sound of it going up and down and buzzing all around stirred my interest and it never left me when I was growing up.”

Both McDonald brothers were so infatuated by airplanes and aviation that in 1937 when Carroll was 12 and Kenneth was 9, they rode their bicycles from Grant’s Corner in South Windham for more than 12 miles to the airport in Portland one morning. Without their parents’ knowledge, the brothers paid for and boarded a flight to Boston where it landed, and then took off again for a return flight back to Portland. Both brothers then rode their bicycles back to their farm, and neither of their parents learned about their flight until years later.

Throughout his high school years, McDonald played trumpet in a dance band and then formed his own group called the Don Carroll Orchestra and also played for the Windham Town Band. He graduated from Windham High School in 1942 and started classes at Northeastern Business College in Portland that fall, but by the next summer he decided to accept a commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps to become a pilot before being drafted and assigned any job that was needed.

Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was sent to an Army flight school in Alabama and then for training as a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot at Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida. He received his flight wings in 1944 and spent the remainder of the war in Fort Myers flying P-51s, a long range, single-seat fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War.

“I joined because it was an opportunity to be well-trained and a chance to fly every single day,” McDonald said.

Upon his discharge from active duty in 1945, he attended business school using the GI Bill but in 1951 while fulfilling his military commitment in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant during the Korean War.

“Flying P-51s was the best experience I could have ever hoped for. It was a top-of-the-line aircraft and was really very fast,” he said. “Here I was just a teenager, and I was flying one of the fastest aircraft in the world and serving my country during wartime. It was simply an amazing time.”

Following his active-duty discharge in 1945, McDonald returned to Windham and attended business school using the GI Bill. He joined the U.S. Post Office as a rural postal delivery driver, a job he worked at for 32 years, delivering mail in South Windham and on River Road until retiring. He also continued to pilot aircraft while serving as a mailman and would finish his mail route by 2 p.m. in the summers and then drive to Naples where he would fly sightseeing trips for tourists around Sebago Lake.

About that time, McDonald joined American Legion’s Field-Allen Post 148 in 1951 and eventually served as Post Commander and performed many other duties for the veterans’ group through the years. He married Marjorie Steeves, and they raised a son, David, who graduated from Windham High in 1963, and a daughter, Karen.

“Carroll is surely near and dear to all of our hearts,” said Al LaRhette of South Weymouth, Massachusetts, during a 2023 reunion gathering for the Windham High School Class of 1963.

“I remember getting to play in the band with him when we performed at Fenway Park in Boston for the State of Maine Day in 1959.”

LaRhette said Carroll was known as a friend to all the class members and is beloved by everyone who knows him.

“He was just always there for us,” LaRhette said. “He had a way about him. It was like when you were with him, you were the most important person he got to speak to that day. He’s been a cherished friend to all of us throughout all these years since our graduation.”

Upon his retirement from the U.S. Post Office in 1980, McDonald volunteered for more than 20 years delivering Meals on Wheels to area seniors. He also became a member of the Presumpscot Lodge of Masons, Windham Hill Church, and Windham Historical Society.

While attending a vintage airshow in the Auburn area in 2014, he jumped at the chance to take a test flight in a restored P-51 Mustang aircraft.

“I couldn’t believe it after all these years,” he said. “I was thrilled to have that opportunity once more.”

Earlier this year he entered St. Andre’s Health Care Facility in Biddeford but insisted he would make it home in time for his 100th birthday on March 1, 2025 and a parade in his honor. His wife Marjorie died in 2007, followed his son, David in 2013, and his brother and sister-in-law Kenneth and Elizabeth McDonald in 2014. McDonald is survived by his partner Joan Esty of Windham, a daughter Karen Hopkins and her husband Blaine of Greenville, Maine, granddaughters Maureen Hopkins of Auburn, Maine and Brenda Lebo of Milford, New York, and a daughter-in-law Molly McDonald of Arcanum, Ohio.

Of everything he accomplished during his lifetime, McDonald said he would like to be remembered most as a pilot and for his military service in defense of America.

“I still think it was the right thing to do,” he said. “I am very positive about my time in the military. I enjoyed the structure, the discipline and was very pleased with the training I received. I’m lucky to have served and proud of what we accomplished.” <

Not forgotten: Memorial recalls loss of two World War II British pilots in Sebago Lake

By Ed Pierce

A gathering in Raymond 80 years and one day after a fateful crash during World War II remembered two British Royal Navy pilots killed while flying over Sebago Lake on Friday, May 17.

British Royal Navy Commander Vincent Owen salutes a new
memorial for two World War II British pilots who crashed
and died on a training mission over Sebago Lake in 1944
during a ceremony May 17 at Veterans Park in Raymond. 
Looking on is a contingent of U.S. sailors from the USS
John Basilone. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE       

Representatives from Great Britain and the United States dedicated a new memorial at Veterans Park in Raymond in the memory of the British aviators with two nephews of one of the lost pilots in attendance. The special ceremony included sailors from the USS John Basilone, the British Royal Navy, State Senator Tim Nangle, State Representative Jessica Fay, members of the Raymond Select Board, Raymond town officials and Dr. Peter Abbott, the British Consulate General for New England.

On May 16, 1944, a squadron of British Navy D4V Corsairs took off from Brunswick on a low-level formation training flight intended to give the pilots experience flying at low altitude over a body of water. Among the group of pilots that day were British Royal Navy Sub-Lieutenant Vaughn Reginald “Reggie” Gill, 24, who was flying aircraft JT-132, and Sub-Lieutenant Raymond Laurence Knott, 19, piloting aircraft JT-160. Both men were assigned to 732nd Squadron based at nearby Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine.

