MEMORIAL DAY
A guide to Memorial Day festivities
in Piscataquis County
ABBOT / GUILFORD / SANGERVILLE — A parade will start in Sangerville at 8:30 a.m. at the former Dover Stove Company and continue through town to the Piscataquis River Bridge. The parade will then start in Guilford at the Elmwood Cemetery at 9:30 a.m., and then begin in Abbot at the town office at 10:30 a.m.
DOVER-FOXCROFT — American Legion Post 29 will conduct a ceremony at 10 a.m. at the monument in Monument Square. From the monument will be a march to the Piscataquis River bridge for a wreath ceremony. The Post is in the planning stages for a larger celebration for Memorial Day in 2014.
GREENVILLE — Events in the area include ceremonies at the Rockwood Cemetery at 9 a.m., the memorial bridge at 10 a.m. and the Shirley Cemetery at 11 a.m. A parade departs from the Greenville American Legion on Pritham Ave. at noon, followed by a ceremony at the Katahdin at 12:15 p.m., wreath laying at the Honor Roll at 12:30 p.m. and ceremony at the Greenville Cemetery at 12:30 p.m.
MILO — A parade will start at 10 a.m. at American Legion Post 41 at 18 West Main Street The parade will go to the Evergreen Cemetery for a ceremony.
MONSON — A parade will start at 8 a.m. at the Lake Hebron Heights Complex on 84 Tenney Hill Road. The parade will follow Main Street and end up at the Monson Community Center. Activities include an American Legion wreath-laying ceremony at the Lake Hebron canal, ceremony at the Veterans Memorial with prayer, performance by the Foxcroft Academy band, American Legion rifle salute and taps. Refreshments will be available at the Community Center following the festivities.
Observer file photo/Stuart Hedstrom
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED — Last year’s Memorial Day in Dover-Foxcroft included a ceremony at Monument Square hosted by American Legion Post 29. The presentation featured remarks on the meaning of the day, a moment of silence and prayer, laying of wreaths by emergency responders and a rifle salute by students in the criminal justice program at the Tri-Country Technical Center in Dexter. The procession marched down the East Main Street bridge where a wreath was tossed into the Piscataquis River in memory of members of the armed forces who lost their lives at sea. This year’s observance will take place at Monument Square at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 27.
Daughters and Sons of Union Veterans’
plan May 25 services
DOVER-FOXCROFT — There will be joint Memorial Day services held by the Daughters and Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. Services will be held on May 25 at 10 a.m. at the Dover Cemetery. The Daughters of Sarah Elizabeth Palmer Tent No. 23 will be honoring their namesake, Sarah Elizabeth Palmer. The Sons of Daniel Chaplin Camp will honor James T. Roberts, a Coast Guard Infantryman from Foxcroft. Both groups will be conducting their memorial services in addition to wreath laying. Both services are open to the public.
Dexter service and parade schedule
DEXTER — Memorial services honoring our deceased veterans will be conducted May 27 at the Veterans Memorial Park on Dam Street by the American Legion and the VFW. Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs will deliver the memorial address. Musical selections by the Dexter Regional High School band will follow the ceremony.
Scout groups, all veterans, active members of the armed forces and any organizations are especially invited to participate in the parade. Vehicles are welcome for those unable to march. Several convertibles will be available.
The parade will assemble in the municipal parking lot behind the Bangor Savings Bank and leave at 10 a.m. The route will exit the lot onto Lower Main Street; proceed up Main Street to the traffic light; turn onto Church Street and march to Dam Street and the Veterans Memorial Park.
Following the services the parade will reassemble on Dam and Grove streets and march back to the starting point. The Veterans of Foreign Wars will serve a lunch after the parade at the VFW home on Cedar Street.
For more information, please contact Rodney Giles of Poulliot-Seavey Post 53 of the American Legion and Shirley B. Carter Post 4292 of the VFW at 924-3589.
50th anniversary of B-52 crash
GREENVILLE — The Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Club is organizing a commemorative service as a remembrance of the B-52 crash that took place 50 years ago on Elephant Mountain near Moosehead Lake.
On Jan. 24, 1963 a B-52C Stratofortress crashed on Elephant Mountain. The aircraft had flown out of Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts shortly after noon, on a mission to familiarize its crew with flying at low altitude to penetrate enemy radar. The mission scheduled to take five and a half-hours, ended abruptly when air turbulence
increased and the pilot attempted to climb above it. As the aircraft started to climb, it suddenly went into a 40-degree right turn and slammed into the side of Elephant Mountain at 2:52 p.m.
A crew of nine was aboard the aircraft and miraculously, there were two survivors. Killed in the crash were Lt. Col. Joe R. Simpson Jr.; Maj. William W. Gabriel; Maj. Robert J. Morrison; Maj. Robert J. Hill; Capt. Herbert L. Hansen; Capt. Charles G. Leuchter; and T-Sgt. Michael F. O’Keefe. The two survivors were Lt. Col. Dante E. Bulli and Capt. Gerald J.
Adler.
Rescuers, both local and from the Air Force, battled sub-zero temperatures and heavy winds in an effort to locate the downed aircraft and her crew. Lt. Col. Bulli, the plane’s
commander, was found the following morning, suffering from a broken ankle, as was the aircraft’s navigator, Capt. Adler, suffering from a fractured skull, three broken ribs and frostbite on both feet.
One of the survivors, Gerald Adler, will be attending the festivities. After the accident, Adler had an extended recovery period and unfortunately lost one leg. He is the only person to survive an ejection in a Weber Ejection seat from an aircraft without the parachute opening. He left the service as a Captain, became an attorney and also has been active in politics. He currently resides in Davis, Calif.
The commemorative service will be held at the Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Clubhouse, located on Scammon Road starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 25.
The B-52 crashed on land that is owned by the Plum Creek Timber Company the road has been recently graded and will be open for this event. For those not comfortable traversing the route Northwoods Outfitters has graciously offered transport vans.
Although only a small portion of the wreckage remains at the crash site, it is still impressive and evident that a very large aircraft had crashed in the area. One of the engines from the ill-fated B-52 is on display with additional information at the Moosehead Riders Snowmobile Clubhouse.
The purpose of this event is to dedicate and honor the crash site as a tragic historical event that occurred in our area, and to provide a meaningful experience for the participants,
be they persons who assisted with the rescue, family members of the victims, survivors of the crash or interested visitors to the site.
Photo courtesy of Andy Johnson
NEW OFFICERS — American Legion Post 29 in Dover-Foxcroft recently installed its new officers. Pictured is front, from left, Ed Conroy (Historian), Dennis Lyford (Adjutant) and Steve Howard (Americanism). Middle, Ron Williams (Sgt. at Arms), Bart Merrill (Judge Advocate), David Leighton (2nd Vice Commander) and Joe Guyotte (Chaplain). Back, Frank Michaud (Finance), Buster Gilbert (1st Vice Commander), Mike Stewart (Commander), Dick Graves, (Installing Officer from Post 41 in Milo and the State Chaplain), Roger Kaufman (Service Officer and Immediate Past Commander) and Randy Kluj (Installing Officer from Post 41).
Observer file photos/Jeannette Hughes
MILO MEMORIAL DAY — The color guard for the parade in Milo pauses on the West Main Street bridge for a ceremony, including a rifle salute (below). This year’s parade will start at 10 a.m. and travel up to Evergreen Cemetery.