Naturalization Ceremony welcomes 22 new citizens - By Michelle Libby

On Friday morning, 22 people from 17 countries recited an oath and became US citizens at the Windham Veterans Center in a ceremony that was described as very personal by attendees. The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 148 hosted the event bringing Immigration Services Officer from United States Customs and Immigration Services Kurt Pelletier, Senator Susan Collins and the ceremony to Windham.

“She likes to be an American. It’s a peaceful place. She’s a victim of war and that’s why she fears it,” said Hassan Adan, a friend and community member of new citizen Saadio Alikaf from Somalia. 

Aileen Pelletier, a member of the auxiliary and Kurt’s wife, suggested that the young auxiliary unit host a Naturalization Ceremony. President Pam Whynot worked tirelessly to coordinate with Sen. Collins office and Kurt as well as the other speakers to make the event special for the candidates.

“I always wanted to live here. It was just a matter of time,” said Irina Sullivan from Kazakhstan. The first thing she will do with her citizenship is vote in November, she said. 

Nothing beat listening to the stories of the new citizens, Whynot said. The ceremony began at 10 a.m., but all of the candidates were there by 9:10 a.m. giving plenty of time for socialization and pictures. “To see them come so early because they’re so excited is amazing,” she added. 

Yong Lu from China wants to live here. “My family is here,” he said. He also can’t wait to vote in the next election. 

The day was about connections, which helped to make the event so special. Each candidate brought

Kurt’s son Devin was given an appointment to the Air Force Academy by Sen. Collins, who was speaking and Kurt was flying out the following morning to Devin’s graduation. When he told the story, there were very few dry eyes in the building. 

“If it wasn’t for Senator Collins, my son wouldn’t be where he is today,” Kurt said. 

Colonel Bob Atkins, USMC. Ret. gave the welcoming remarks. The new citizens can now “practice the religion you want, have a free press and write a letter to the editor. You have the right to send a grievance to Senator Collins, right to bear arms and the right to refuse the military from taking up residence in your home. These freedoms are not free,” he said. He read a poem by Kelly Strong titled “Freedom is not Free” written when she was a senior in high school. 

“I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, Freedom is not free.”

Poem affected everyone. 

“Pick out something that you can do to make this a better place. Congratulations and welcome home,” he told the group gathered. 

Senator Collins, who received a standing ovation when she entered the veteran’s center, gave a passionate speech about how precious citizenship is. 

“For those who yearn to breathe free, our freedom has been purchased at the greatest possible cost,” she said. She told the audience that they need to know how precious our birthright is. She also encouraged volunteerism and to do “great acts of selflessness.” The gathering was kept spellbound by her words. 

“It is this philosophy of self-governance that has stood the test of time,” Sen. Collins said. “To be an American by birth or by choice, be proud of your heritage and of your future.” 

Anne Libby also read an essay she wrote as a part of the VFW Voice of Democracy contest. She spoke about how one little action can affect someone’s life profoundly and that it is the citizens who will band together to create change and that it’s not country of birth that binds us, but by the country we call home.

The Windham Primary School third grade chorus sang four selections including God Bless the USA.

“This is the best part of my job,” said Kurt. He told the group that “America is your adopted country,” and that each candidate met the requirements to be citizens and was found to have good moral character. 

The new citizens were from all over the world, Egypt, Estonia, Jamaica, Congo, New Zealand, Turkey and many more. 

“They were so excited to be a citizen,” said Whynot.  

The auxiliary unit is looking forward to hosting another Naturalization Ceremony.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?

How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, Freedom is not free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, Freedom isn't free!!

Copyright 1981 by Kelly Strong

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. 

 Toby's Dream continues this year with a memorial race event and a raffle - By Michelle Libby

 The Summit Project honors the memories of Maine's fallen soldiers - By Michelle Libby

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Toby's Dream continues this year with a memorial race event and a raffle - By Michelle Libby

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On Saturday, May 28, the gun will go off on the second annual Toby’s Dream Project Memorial Race event at Windham High School. Last year the event raised $8,000 toward the goal of paving the Windham Veterans Center parking lot, which meant a lot of Toby Pennels, a veteran who gave a lot of his time and resources to the space to make it succeed. The driveway and access road are now paved and through the work of his family and a small group of dedicated volunteers, the initiative will now allow Toby to continue to give back to organizations he loved. 
 

Stuart “Toby” Pennels passed away after a motorcycle accident in 2014. At the time he was running for political office, sat on the RSU14 school board and had served his country. 