As the formation passed over Sebago Lake near Raymond, Gill’s Corsair JT-132 suddenly banked sharply and struck the lake, sending a large plume of water flying into the air striking Knott’s aircraft, causing it to also crash into the lake. Within a matter of seconds, both aircraft quickly sank below the waters of the lake and disappeared. A military search and crash investigation began for the pilots using amphibian planes and U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy diving bell was deployed in Sebago Lake, but no aircraft debris was ever found except for a Corsair D4V radio antenna and a small piece of an aircraft headrest.

The families of the lost pilots back in England were notified of the crash by telegram in 1944 and both pilots were declared missing in action by the Royal Navy.

In the 1990s, the Corsairs were discovered and photographed underwater in Sebago Lake more than 300 feet below the surface. A project was planned to recover the Corsairs but in 2003, a judge ruled that the aircraft and the pilots’ remains are not to be disturbed and considered to be war graves.

Last fall, the nephews of pilot “Reggie” Gill, Giles Bradley of Exeter, England and David Gill of Oxford, England, first heard about an effort to create a memorial for the pilots at Veterans Park in Raymond. “Reggie” Gill was born in India to British parents and had studied at the university level before wanting to serve his country as a Royal Navy pilot.

Bradley and Gill had heard stories through the years about their late uncle from relatives and both say they consider themselves fortunate to be able to travel to Maine and represent their family for the dedication. Surviving family members of Sub-Lieutenant Knott were unable to attend the ceremony.

“We think it’s amazing that they finally have a memorial,” Bradley said. “It’s a splendid occasion for such a fitting tribute.”

David McIntire of Raymond, the lone member of Raymond’s Veterans Committee and a retired U.S. Army officer, worked closely with James Normington, a representative of the British Commonwealth and Remembrance Project – USA to create a lasting memorial lakeside for the two Royal Navy pilots Gill and Knott.

A granite memorial was purchased from Collette Monuments in Lewiston and designed by David McIntire and Collette Monuments and approved by the British and Commonwealth Remembrance Project and the British Consulate General Peter Abbott.

Funding for the memorial was paid for by the British and Commonwealth Remembrance Project. That is a British organization situated in New England, which recognizes the service and sacrifice made by British and Commonwealth service personnel in times of war. Its volunteers help look after more than 200 British war grave sites throughout the New England area from World War I and World War II.

The day before the memorial’s dedication, the Maine Warden Service took “Reggie” Gill’s nephews out on Sebago Lake by boat and showed them where the Corsairs crashed, and where the planes sank below the water.

“We feel very privileged and honored to have done that,” Gill said. “And for us to be here on the 80th anniversary of the accident is very moving.”

The memorial dedication ceremony included speeches by Royal Navy Commander Vincent Owen and USS John Basilone Commander Carne Livingston.

Wreaths were placed on the memorial recalling the pilots’ ultimate sacrifice by Abbott and Peter Richardson, president of the British Officers Club of New England.

Normington said that dedicating the memorial almost 80 years to the day that the pilots died reinforces how difficult it was to serve in the military at that time.

“We remember what brought them here to Maine to begin with and we cannot forget,” he said. <

Windham resident to receive Congressional Gold Medal for late father’s service as ‘Ghost Army’ officer

By Ed Pierce

If he were still alive, former U.S. Army Captain William Barton Skelton, Jr. would shrug off being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his exploits during World War II and say he didn’t deserve it. But for his daughter, Malinda “Mindy” McKinney of Windham and her two sisters, it’s long overdue recognition for their father’s participation in a top-secret unit that ultimately helped the Allies defeat the Nazis and change the world.

U.S. Army Captain William Barton Skelton, Jr.
served with the Camouflage Engineers Unit of
the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops Unit,
also known as the 'Ghost Army' during 
World War II. His daughter, Malinda
'Mindy' McKinney of Windham will join her
sisters in Washington, D.C. on March 21 to
receive the Congressional Golf Medal 
recognizing her late father's service with
the top secret unit. COURTESY PHOTO

Skelton was part of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known as the “Ghost Army,” which was the first mobile, multimedia, tactical deception unit in U.S. Army history. The unique unit was able to simulate the activities of 30,000 troops or two entire American divisions by using visual, sonic, and radio deception tactics to fool German forces during World War II’s final year.

A highly anticipated ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Ghost Army soldiers and members of their families will be held at the U.S. Capitol on March 21 and McKinney will attend the event along with her sisters, Helen and Anne, who both live in Wilmington, North Carolina. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will host the medal presentation along with U.S. House and U.S. Senate leaders and sponsors of the legislation which passed in 2022 and authorized the award, Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements by individuals or institutions. The ceremony will be the first time the Gold Medal, designed and produced by the U.S. Treasury Department, will be unveiled to the public.

House sponsors of the bill to honor Ghost Army veterans with the Gold Medal include U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah and U.S. Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Susan Collins of Maine.

“What made the Ghost Army special was not just their extraordinary courage, but their creativity,” Kuster said. “Their story reminds us that listening to unconventional ideas, like using visual and sound deception, can help us solve existential challenges like defeating tyranny.”

TOP SECRET

The Ghost Army consisted of 82 officers and 1,023 enlisted soldiers and its existence were unknown and a closely held secret for more than 50 years until its activities and operations were declassified in 1996. At that time, the Ghost Army’s bold and daring techniques created to fool and distract the enemy about the strength and location of American troops was disclosed, including the use of inflatable tanks, sound effects, radio trickery, and impersonations.

The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops Unit took part in 22 large-scale deceptions in the European theater from Normandy to the Rhine River, with the bulk of the unit arriving in England in May 1944, just before D-Day on June 6, 1944. Troops assigned to the unit included artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and Army draftees.

The brainchild of Colonel Billy Harris and Major Ralph Ingersoll, who served as American military planners based in London, the unit included famed artists such as fashion designer Bill Blass, painter Ellsworth Kelly, and Art Kane, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.

