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BANGOR – It was a note left on the glass case that holds the Bangor Public Library’s Book of Honor that led to Monday’s flag dedication ceremony at the Bangor Public Library.
A year ago, Hal Wheeler, 61, of Bangor, a former member of the 195th Army Band and the brother of two living World War II veterans, left a note on the glass case expressing his desire for the book to be displayed in a more prominent location within the library.
Wheeler followed his note with a verbal request to a librarian that the old and threadbare flag that hung next to the book be laid to rest and a new flag be dedicated.
The library agreed that the flag needed a replacement, but, according to Wheeler, “I didn’t have the money, the library didn’t have the money and apparently neither did the city.
“We called Galen Cole, and he went right after [getting a new flag],” the Bangor resident said.
The new flags bought by Cole and the Cole Transportation Museum made possible the Flag Day ceremony that brought together city officials and congressional representatives, as well as many area veterans, the Maine Air National Guard Color Guard and members of the Bangor High School Junior ROTC.
The Book of Honor is now on display by the entrance of the library, where it commemorates those from the Bangor area who gave their lives in World War II. Every page is dedicated to one of the 113 Bangor area men and women who died in the war, with all but two captured in photograph as well as print.
Monday’s ceremony opened with an address from Bill Cook, the Special Collections librarian and also a 20-year veteran of the Army’s active Reserve. Cook introduced four members of the Bangor High Junior ROTC, each dressed in a World War II era uniform – one for each of the four branches of the armed forces.
“Libraries have always been the bastions of freedom,” Cook said to a crowd that packed the library’s lobby.
“Information is power, power to the people. Our vets have protected this power from those who tried to take this right from us and who have taken that right from others,” Cook continued. “As long as there is a library and there are books, they will be here, and they will not be forgotten.”
Cook’s address was followed by prepared statements from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud, read by members of their Bangor offices.
Michaud called the flag “the physical embodiment of the principles of freedom and justice that our nation holds dear.”
Collins said, “Through traditions like the Bangor Book of Honor, we pledge to always remember the sacrifices made by members of the armed services and to be thankful for the gift of freedom they gave to us.”
After the speakers finished their statements, the Maine Air National Guard Color Guard crisply moved into position and took down the faded, old flag, rolling it around its flagpole with a few calculated turns of the pole.
New flags then were put into place on either side of the Book Of Honor, a bright U.S. flag on the right that made the stripes on its predecessor look pink, and a state of Maine flag on the left.
As the honor guard took the old flag away, Wheeler played taps as he stood on the library stairs above the procession.
“I call taps the last goodbye,” Wheeler said after the ceremony.
“People should weep if they have any memories,” he said. “I know I do, even when I’m playing.”
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