Ceremony held at Mall

BRUNSWICK

The pomp and celebration of the Brunswick- Topsham Memorial Day parade gave way to an air of solemnity as observances were held Monday at the Mall in Brunswick.

During his invocation, the Rev. Mark Rockwood of Berean Baptist Church noted the sacrifice gave by veterans “for their friends, for their country,” while praying for the safety of troops still on active duty.

“Let us reflect upon the sacrifice of all our fellow citizen warriors who have fallen in service to our country,” said Maine National Guard Brig. Gen. Gerard Bolduc, delivering Monday’s Patriotic Address. “Let us also reflect on how their deaths have forever impacted their families, their loved ones, their friends, neighbors and the extended community.

“For guardsmen and guardswomen, duty and sacrifice came at great cost and reflect the changing mission of the National Guard as it has transformed from a strategic reserve into an operational force,” Bolduc continued.

Bolduc became head of the Maine Guard in March, and has been overseeing the Guard at a time of change and upheaval, having taken over after Gov. Paul LePage ousted Brig. Gen. James Campbell over controversy stemming from a plan to replace the 133rd Engineering Battalion with an infantry unit.

“Please know, citizens of Maine, you’re in good hands, if there’s ever a natural disaster in Maine, the Guard is ready and the Guard will respond. I’m confident we’ll help ease any pain and suffering. Please take that with you,” Bolduc said.

Memorial Day became widely celebrated after the Civil War. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, noted a recent visit to the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pa., and spoke of Maine servicemen who fought there.

“We remembered what was done on those three terrible days, and what was done for us by brave men from across the country, and especially from Maine,” King said.

King, a Brunswick resident, recalled how when he first moved to town 40 years ago that he met a Topsham woman who remembered seeing Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain riding his horse in a Memorial Day parade on Maine Street.

“I met someone who met Chamberlain,” King said.

World War II veteran and Brunswick native Gerry Menard of Brunswick was Monday’s grand marshal.

Menard entered the war in 1944 at age 18 as a member of the Army’s infantry as a machine gun squad’s ammunition bearer known as “The Night Crawlers,” and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, according to master of ceremonies James Oikle.

Fluent in French, Menard was “often used as a translator,” said Oikle.

Menard is the third generation to live in his family’s house on Dunning Street, said Oikle. He and his wife, Valencia, have just marked their 65th wedding anniversary.

Monday’s ceremonies were dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Operation Desert Shield, which preceded the Gulf War that liberated Kuwait from Iraq in the early 1990s.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com