Skelton’s unit waged war by deploying inflatable tanks and vehicles, broadcasting fake radio traffic and troop statistics, sound effects, and creating messages between fake generals. It harnessed imagination and illusion to trick the enemy and saved thousands of lives in the process.

At the war’s end, soldiers of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops Unit were sworn to secrecy, and unit records were classified, and its equipment was carefully dismantled and stored. An article in Smithsonian Magazine in 1985 mentioned some of its activities but the project remained classified for 11 more years.

KEPT HIS OATH

McKinney, a retired Raymond Elementary School secretary, said that her father served in the Ghost Army as a member of the 603rd Camouflage Engineers Unit of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops Unit.

“When Daddy would talk about the war before his oath was up, he just said ‘I blew things up.’ We didn’t even think that his military service involved deceiving the German army into believing that the Allies had more troops and equipment that what they did have,” McKinney said. “He never spoke of specifics of the five battles that he was part of but rather wanted to share stories about the bonds among the men of his unit and the good things that happened such as wild boar hunting in France with locals that then fed all the troops, discovering a tank of beer at a German brewery that they requisitioned, and when a wild boar startled them as they ate K-rations at the edge of the woods near the Moselle River. They tried their best to get that boar for a barbecue, but it did not happen. The Battle of the Bulge started the day after that.”

Following World War II, Skelton completed chemical engineering studies at Carnegie-Melon Institute of Technology and worked briefly for Goodyear Tire in Akron, Ohio before embarking upon a 33-year career with DuPont in Delaware, Kinston, N.C., and finally in Wilmington, N.C. where he retired. He passed way in 2011 and was predeceased by his wife, Jessica Matthews Skelton, in 2007.

He kept his oath to remain silent for 50 years about his service in the Ghost Army but once that time passed and the unit was declassified, Skelton shared many fascinating stories with his family about his service and the activities of the Ghost Army, McKinney said.

OVERDUE RECOGNITION

Three of the seven surviving Ghost Army soldiers, all 100 years old, are planning on attending the medal presentation which wraps up a nearly 20-year effort by members and volunteers of the Ghost Army Legacy Project to raise awareness and win recognition for the little-known Army units that played a unique but unheralded part in the Allied victory of World War II.

According to McKinney, none of this recognition would have been possible but for the efforts of the Ghost Army Legacy Project and their supporters. She said she is grateful to Senator Collins for being one of the primary sponsors of the legislation.

She said once she moved to Maine, her father would come to visit her about every other year if not every year at times.

“He even went to Raymond Elementary and gave some of the classes a magic show,” she said.

But on March 21 when McKinney and her family will be in Washington to receive the Gold Medal, she says her thoughts will be of her late father, who was previously awarded the Bronze Star by the Army for Meritorious Service with five battle engagements for his valor and distinction in World War II.

“Receiving this highest honor that one can receive, the Congressional Gold Medal, is very humbling,” McKinney said. “If my father were still alive, he would say that he didn’t deserve it. Much as what he had to say about being awarded the Bronze Star.” <

Don Rogers Scholarship Dinner nearing in Windham

By Ed Pierce

Those who knew Don Rogers of Windham admired him greatly and although he’s no longer with us, his spirit of kindness and willingness to help others lives on in a special program that awards college scholarships to deserving students in the Lakes Region every spring.

The late World War II veteran Don Rogers was a member of
American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 for 62 years and
served as Post Commander on four separate occasions. A
college scholarship dinner in his honor will be held at the
Windham Veterans Center on Saturday, July 22.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Sponsored by Windham’s American Legion Field-Allen Post 148, this year’s Don Rogers Scholarship Dinner will be held on Saturday, July 22 with all proceeds from the meal to be used to help area students pursue their dreams of higher education. The popular dinner has become a favorite mid-summer tradition for many families in Windham, and organizers are hoping to raise at least $1,000 through this fundraiser for the scholarships.

Donald Farris Rogers was 94 when he passed away in May 2020. He was born Sept. 21, 1925, and lived most of his life in Windham Center, except for the winters that he and his wife, Norma, spent in St. Cloud, Florida and during his military service. He was a graduate of Windham High School in the Class of 1944.

Rogers served in the Army Air Corps and trained to be a fighter pilot before World War II ended in August 1945. He returned to Windham and worked for his father, M. L. Rogers, as a construction equipment operator in town. In 1954, he married Norma Kimball, and they raised two sons, Donald Scott Rogers, and Dale K. Rogers, in Windham.

He loved sports and athletics, and played baseball, basketball, track, swimming, and horseshoes. Through the years, Rogers formed a local basketball team and supplied the uniforms for the players. He also coached Little League baseball.

“Don believed in our youth. As the Post Commander, he presented students each year with the Legion School Leadership Award,” said David Tanguay, American Legion Post 148 adjutant. “I was a recipient in 1965 and continue to cherish that award. The scholarship is now coupled with the Legion award from this fundraiser and dinner, and I think he would be humbled by the honor that it is named after him.”

Tanguay said that Rogers was fun to be around. “He always had such a great smile,” Tanguay said. “Don could light up a room with his stories and one-liners. Don was a prankster and loved a good laugh. I have seen photos of him in costume on 4-foot stilts at the old Hawkes Grocery, now Corsetti’s, regaling a crowd.”

Being active in the community was something Rogers was known for. He belonged to the Presumpscot Lodge #70 of Masons - Scottish Rite, the WHS Alumni Association and the Windham Historical Society. Rogers joined American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in 1947 and served as Post Commander on four different occasions.

“His father Maurice was one of the original Post 148 founders in 1938, and his brother, Wayne, was also a member,” Tanguay said. “Just doing the math, many, many veterans came to know the Rogers family and Don.”