This year the committee will honor Toby by splitting the money between three places. All money raised at the races and through a raffle for a paddle board, flotation device and paddle donated by Kittery Trading Post will go to help programs that mean so much to Toby. The first place the money will go is toward the Toby Pennels Memorial Scholarship Fund, then the remaining money will be split between the veterans center and the Windham High School cross country team, who have given so much for this event,” according to Brenda Pennels, Toby’s widow. “We want to make it something Toby would have wanted.” Two of Toby and Brenda’s children ran cross country and cross country coach Jeff Riddle has spent countless hours working on the races. 

At the race on Saturday there will be a 5K and a 1 mile walk, run or wheel and also a kids’ fun run with ice cream cones donated by The Ice Cream Dugout as a reward. Registration can be done online at the website or on Saturday. There will be Blue Mile markers to honor those who have passed on.

“We are very happy to continue to partner with Brian Berkemeyer, Run In A Race, LLC., to help with online race registrations and online donations and also officially time our races and collect all race results,” said Riddle. 

This year there will be a meet a veteran portion of the event and a station for writing to soldiers. Colonel Scott Venable will fly in from Chicago to talk about what it means to serve and what it was like serving in Iraq with Toby in 2007. There will be “a lot of things going on on race day to honor vets,” said Brenda. That includes a non-perishable food drive. People are asked to bring an item or two for the Windham Food Pantry. The items are collected by the American Legion Post 148. They will also be collecting food in North Windham.  

“All of this happens effectively because RSU14 has again sanctioned this race event in respect and honor of Toby and all that he gave over his years of service to RSU14. It is important to also mention that the Town of Windham and Raymond have been overly supportive of this event and we look forward to continuing those partnerships as well,” said Riddle. 

This year the organizers cut out the breakfast and made the whole event shorter. It’s more organized, said Brenda. 

“Last year, year one, Brenda Pennels, Taylor Pennels, Don Swander and I worked with a few other volunteers to make the event a very successful one, all within a very short timeline to respectfully pull it all off,” said Riddle. “In this second year of the race event,…we have increased our event coordination committee with some amazing community members from the towns of Windham and Raymond.”  

The team effort includes Taylor Pennels as web designer/sponsorship coordinator/Facebook marketer and Don Swander liaison with the Windham Veterans Center and fundraising. Others added are Jennifer and Nelson Breton, Suzie Brockelbank, Abbi Brockelbank, Kristy Appleebee, and Nini and Nate Bennett. 

Molly Cobb received the Toby Pennels Memorial Scholarship last year and will be given out again at the senior recognition night before graduation this year. The raffle for the paddle board will be drawn on Memorial Day after the community luncheon event and paver dedication that starts at noon on Monday. 

For more information and to register, visit www.tobysdreamproject.org or Facebook. Donations for the scholarship can be made to The Toby Pennels Scholarship Fund, http://www.tobysdreamproject.org/#!toby-pennels-scholarship/m4oon.

The event in Summary:

1.  We have a guest speaker coming in from Chicago: Colonel Scott Venable

2.  A kids choir coming to sing

3.  Veterans on-site to story tell and answer questions

4.  A collection-site to support the Veterans centers canned food drive initiative.

5.  We hope to have a 'write a letter to a soldier’ station

6.  A 1 mile race, run, walk, wheel   (see the course map online)

7.  A 5K race   (see the course map online)

8.  A kids race.    (See the course map online)

9.  We will have a 'Blue Mile' within the 5K course out on 202 where we will celebrate military members who lost their lives for our country.  

10.  We will have cash prizes and other prizes for our top runners.  

11.  Along with that we have sponsors and raffle items, including a grand raffle of a paddle board, from Kittery Trading Post.  

The Summit Project honors the memories of Maine's fallen soldiers - By Michelle Libby

"The Summit Project (TSP), a nationally recognized, Maine based, non-profit service organization founded by active duty USMC Major David J. Cote in 2013, is a living memorial that has changed the way an entire state pays tribute to their post 9/11 fallen service members while also inspiring service, strengthening communities and changing lives.”

TSP is an organization created to honor heroes with ties to Maine. Through a web of volunteers, the stories of soldiers who have passed away will not be forgotten. The program is unique to Maine and is like nothing else out there. 

“I hope this memorial can help tell the stories of a generation of brave Maine veterans who did not return home but whose service and sacrifice must never be forgotten,” said Cote, who grew up in Bangor. “This is a story of our generation of Maine service members — a story that needs to be told. The Summit Project gives us an opportunity to say to our veterans you did your job. You served with honor. You made us proud. We are connected to you and continue to learn from your example. We are inspired by you because we took the time to learn about you. 

The fallen comrades were not all born in Maine, but all have ties to the state. They have all lost their lives since 9/11. Not all were killed in combat, though most were. It could have been a training accident, but they were all on active duty. 

