Maine XIII

While visiting the Maine Vietnam memorial in Augusta, on one of my trips there, I decided to walk into the State House just to look around.

I wondered upstairs and found a number of patriotic displays including there to Vietnam.

As noted previously on this site, the Augusta Vietnam memorial lists no names, this is true here, too except for the Medal of Honor recipients from several wars,including Vietnam. The names are all listed on the memorial found in Bangor which you can find elsewhere on this site.

Our sisters are not overlooked here. This plaque honors them all from the Revolution through the present day. No depiction here from Vietnam, but there is one (on the left) that seems to honor the Womens Army Service Pilots from WWII. My former Mother in Law was one of these heroic women and she lived the last 40+ years of her live in Maine, so I found it particularly fitting.

Next time, hopefully on the 24th, I will have a special posting for the season. Come back and check, sometime during the holidays and see, the post will go up at 9:00am, as always.

To see additional memorials from Maine or any other state click the state name on trheleft side of this page.

Maine V

339 KIA/MIAs are honored here.

From this angle, the soldier is being aided by his comrades

But, this way, one sees the Huey swooping in to his assistance.

About 70 miles from Augusta is Bangor, Maine. It is the home to a very nice Vietnam memorial. It consists of a statue of two soldiers aiding another, a wall with al 339 KIA/MIAs, a tank and a Huey. Located at the Cole Land Transportation Museum, (405 Perry Road) it honors our brothers and sisters from Maine.

When I first learned of it, some years ago, I thought that it was the official state Vietnam memorial. Later while visiting the state capitol at Augusta, I discovered the one there: also, the Maine state Vietnam memorial.

The one at the capitol, previously posted on this site, was dedicated long before the one in Bangor and I have no explanation as to why they are both called the Maine Vietnam Memorial. I know that the one in Bangor was built so that there would be a memorial listing all the names of those lost or missing, as there are no names on the Augusta memorial. I have tried, without success, to contact representatives of each to see if I could determine the reason why each bears the same name. There are other states that have more than one official memorial but usually one is called a memorial and the other is called a monument or some other such designation. (As always, if any of you know anything about this, I would live to hear from you. There is an email on the left side of this page.)

Next time, join me in the Free State, Maryland, as always at 9:00am, on the 6th of November.

To see more memorials from Maine, or any other state, click the name of the state on the left side of this page.

Maine III

The second, or new, veterans cemetery in Maine boasts this lane of flags and a wall that is filling in with names. The cemetery, located on Mt. Vernon Rd., keeps track of all who have passed during the year. Then, each spring, the names are engraved, alphabetically, upon the wall. There is no designation as to which war or how the vet died. These detail are listed on the individual markers at each grave site.

Maine II

Augusta has two veterans cemeteries. One on Civic Center road and another on Mt. Vernon. Like all veteran's cemeteries they honor all who served, but each had monuments and markers that honor those lost in the Vietnam conflict.

The Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery (Civic Center Drive) was the first to open, in 1971. The Mt. Vernon branch open in 2001.

The pictures on this posting are from the Civic Center Road cemetery.

Both sides of the walls of this monument are covered with the names of Maine's citizens who perished in our nations wars. They are not identified as to the war or the year. There are thousands. It is very disquieting to stand amidst the legions of the fallen in this quiet and beautiful site. Nearby there is a carrillion that chimes at various times of the day to remind all within hearing to pause and reflect.

The first picture is just at the entrance to the chapel that is on site and the proclamation hangs on the wall inside.

The Vietnam Veterans bench stands on an open green near the road as you drive through the cemetery.

Maine

The Maine Vietnam Memorial is located directly across the street from the Maine Capitol building, in Capitol Park, in Augusta. the park is bounded on two sides by State Street and Capitol street. It can be accessed from very nearby parking on Capitol.

It has a couple of unique features. The most obvious is the style of the sculpture which is called a statue in reverse. It creates different shadows and images depending upon the weather and the time of day. So, one might well see something very different during different visits to this beautiful spot. It is, also, meant to invite the visitor to walk through the site and in some way become part of it.

Another interesting thing is that the dedication plaque says that the site is dedicated to those who served and to those "touched by the war" The memorial does not list the names of the 343 valiant citizens who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.