He delighted in spending time with his family and neighbors and just about everyone that he met became a good friend.

“Commander Don Rogers was a well-loved member of the Windham Community, the Grand Marshal at the annual Memorial Day parade for many years, and a fixture later in life at the local variety, Corsetti’s, stopping for coffee and sharing his experiences to all who would spend some time with him.”

One Windham resident who came to know Rogers is Dana Reed, the chaplain of American Legion Post 148 and former pastor of the North Windham Union Church from 2000 to 2013.

“I grew up like a lot of folks in Windham and knew him as a veteran and a great person,” Reed said. “I'll be supremely surprised if his scholarship doesn't top much, much higher. I can't think of many, if not asked directly, who wouldn't put a $100 down for this man.”

In 2019, Post 148 members chose to honor Rogers by renaming their annual student scholarship program for him, something that made Rogers very proud, Tanguay said. This spring’s Don Rogers scholarship recipients were Al Potter and Delana Perkins, both 2023 graduates of Windham High School. Potter will attend Princeton University to study astrophysical science and Perkins will attend the Rochester Institute of Technology to study civil engineering.

The annual Don Rogers Scholarship Dinner starts at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 22 at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive, North Windham. The meal is an old-fashioned bean supper, and the cost is $10 per person with children under 12 admitted free. Additional donations for the scholarships will be welcomed. There will also be a 50/50 raffle at the event with proceeds to go to the scholarships.

For those who wish to donate but will not be able to attend the dinner, contributions can be sent to the Don Rogers Scholarship at: Post 148-Scholarship, PO Box 1776, Windham, Maine 04062. <

Love of flight propels Windham veteran’s service

By Ed Pierce

Carroll McDonald never thought that something he saw while playing outside on his family’s farm in South Windham at the age of 4 in 1929 would change his life forever, but it remains a pivotal moment in his life and set in motion a career of service to America that we celebrate on Veterans Day.

Windham resident Carroll McDonald shows a photo of himself
in the military as a pilot during World War II. McDonald,
97, learned to fly as a teenager and joined the Army Air Force
specifically to train as a military pilot after graduation from
Windham High School in 1942. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

McDonald heard the shouts nearby of school children and then looking up into the sky, he noticed what all the commotion was about, it was an old biplane, the first aircraft he had ever seen in flight, and it captured his imagination like nothing else.

“It was doing spins and barrel rolls overhead,” McDonald said. “At first, I was scared, but the longer I watched that old biplane, the more impressed I became, and I knew from that moment that I wanted to become a pilot someday. The sound of it going up and down and buzzing all around stirred my interest and it never left me when I was growing up.”

McDonald and his younger brother Kenneth were so fascinated by aviation that once when Carroll was 12 and Kenneth was 9, they rode their bicycles from Grant’s Corner in South Windham more than 12 miles to Portland and the airport there. Unbeknownst to their parents, the brothers paid for and boarded a flight, landed, and took off again for a return flight back to Portland, before riding their bicycles back to the family’s dairy farm.

“Our parents had no idea what we had done, and they were shocked when we told them,” McDonald said. “Both of us really loved airplanes and wanted to fly.”

Upon graduation from Windham High School in 1942, McDonald suspected that he was about to be drafted so he instead signed up for the Army Air Force, provided he could train to become a military pilot.

In 1943 he was given a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant and sent to Army flight school in Alabama and then on for training as a P-51 pilot at Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida. McDonald earned his flight wings in 1944 and spent the remainder of the war in Fort Myers flying P-51s, a long range, single-seat fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War.

“I joined because it was an opportunity to be well-trained and a chance to fly every single day,” McDonald said. “Flying P-51s was the best experience I could have ever hoped for. It was a top-of-the-line aircraft and was really very fast. Here I was just a teenager, and I was flying one of the fastest aircraft in the world and serving my country during wartime. It was simply an amazing time.”

McDonald learned to fly the P-51 from experienced Army Air Force pilots and veterans who had flown missions overseas and knew what they were doing in preparing young aviators like McDonald to engage the enemy. But before he could be sent overseas, the war ended.

Following his active-duty discharge in 1945, McDonald returned to Windham and attended business school using the GI Bill. He joined the U.S. Post Office as a rural postal delivery driver, a job he worked at for 32 years, delivering mail in South Windham and on River Road until retiring.

He continued to pilot aircraft while serving as a mailman, finishing his mail route by 2 p.m. in the summers and then driving to Naples where he would fly sightseeing trips for tourists around Sebago Lake.

His younger brother Kenneth, who has passed away, also became a military pilot, flying B-25 bombers during the Korean War.

In 1951 while fulfilling his military commitment in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, he was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. About the same time, McDonald joined American Legion’s Field-Allen Post 148 in 1951 and eventually serving as Post Commander and performed many other duties for the group through the years.

After his retirement from the U.S. Post Office, he then volunteered for more than 20 years delivering Meals on Wheels to area seniors.

About eight years ago he had the opportunity to fly in a P-51 during an vintage airshow in the Auburn area.

“I couldn’t believe it after all these years,” he said. “I was thrilled to have that opportunity once more.”

Now 97, McDonald is the last remaining World War II veteran in Windham and says he wouldn’t change a thing about his military service or his love for his fellow military veterans.

“I still think it was the right thing to do,” he said. “I am very positive about my time in the military. I enjoyed the structure, the discipline and was very pleased with the training I received. I’m lucky to have served and proud of what we accomplished.” <

Service to community legacy of Windham WW II veteran

World War II veteran Bob Miele of South
Windham has died at the age of 99. He was
a graduate of Windham High School and 
served as a volunteer firefighter in the 
community for many years.
FILE PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

Six words can define the life of World War II veteran Bob Miele of Windham and those are freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy and hope. At age 99, Miele passed away on May 25 at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough, leaving behind a record of service to his community that few may ever equal.