Each veteran is remembered with a stone picked out by their family. Some stones are from a beach, some from family homesteads or camps, and others from a mountain where they may have had a memorable hike. They are all from a place of significance for the hero and their family. The stones are engraved with the veteran’s initials or name, rank, year of birth, year of passing and branch of service. The stones range in size from a pound up to 30 pounds. The average stone is about five to eight pounds. There are 77 engraved stones for service members and 14 spirit stones engraved with Courage, Date, Country, Teamwork, Bayonet, Family, Service, Strength, Community, Family, Endurance, Sacrifice, and Duty.

Windham resident Russ Shoberg has been a volunteer with the program for a year and a half. Though Shoberg has never been in the military, he has a calling to be a part of tributes like this, getting his first taste of honoring the military when he ran in Run for the Fallen events starting in 2012. “In 2014 I met a charismatic Marine who was carrying a large stone,” he said. “I asked to carry a stone in the Maine Marathon.” He did. “And that’s how I fell into the deep end with TSP. Everyone I’ve met within TSP has a selfless and genuine character. While we honor the heroes and their families, those same families give back to carriers and participants in equal measures.” 

The stones are kept at Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) in Portland in an honor room. “It’s almost chapel like,” said Shoberg. There is also an honor display case that travels around the state to display memorial stones and to share the mission of TSP. 

The stones could also be requested by anyone who wants to honor Maine veterans. Getting involved in easy. Volunteers, anyone from a Scout group to a book group or an individual, just need to fill out and submit a form telling TSP where they would like to take the stone. It could be anything from a backpacking trip in Africa or an adventure on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. “But it doesn’t have to be an arduous thing,” said Shoberg. 

“The primary criteria are to honor the veteran, and that the event is not self-serving. It must be a selfless way to honor them,” said Shoberg. There are three simple rules for the volunteer to follow. 1. Learn as much about the hero as they can. 2. Launch the event and complete the hike, marathon or event that was approved. 3. The volunteer must write a letter to the family of the service member accounting what he/she learned about the family member and what the volunteer will take from the experience of carrying the stone. “The goal is to keep their story and legacy alive,” said Shoberg, who has run in two marathons sharing the story of his stone and the man it represents. “Once you’ve carried and held one, an emotional bond is formed,” he added. He has also met several of the family members of the stones he’s carried, and that deepens the bond. 

Last October Shoberg ran in the Marine Corps Marathon with two veterans, all of them carrying stones. Every mile they stopped to tell the story of their stones to someone watching the event. “We started with ‘Today I carry the stone and story of this Marine hero, and went from there. “We let them hold it for a while too. It’s very tactile response, especially for veterans. They go someplace in their hearts,” Shoberg said, adding that “Running with the stones can sometimes be more emotionally demanding than just the running part.” 

Cote got the idea for TSP after he was invited on a SEAL hike to climb Mount Whitney, the tallest summit in the contiguous United States. Here the SEALS left 10 pound stones engraved for each SEAL brother they lost. Cote was moved by the hike that he wanted to do something similar in his home state. 

“Veterans comprise nearly 15 percent of our state’s population ranking among the very highest veteran populations of any state in America. Put another way, nearly 1 in 7 Maine adults is a veteran. Maine’s patriotism and commitment to service in our Armed Forces is nothing short of extraordinary. We must match with equal devotion, our commitment to them,” he said.

Cote is a reserve Marine Corps Major and an Annapolis graduate. He has known service and has seen the sacrifice. 

Every year TSP sponsors two major hikes, one at Baxter State Park and the other at Acadia National Park. At Acadia the climbers in four groups of 20 hike four different routes up Cadillac Mountain. At the top they gather and present the stories of the stones. At the bottom they gather in a large circle holding the stones, and present them back to the families to conclude the event. 

In addition to preserving the memory of the fallen heroes, TSP also offers assistance to Gold Star Families, those who have lost a service member in combat, to allow them to spend Memorial Day weekend in Baxter. They also provide assistance to Gold Star families in need, and many TSP families participate as volunteers in Wreaths Across America. 

“Through the sincerity of the people who are part of this you become part of the TSP family. They don’t care if you’re a vet, what you do for a living or even if you’re born in Maine. We all want to make sure the families are supported and that their heroes are remembered,” Shoberg said. “Egos get checked at the door. It’s not about position, it’s about what we are doing together.” “People really, really care and want to spread the story to keep the memories alive,” said Shoberg. 

 For more information on The Summit Project or to get involved, visit www.thesummitproject.org, visit them on Facebook or Twitter @MaineMemorial.

 In loving memory of Thomas William Gleason 1948-2016 - By Walter Lunt

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