Born bush pilot won’t be slowed by his retirement

You’ve heard, no doubt, that the Marines are looking for a few good men. Conversely, the Maine Warden Service is losing some good men. One in particular is Warden Pilot Gary Dumond, who retired from the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in October.

It was one of Dumond’s high school teachers, Melford Pelletier of Soldier Pond, who brought the flying warden’s retirement to my attention. Pelletier also provided background information about his former pupil and a few anecdotes from his career, which I’m sure you’ll agree was exceptional.

I once heard a saying to the effect that eagles and bush pilots were born, not made. The son of Roland and Bernice Dumond is a full-fledged example. At the time of Dumond’s birth, his father was operating the Fort Kent Flying Service. Not surprisingly, the boy grew up in the cockpit of an airplane. In fact, at the age of 16, he received his pilot’s license and driver’s license in the same week. According to Melford Pelletier, “Gary was one of the few students I had who knew exactly what he wanted to become – a pilot.”

After graduating from Fort Kent Community High School in 1968, Dumond entered military service and was assigned to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. After completing helicopter flight training, he was sent to Vietnam. In his 12-month tenure at the controls of a UH-1 helicopter, he left no doubt about his ability to handle a “chopper” as he logged more than 1,400 combat hours – 600 at night.

For his service during the Cambodian Campaign, the 20-year-old pilot was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars – one for valor, two Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry with bronze stars, the Vietnam Service Ribbon, the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, the Air Medal with 51 oak clusters (each cluster represents 25 hours of combat service), and the National Defense Ribbon. Four of the commendations were bestowed on him after his discharge from active duty as a Chief Warrant Officer in January of 1971.

Dumond wasn’t long, however, in again climbing into an aircraft. That summer, he became a pilot for the Maine Forest Service. During the year that he flew for that agency, he was instrumental in convincing his superiors of the capabilities of helicopters in fighting fires. Accordingly, the Forest Service now uses the versatile aircraft to douse fires with water drops.

It was the DIFW’s good fortune when the young experienced pilot transferred to their hangar in 1972. From then until his retirement, Dumond flew fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for the department. To say that he was an asset would be like saying aviation has changed since Wilbur and Orville Wright got their contraption off the ground at Kittyhawk.

During the ensuing 19 years of flying Maine’s not-always-friendly skies, the warden pilot logged more than 200 search-and-rescue missions. In addition, he also assisted in many State Police and Forest Service activities. While stationed in the Old Town area, Dumond was a part-time instructor for the Central Maine Flying Service and served six years as a helicopter pilot with the Army National Guard in Bangor.

In 1985, he was transferred to Eagle Lake where he became base pilot when Warden Pilot Jack McPhee retired. Years earlier, in February of 1974 to be exact, Dumond and McPhee shared a memorable experience when they flew two injured snowmobilers from Spider Lake to Presque Isle for emergency treatment.

It was appropriate, therefore, that McPhee emceed his successor’s retirement party on Oct. 26. Among the 200 or so relatives and friends in attendance were many active and retired wardens. Among them, of course, were fellow Warden Pilots Andy Stinson, Jim Welch, Allen Ryder – who will replace Dumond at Millinocket and Eagle Lake – and aircraft mechanic Howard Lambertson. In recognition of Dumond’s outstanding service, his badge was retired at the party by Deputy Chief Warden Herbert “Bill” Vernon.

When Melford Pelletier asked Dumond if he had an experience that stuck in his mind, the pilot related to a search-and-rescue operation that occurred in the fall of 1990: A hunter was lost in the Baker Lake region and flying conditions were marginal. To make matters worse, it was late afternoon when Dumond received the call. After flying several patterns, he spotted the hunter, who was wearing blaze orange, in a bog.

“If it hadn’t been for the blaze orange,” said Dumond, “I never would have seen him. I contacted the ground crew and flew by-pass routes until they reached him. He was frost-bitten, hypothermic, and in shock. Although he recovered, I’ll never forget flying around him and not being able to land and help him.” That alone tells you something about the man.

The woman who, in her mind at least, has flown with Gary Dumond on every mission is his wife, the former Pauline Caron of Fort Kent. They have two daughters, Marsha Labbe, who lives with her husband stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., and Lynn, a junior at Fort Kent Community High School.

Although retired, it’s doubtful the former warden pilot will keep his feet on the ground. He holds a commercial license for both single and multi-engine aircraft, a float-plane license, helicopter rating, and is a flight instructor for instrument and helicopter ratings. He also is a member of the prestigious International Association of Natural Resource Pilots, whose members represent the 50 states and the provinces of Canada. From that you can rest assured he will continue to respond to the innate spirit that gave him wings.

Eagles and bush pilots are born, not made.