Born in South Windham on Jan. 25, 1923, Miele and his family, like many other Americans, struggled to overcome the Great Depression. His parents encouraged him to focus on academics while attending Windham High School. Following his graduation, Miele was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II and joined 16 million other Americans, including his brother, Ralph, in wearing the uniform of the United States.

He served in the U.S. Army’s European Theater in England, France and Germany, working as a T5 Signal Corps Early Warning Radar Operator tracking enemy aircraft and German V-1 buzz bombs.

When the war ended, Miele returned to Windham and eventually took over operation of his father’s store, Patsy’s, located directly across from the old fire station in South Windham.

Because of the store’s proximity to the fire station, Miele stepped up to assist the community in yet another way. 

“He was actually a volunteer firefighter back in those days” said David Tanguay, adjutant for American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham. “He lived above Patsy’s and when he heard the fire alarm go off, he got dressed and ran across the street to the fire station. He was always the first one to report for duty there.”

On a blind date in 1962, Miele met Alys Sampson of South Portland and they married on Nov. 10, 1962. 

For many years, Bob and Alys Miele were a fixture in South Windham operating Patsy’s Store seven days a week and raising three children.

He also was an active participant in the Shriners, volunteering his free time as a Shriners Crazy Cop and traveling to drive in countless parades across New England and Canada and frequent Shriner trips to the circus.

As he got older, Miele was the recipient of an Honor Flight Maine trip to Washington, D.C. in 2014, visiting the World War II Memorial alongside his daughter, Tina Pomerleau of Falmouth. 

His wife Alys died in 2016 and in 2021, Bob Miele was surprised at two different events sponsored by Post 148 of which he was a longtime member.

On his 98th birthday in 2021, the American Legion hosted a parade in South Windham honoring Miele’s service to the community which included more than 100 participants. After the parade, Windham Police Chief Kevin Schofield thanked Miele for his service to the nation and to the community and he presented him with a “Challenge Coin” and a Windham Police patch.

“This one seemed to be larger than those parades were,” he said. “I’ve never had a parade in my honor before and it feels remarkable,” Miele said.

In March 2021, Miele was a recipient of a Quilt of Valor presented to him by Donna Brookings, the Maine State Coordinator for Quilts of Valor, at the Windham Veterans Center. “First, we honor you for your service in the United States military. We honor you for leaving all you hold dear and to stand in harm’s way in a time of crisis, protecting us from the effects of war,” Brookings said. “Second, we know that freedom is not free. The cost of freedom is the dedication of lives of men and women like you, and this quilt is meant to say thank you for your sacrifice. Third, these quilts are meant to offer comfort to you, and to remind you that although your family and friends cannot be with you at all times, you are forever in our thoughts and our hearts.”

Services for Miele are planned for some time later this month. <

Quilts of Valor recognize trio of local ‘Greatest Generation’ veterans

Members of the Maine Quilts of Valor organization presented
quilts to three local veterans honoring their military service
during World War II and the Korean War. Shown from left with
their quilts are Korean War veteran Jerry Black of Standish, 92,
World War II veteran Carroll McDonald of Windham, 96, and 
World War II veteran Bob Miehle of South Windham, 98.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE    

Eagle Cane also presented during special gathering in Windham

By Ed Pierce

Members of the “Greatest Generation” fought to protect America from tyranny and oppression during World War II and the Korean War and their bravery, sacrifices and valor are shining examples of what patriotism truly means. On Wednesday morning, a special gathering at the Windham Veterans Center showed heartfelt appreciation to a trio of local veterans over the age of 90 who gave unselfishly to help preserve our freedom.

World War II veterans Carroll McDonald, 96, and Bob Miehle, 98, both of Windham, and Korean War veteran Jerry Black of Standish, 92, were awarded Quilts of Valor for their service to our nation and McDonald, who celebrated his 96^th birthday on Monday, March 1 was honored by American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 with the presentation of a special Eagle Cane for his time as a U.S. Army Air Corps P-51 pilot.

Donna Brookings, the Maine State Coordinator for Quilts of Valor, told those gathered for the occasion that the organization was founded in 2003 by the mother of a soldier deployed to Iraq. She had an idea that a quilt could be given to veterans who have been touched by war as a means of comfort to them.

The idea took off and there are now Quilt of Valor chapters in all 50 states, including Maine. Each Quilt of Valor is a quality handmade quilt made of three distinct layers.

According to Brookings, each quilt’s colorful top featuring unique shapes and fabrics representing the many unique communities and individuals of America, with second underlying filler area representing warmth, comfort, and peace. The third backing layer symbolizes the strength of each recipient of this honor and the support of each family, the community, and our nation. Each stitch in the quilts holding all the layers together represents the love and gratitude of the person who made them. 

In presenting the quilts to McDonald, Miehle and Black, Brookings told them there were three reasons they were being awarded these Quilts of Valor.

“First, we honor you for your service in the United States military. We honor you for leaving all you hold dear and to stand in harm’s way in a time of crisis, protecting us from the effects of war,” Brookings said. “Second, we know that freedom is not free. The cost of freedom is the dedication of lives of men and women like you, and this quilt is meant to say thank you for your sacrifice. Third, these quilts are meant to offer comfort to you, and to remind you that although your family and friends cannot be with you at all times, you are forever in our thoughts and our hearts.”

Brookings said since its inception, Quilts of Valor has now presented more than 268,000 quilts nationwide and will continue to do so for as long as veterans continue to serve America.

American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 Adjutant David Tanguay then awarded McDonald with a handcrafted Eagle Cane to recognize his contributions to the nation as a World War II veteran.

