BUXTON – Captain Ernest H. Brien, U.S. Army (Retired), a decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict, a humble servant of his country and his community, and a beloved son of Portland, went to his eternal rest on Dec. 27, 2023, at the age of 103, surrounded by his adoring family.

Ernie, as he was known to his family and friends, was born Oct. 5, 1920, in Portland to Henry and Margaret (née Gould) Brien, first-generation immigrants to Maine from New Brunswick, Canada. Ernie grew up during the Great Depression in the Libbytown section of Portland, and his father later built the family home on Caleb Street in Westgate. As a youngster, Ernie walked alongside the railroad tracks and collected coal that had fallen from railroad cars on their way to Thompson’s Point; Ernie sold this coal for a nickel a pail to his neighbors so that he could buy lunch.

Ernie was a graduate of Cheverus High School’s class of 1938, where he was a three-sport athlete. He was an offensive and defensive lineman for the varsity football team and was the catcher for the varsity baseball team. Notably, Ernie was the 1938 Maine Golden Gloves middleweight boxing champion, known for the dreaded “amugatz”, the powerful right cross that put many worthy opponents on the canvas.

After his graduation from Cheverus, Ernie worked as an assembler and a truck driver, and he also served in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He later joined his father at the Maine Central Railroad, where he worked as a Brakeman before enlisting in the Army National Guard in August of 1940. There he served as a clerk in the 240th Coastal Artillery Battalion at Fort Williams, Maine, and following the United States’ entry into World War II, Ernie attended Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve in September of 1942. Shortly after his commissioning, Ernie married his beloved sweetheart, Marie Kimball, a high school friend of Ernie’s sister Bertha, and they embarked from Union Station on a brief honeymoon in the southern U.S., taking snapshots along the way to remember their travels together.

After the birth of his first child, Kathleen, in 1944, Ernie deployed to the European Theater of World War II, where he commanded an Infantry company in the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion of the 4th Armored Division, which earned distinction while spearheading General Patton’s Third Army. During his service in the Battle of the Bulge, Ernie was awarded the Silver Star Medal for “… gallantry in action,” leading his men in destroying an enemy anti-tank battery, retaking numerous stubbornly defended houses, and capturing multiple enemy prisoners. In addition, he was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal (with Valor) for gallantry in action and was twice wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart Medal. Ernie also participated in the liberation of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp in April of 1945, a searing memory he would carry for a lifetime.

After his return home from the war, Ernie and Marie welcomed their daughter, Judith, in 1949. Before they could add to their growing family, Ernie was again called to serve his country. In June of 1950, he was deployed to the Korean Conflict, where he served with the 7th Infantry Battalion in the Pusan Perimeter. He was wounded in action in September of 1950 and was subsequently awarded his third Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart Medal.

After Ernie’s recovery at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in New Hampshire, Ernie and Marie completed their family and moved to the family home on William Street in Oakdale: Stephen arrived in 1955, and Joseph followed in 1959. His love and care for the home, with its two magnificent oak trees, was a constant source of compliments from his neighbors. The “Hill” as it was known to the neighborhood children, hosted years of winter sledding and snowball fights.

Ernie retired from the Army in 1961 at the rank of Captain, and his postwar assignments included a tour in post-war Korea, a recruiting detachment in Pittsburgh, PA, and the Army ROTC detachment at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Following his retirement, Ernie embarked on his second career of service to his country, working for the U.S. Postal Service in Portland. There he served faithfully for 20 years as a letter carrier, clerk, and manager. In addition to his duties with the U.S. Postal Service, Ernie was active in the community, serving as an usher at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Portland for many years. He also was a longtime member of Harold T. Andrews American Legion Post 17, where he occasionally tended bar, and VFW Post 6859 in Portland.

After the passing of his beloved Marie in 2006, Ernie moved to Buxton to live with his oldest daughter, Kathie, and her husband, Warren. It was here, in their loving care over the last 16 years, that Ernie was his truest self: a cheerful, thoughtful, and caring man; an avid reader of the Press Herald, knowledgeable of world and political affairs; an inveterate puzzle hound, completing difficult crossword and sudoku puzzles daily (with a jigsaw puzzle constantly in progress in another room); a doting grandfather and great-grandfather, always delighted to hear of new adventures; and a willing, hard-working partner to Warren and Kathie in maintaining their home, serving as the primary tractor driver, building stone walls, splitting and loading firewood, and even grading the driveway.

Ernie was quietly proud of his military service, and it was his great honor to serve as the Co-Grand Marshal for Cape Elizabeth’s 2017 Memorial Day Parade, as the Grand Marshal for Portland’s 2020 Veterans’ Day Parade, and as the Grand Marshal for Portland’s Memorial Day Parade in 2022. In September of 2020, the Cape Elizabeth Town Council proclaimed October 5, 2020, as “Ernest Brien Day”, and a parade and ceremony were held in his honor on October 18, 2020. Additionally, Ernie is being considered for a posthumous award of the French Legion of Honor Medal (Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur), given to veterans who displayed heroism during the battle for the liberation of France.

Ernie was interviewed for the Fort Williams Historical Society’s oral interview project, as he was one of only two surviving World War II veterans who had served at Fort Williams while it was an active Army post. Though unsurprising to his family, his ability to remember the locations of buildings and the details of daily activities on Fort Williams astonished both the filmmakers and the Historical Society members. As a further testament to his mental acuity, Ernie was asked to be a participant in Boston University’s ongoing centenarian study and agreed to donate his brain in furtherance of this effort. Finally, Ernie was featured in a promotional video for Martin’s Point Health Care as their longest continuous patient (83 years), having been a patient there since Martin’s Point was a military hospital.

Ernie was a die-hard Red Sox and Patriots fan, loyal through both good times and bad. His faithfulness was finally rewarded when, after decades of “almosts” and could-have-beens,” Ernie saw the Red Sox win four World Series and the Patriots win five Super Bowls before his passing. Ernie was a proponent of “old-school” baseball, a purist to the end. He always appreciated a player with a clean shave, a fresh haircut, and a well-fitted uniform; while watching Red Sox games with his best pal, Warren, he would lament the “lost art of the bunt” and the fragility of the modern pitcher.

Ernie is survived by an extraordinary legacy of family: his sister, Bertha (101 years old) of Scarborough; his daughter Kathleen (Kathie) Giering and her husband Warren, his daughter Judith (Judi) Aho-Russ, his son Stephen (Steve) Brien and his wife Nancy, and his son Joseph (Joe) Brien and his wife Jane; his grandchildren Chris (Deborah), Erinne (James), Daniel (Stevie), Jordan, Joshua, Joseph, and Bella; and his great-grandchildren Alyssa, Robert, Nicholas, Sarah, Eva, and Nea.

The family sincerely thanks the home health aides of Affinity Hospice and Palliative Care for their kind, supportive, and dedicated care of Ernie over the last two months. Jasmine, Emily, and Mariah made it possible for Ernie to spend his last days and hours at home surrounded by his family.

A memorial service is scheduled on Saturday February 17, 2024, at 1 p.m., with visitation 2-4 p.m., followed by a reception for family and friends at Jones, Rich, and Barnes Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St., in Portland. A private interment will follow at a date to be determined later.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at http://www.jonesrichandbarnes.com for the Brien family.



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