BANGOR – The helicopter gauges weren’t working properly even before he took off, but Vietnam War pilot Tom Stryker had a job to do and couldn’t let a few defective dials keep him grounded.

Once in the air, however, the gauges stopped working and the engine started coming apart. Stryker began to think about how to save his crew.

“Lesser people might have panicked,” Don Colson, master of ceremonies at the Cole Land Transportation Museum’s Memorial Day ceremony, said Monday. “But every single member of [Stryker’s] crew got out safely.”

The chopper crash-landed that January day in 1970, and Stryker was at the Cole museum Monday to tell his story and remind people what Memorial Day really is about.

“We had to wait to be rescued, which is the scary part,” Stryker told the estimated 800 people who attended the museum ceremony.

A self-proclaimed hermit, Stryker, who now lives in New Jersey, said he likely never would have spoken about his war experiences had museum founder Galen Cole not contacted him last year.

Cole discovered through maintenance records that Stryker had flown the very helicopter that is mounted outside the museum and invited the retired military pilot to speak at a dedication ceremony.

“It’s a bit of a challenge because I’m a bit of a hermit,” Stryker said of sharing his story. “It’s kind of drawn me out of my shell and gets me to talk about this more than I would normally.”

After the ceremony, raindrops began to fall as Stryker stood outside the Cole museum and looked up at the restored Huey helicopter he used to fly.

“It was sitting on its belly, basically,” Stryker said, recalling the damage to the chopper after its hard landing near An Loc. There also was major damage to one rotor, which chopped a large hole in the helicopter.

Stryker isn’t the only Vietnam veteran who is telling his story for the first time in 30 years.

Another retired military pilot, Charles Knowlen of Eddington, is participating in a program at the museum that allows middle and high school students a chance to interview and connect with a veteran.

“I’d like to see more Vietnam War veterans come out of their doors, so to speak, and be recognized,” Knowlen said, applauding Cole’s efforts to recognize the contributions of all veterans.

As for Memorial Day, Stryker reminded people during his keynote speech that it’s not just another three-day weekend.

“This is not just a day off from work or school,” Stryker said. “America’s fallen soldiers must never be forgotten.”

Although there has been renewed interest in celebrating Memorial Day in recent years, Stryker says it’s not enough.

“Far too often the nation as a whole takes for granted the freedoms Americans enjoy.”

The retired military pilot fears that if our political leaders don’t do something, the United States could be faced with a military shortage.

“Politically we’re a mess,” Stryker said, noting that we need a stronger military. All of our resources are tied up in Iraq, and if we’re faced with another conflict, Stryker fears we won’t have the ability to handle it.

“It’s very difficult for us to raise an army,” he said. “Somebody needs to come up with some ideas, incentives, or bring the draft back.”

For those who want to learn more about Stryker’s story, he will be at the museum again at 4 p.m. today to speak to local students, Scouts, parents and teachers on the museum lawn.