The Eagle Cane Project originated in Oklahoma and was introduced in Maine in 2008. Woodcarver Jack Nitz of Tulsa, Oklahoma launched the Eagle Cane Program after watching an ABC News television segment in 2004 about post-Sept. 11 veterans. Nitz, who served in the Navy from 1948 to 1957, said he realized there was "a little something" that he, as a woodcarver and cane maker, could do to let injured veterans know they had support from people in their community and to also honor them for their service. The Eagle Cane program has now spread to 32 different states, including Maine, and is a collaborative initiative that awards quality hand-carved personalized Eagle Head canes to deserving veterans in recognition for their service to the United States.

On Veterans Day in November 2020, Black received an Eagle Cane and Miehle also received one during a special parade in South Windham in recognition of his 98^th birthday on Jan. 25.

During Wednesday’s festivities, McDonald and Miehle said that they both attended Windham High School and they graduated together in the same class in June 1942.

McDonald was born on a farm in South Windham and said for as long as he can remember, he was interested in learning to fly and airplane.

“When I was about 4-years-old, I heard a bi-plane flying near a school and was fascinated by it,” McDonald said. “The sound of it going up and down and buzzing all around stirred my interest and it never left me when I was growing up.”

Knowing that he was about to be drafted, McDonald volunteered to join the U.S. Air Army Air Corps as long as he could train to become a military pilot.

In 1943 he was given a commission as a 2^nd Lieutenant and sent to an Army flight school in Alabama and then for training as a P-51 pilot at Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida. He received his flight wings in 1944 and spent the remainder of the war in Fort Myers flying P-51s, a long range, single-seat fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War.

“I joined because it was an opportunity to be well-trained and a chance to fly every single day,” McDonald said. 

Following his active-duty discharge in 1945, he attended business school using the GI Bill and in 1951 while fulfilling his military commitment in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, was promoted to the rank of 1^st Lieutenant.

He returned to Maine and joined the U.S. Post Office as a rural postal delivery driver, a job he worked for 32 years, delivering mail in South Windham and on River Road until his eventual retirement. He joined the American Legion’s Field-Allen Post 148 in 1951 and served as Post Commander and performed many other jobs for the group through the years.

After his retirement, McDonald also logged more than 20 years delivering Meals on Wheels to area seniors for 20 years and is a regular at the Weekly Veterans Coffee every Wednesday at the Windham Veterans Center.

“I’m very appreciative to everyone for recognizing me in this way and remembering my birthday,” McDonald said.  

Miehle also grew up in South Windham and was drafted in the U.S. Army, serving through 1945 in the U.S. Army’s European Theater in England, France and Germany. He worked as a T5 Signal Corps Early Warning Radar Operator tracking enemy aircraft and German V-1 buzz bombs. He went on to own and operate Patsy’s store in South Windham for many years and volunteered as a fireman at the South Windham Fire Station.   

Black served in the U.S. Navy for four years during the 1950s and the Korean War and following his time in the military, he attended Gorham State Teacher’s College and became a teacher. He taught shop, drafting and woodworking for many years at Falmouth High School before retiring and was awarded a trip to Washington, D.C. to tour the military memorials there by Honor Flight Maine. <    

South Windham parade salutes World War II veteran’s 98th birthday

By Ed Pierce

Of the 16 million Americans who wore the uniform of the United States during World War II, Bob Miele of South Windham remains proud of his service, his family and the community he treasures. And as he celebrated his 98th birthday on Jan. 25, Miele was honored with a parade, greetings from Windham’s police chief, a gift from Windham’s American Legion post and cheers from more than three dozen friends and family members.

Drafted in the U.S. Army, Miele joined his brother Ralph in uniform and served from 1941 to 1945 in the U.S. Army’s European Theater in England, France and Germany. He worked as a T5 Signal Corps Early Warning Radar Operator tracking enemy aircraft and German V-1 buzz bombs.

World War II veteran Bob Miele of South Windham, far right,
waves to vehicles participating in a parade marking his 98th 
birthday on Jan. 25. More than 50 vehicles were in the parade
and a crowd of more than three dozen of Miele's family and 
friends attended the event. Miele owned and operated
'Patsy's' store for many years in South Windham and served
as a radar operator in England, France and Germany during
World War II. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

The parade included more than 50 vehicles, police cruisers, veterans, Shriners, and fire trucks filled with well-wishers who turned out wanting to say happy birthday to Miele. The parade stretched all the way from the old Windham Fire Station to the new fire station on Route 202.

His grandson, Tim Pomerleau of Raymond, said it is the first time he can ever remember a parade in which Bob was not a participant.

“My grandfather was a Shriner Crazy Cop for many years and made Shriner trips to the circus, parades and Canada and I used to love going with him to those,” he said.

After his military service ended, Miele returned to Windham and eventually took over operation of his father’s store, Patsy’s, located directly across from the old fire station in South Windham.

 

“He was actually a volunteer firefighter back in those days too,” said David Tanguay, adjutant for American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham. “He lived above Patsy’s and when he heard the fire alarm go off, he got dressed and ran across the street to the fire station. He was always the first one to report for duty there.”

His daughter, Tina Pomerleau of Falmouth, said she was surprised by the outpouring of love and support for her father as he celebrated his birthday.

“It’s just amazing,” she said. “I don’t know how it happened, but he has received almost 100 birthday cards in the mail coming from all across the country too. He’s very happy today.”

Tanguay said his family kept the parade a secret from him until it was time to go outside to watch it as it drove near his condominium on Depot Street.

“He was only told he had to be in the condo lobby at 10 a.m. for some member of his church who wanted to wish him a happy birthday,” Tanguay said. “When he stepped out of the building, he was met with accolades and well wishes by dozens of family and friends.”

After the parade, Windham Police Chief Kevin Schofield thanked Miele for his service to the nation and to the community and he presented him with a “Challenge Coin” and a Windham Police patch.

Schofield said he was humbled to be included in the parade and to meet Miele.

“It’s quite an honor for a living member of the Greatest Generation,” Schofield said. “This means a lot to his family and for me, it’s an honor to be a part of this.”

Tanguay also gave Miele a special “Eagle Cane” and a citation from the American Legion marking his 98th birthday.

The Eagle Cane Project originated in Oklahoma and was introduced in Maine in 2008. Woodcarver Jack Nitz of Tulsa, Oklahoma launched the Eagle Cane Program after watching an ABC News television segment in 2004 about post-Sept. 11 veterans. Nitz, who served in the Navy from 1948 to 1957, said he realized there was "a little something" that he, as a woodcarver and cane maker, could do to let injured veterans know they had support from people in their community and to also honor them for their service.

The Eagle Cane program has now spread to 32 different states, including Maine, and is a collaborative initiative that awards quality hand-carved personalized Eagle Head canes to deserving veterans in recognition for their service to the United States.

Miele, whose wife of 53 years, Alys, died in 2016, said he was overwhelmed by all of the attention for his birthday and said he remembers when annual Fourth of July parades took the same route as this one did years ago.

“This one seemed to be larger than those parades were,” he said. “I’ve never had a parade in my honor before and it feels remarkable.” <

Maine family seeks help with World War II photographs

U.S. Army Tech Sergeant Richard
Perkins of Maine is shown at
Fort Shafter, Hawaii during
World War II. When Perkins 
died at age 92 in 2014, he left
behind a trove of photos taken
of servicemen that his family
is trying to identify and share
with them. COURTESY PHOTO  

By Ed Pierce

When U.S. Army veteran Richard Perkins of Maine passed away at the age of 92 in 2014, he left behind a treasure trove of hundreds of photos he took while stationed in Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Perkins was a radio operator who was stationed at Fort Shafter in Honolulu, and he worked at an underground base inside of Diamond Head. Except for a few brief stories, he never talked much about his service to his family.

While cleaning out his house after he died, his daughter Alice Smith and his son Dana Perkins came across a large tin container full of rolls of film negatives that had been developed, but never converted into photographic prints.

Dana Perkins painstakingly scanned the negatives into his computer and converted them into hundreds of never-before-seen historical photos.

The people in the photos include veterans of the Army, Navy and Marines, as well as USO performers, civilians and children who lived in the area around the Army base of Fort Shafter. 

Alice and Dana have spent the last few years learning as much as possible about the people and locations in the photos. They have received a tremendous amount of help from Milton Migita, a curator at the Army Museum in Hawaii, as well as from the general public through online social media groups.

Their goal is to make all of the photos available to the public by compiling them in a book or through a website. The original negatives, photos, and three photo albums will then be donated to either the Army Museum or the National Park Service in Hawaii.

There are still a lot of people in the photos remaining to be identified. It is Alice and Dana's hope that someone in Maine will recognize their father, grandfather, uncle, mother, grandmother, aunt, or some other friend or relative in the photos. The photos can be viewed online at: www.WW2PacificVeteransProject.org

If you recognize anyone, please contact Alice Smith or Dana Perkins through the website, or by writing to them at: World War 2 Pacific Veterans Project, PO Box 789, Biddeford, ME 04005. <

American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 hosting Don Rogers Scholarship benefit, bean supper

The late Don Rogers of Windham served the
American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 for
61 years. A new scholarship to benefit area
students has been set up in his honor.
FILE PHOTO

By Dave Tanguay

Special to The Windham Eagle

It is not summer without bean suppers, so the adage goes.

The American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 was looking at a way to remember the work of our recently passed Post Commander and much loved, Donald F. Rogers of Windham.

Don followed in the family footsteps of his father Maurice Rogers, A founder of the post, Don and his brother Wayne became Legion members shortly after World War II. His wife Norma is an honorary member of the Unity Auxiliary as well and during his 61-year association with the Field-Allen Post, Don was commander on multiple occasions and kept the post going when membership was in decline in the 1990s.

He loved the bean suppers and rarely missed one even into his 90s and anyone who knew Don can't help but remember his warmth and great smile.

In the current COVID-19 climate, it was suggested that the post hold a bean supper on Saturday, July 18 as a curbside event and make it free to the public in honor of Don Rogers. 

It has been proposed to make this an annual event in support of the post’s scholarship program and name the annual scholarships, one for a male and another for a female Windham High School graduate, in honor of Don and to be named the Donald F. Rogers Scholarships.

So, 4 p.m. Saturday, July 18 until the beans run out, the Field-Allen Legion family will host a curbside bean supper pick up, open to the community at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive, Windham. 

The menu will be short and features two types of beans (kidney or navy), brown bread or corn bread, coleslaw, red hot dogs and cookies for dessert. 

Those interested in joining the post for a free bean event can drive up to the order desk in the WVC parking lot, place your order, park, and remain in your vehicle while a runner fills your order. 

Those wishing to donate to the Donald F. Rogers Scholarship fund may do so then or by sending their donation to: Field-Allen Post 148 Scholarship, PO Box 1776, Windham, Maine 04062.

For additional information, call 207-892-1306. <

Working on the home front: 'Rosie the Riveter’ shares memories, experiences

Dorothy "Dot" Skolfield, who lives in Windham
with her daughter, enjoys a recent spring day
 in the backyard. Here she is sporting the Boston Post Cane
 she was awarded in the summer of 2019 by the Town of Weld,
 her official residence. Skolfield's father was working for the Boston Post
when the newspaper instituted the award as part of a publicity tactic.
PHOTO BY LORRAINE GLOWCZAK

By Lorraine Glowczak

In a recent Letter to the Editor, the American Rosie the Riveter Association reached out to the Sebago Lakes Region community to try to locate women who worked for the war efforts during World War II. The intent was to capture as many stories as possible around the U.S.

“These women have stories of their WWII experiences that are of historical value and perhaps have never been told,” the letter said. “American Rosie the Riveter Association would like to acknowledge these women with a certificate and have their stories placed in our archives."

We, here at the Windham Eagle newspaper office invited anyone in the area to also share their stories with us and one individual responded to that invitation.

“Our ‘Rosie’ is my 97-year-old mother, Dorothy "Dot" Weld Reynolds Skolfield,” Sharon Bickford wrote in an email to The Windham Eagle newspaper. “My mother contributed to the war effort in several ways and she has seen many changes in her years on earth. For her birthday, we are giving her a membership to the American Rosie the Riveter Association to be recognized and have her story a part of their archives.”

Skolfield has lived with her daughter in Windham for the past 10 years. She was born May 14, 1924 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the fourth of five children of Howard Reynolds, a sportswriter and editor for the Boston Post, and to Lottie Reynolds, a nurse. Although living most of her early years in and around the Boston area, she and her family spent summers in Weld. Skolfield worked in both Maine and Massachusetts in her “Rosie the Riveter” role.

“After I graduated from Newtonville [Massachusetts] High School in 1942, I spent that summer with my family in Weld,” Skolfield said. “Everyone wanted to help the war effort in some way and my sister-in-law and I where no different. We both got a job as volunteers scanning the sky with binoculars, watching for aircraft, and identifying them. We had access to a telephone and when we spotted a plane, we would call the central agency. We did this for four hours a day.

”

Skolfield and her sister-in-law were part of a citizen volunteer program of the Army Air Force Ground Observer Corps. The mission was to fill a gap in the country’s air defenses and security during WWII. There were many observational posts throughout Maine at that time, with Weld being among them. In addition to binoculars and a telephone, volunteers were also equipped with a distance calculator.

Online Maine Encyclopedia describes the role of the corps volunteer in this way:

“When any aircraft was seen, the volunteer would dial the operator and say, ‘aircraft flash [number assigned to post].’ That would identify the post to the ‘filter center’ at Bangor’s Dow Air Force Base, which tracked use of the air space over Maine.”

When the summer 1942 turned into fall and it was time for the family to return to Massachusetts, Skolfield got a job working for Hoods Rubber Company in Watertown helping to make deicers for airplanes. She earned $45 a week.

“I was on the assembly line and we each had our own specific duties,” Skolfield said. “Mine was to insert a small piece of equipment into one area of the wing that would inflate and activate the deicer when it was ready to be used.”

This one seemingly mundane task, however small, was very important. All completed objects were tested before the wing was attached to the plane to check for precision.

“One day, I put my piece in backward,” Skolfield said. “It stopped the whole assembly for many hours until they were able to find and correct the mistake. I was so mortified and embarrassed.”

But despite the one error, Skolfield’s calm and even-keeled demeanor may not just be a genetic character trait but could be a result of the war-time civility and the American effort to work together during difficult times.

“People seemed to trust each other more back then, and everyone worked together,” Skolfield said. “There was a certain love for our Country, and everyone was patriotic. We all had one common goal and that was to cooperate. No one tried to make money off the war, and everyone was willing to give up for the greater good. And yes, there were disagreements, and everyone had their own opinion, but you just listened to what others had to say – and then you went on quietly following your own opinion. My mother would always say ‘sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ You never took things personally because everyone is entitled to their beliefs. Today feels so different. There seems to be family against family and a lot of fighting. It seems to me that today we have had it easy for so long that it is more difficult to adjust when adversity arises.”

Being there for one another was an expected norm during the days of World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945. Skolfield recalls one way her mother played a role in being there for servicemen in the community.

“My family lived on something similar to a cul-de-sac and the Air Force was using it as a base,” Skolfield said. “On the soldiers’ days off, my mother would invite them for Sunday dinner. Our table was always surrounded with strangers because my mother wanted to give soldiers a home-cooked meal.”

Skolfield eventually moved to Atlantic City, N.J. for a couple of months and worked in sales to be near her sister-in-law and her brother before he left for overseas. She eventually returned to Massachusetts and attended Fisher’s Business College in Boston to obtain a certification as a Foreign Trade Secretary. She admits that it was not something she wanted to do with her life.

“I went to secretarial school at the encouragement of my mother, but I was such a tom-boy,” said Skolfield. “I couldn’t wait to get out of a dress and into jeans. Being a secretary would have been too confining for me.”

Instead, Skolfield held several other positions that fit her personality more appropriately. She opened an Ice Cream Shop in Weld during the summer months and then work in Massachusetts at a dime store and nursing home.  

In 1948, she married Stanley Skolfield of Weld, making Maine her permanent home. She and her new husband had a son, Tom (Rep. Tom Skolfield of House District 112) and daughter, Sharon Bickford.

While raising a family, Skolfield would work a variety of jobs in and around Weld that included pumping gas, working at Mount Blue State Park, working as a Town Treasurer, Tax Collector, Town Clerk pro-temp and was elected as the first female Board of Selectpersons for the Town of Weld.

She acknowledges that although she has seen difficult times being alive during WWII, she has had a very good life.

“My family growing up was loving and supportive and I married a loving and supportive husband,” she said. “I have been incredibly fortunate.”

Her husband passed away 28 years ago. In the summer of 2019, she was awarded the Boston Post Cane by the Town of Weld. Although this is a great privilege to anyone who receives this award, it was extra special for Skolfield.

“My dad worked for the Boston Post when they instituted this award as part of a publicity tactic,” Skolfield said. “So, it was truly an honor to get the Gold-headed Boston Post Cane that my father helped to implement.”

Source: www.maineanencyclopedia.com/ground-observer-corps/