Maine war veterans recall service, homecoming

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Listen to them speak and you’ll find that each generation of military veterans has a story to tell.

Those who served the United States in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and the current Iraq conflict reveal different reasons for joining the military. They tell of experiencing different combat situations and facing different homecomings.

Their stories span the globe and many decades. But they have one thing in common: The fact that they served makes them all worthy of honor, and that is why in 1938 the U.S. Congress made Nov. 11 a legal holiday set aside to celebrate veterans for their service to this country “dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

Originally known as Armistice Day to mark the end of World War I, the Act of 1938 was amended in 1954, changing the word Armistice to Veterans, henceforth making it a day to honor United States veterans of all wars.

These are stories of local veterans from each branch of the military during the various conflicts:

World War II

Burleigh Shorey, 82, of Milford joined the U.S. Navy in November 1942 and served until February 1946.

“I thought it was my duty,” he said recently. “I wanted to join some service. I joined the Marines [at age 17] but my father had to sign off for me and he said he would have no part of that.”

Shorey, who lived with his family in Enfield at the time, then came home with a “sales pitch” about the Navy and his father acquiesced. “He figured I was going to get there sooner or later.”

Shorey went to boot camp in Newport and then was stationed at Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard before being sent to the Pacific as a gunner’s mate aboard the submarine Pintado. He worked on guns, and during his tour of duty, the submarine was responsible for sinking 13 ships and damaging an aircraft carrier.

He was in Tokyo Bay when the city of Hiroshima was hit by the first atomic bomb used in war, and was heading home soon after Nagasaki was bombed with the second atomic weapon.

He describes his homecoming in San Francisco as “good.”

“The Golden Gates had the sign ‘Welcome home. Job well done,'” Shorey said. “That was up there for ages.”

Korean War

Albert Gibson, 75, of Brewer enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in June 1951 and served until June 1955.

“I joined the military because I knew I had a commitment to my country and I felt I wanted to serve,” he said. “I knew I was going to be drafted anyway, so I decided to join the Air Force. I knew I had a duty to do, so I accepted it and went in a little bit early.”

While serving in Korea he was a forward observer. He and his team would sneak into enemy territory to report the location of troops, and “we would direct aircraft to make strike missions on the enemy.” He also was a ground power mechanic, working on equipment and aircraft.

He said the cold of Korean winters was almost unbearable.

When he returned to the states at age 20, his boat, like most others returning from Korea, landed in San Francisco.

“There was really no reception per se when we came back,” Gibson remembered. “They had an Army band to greet us, and the Red Cross had some coffee and doughnuts.

“We were just glad to be back in one piece,” he said. “When I met my parents, it was a different story.”

Vietnam War

Chester A. Lewis Jr., 67, of Southwest Harbor entered the U.S. Army in 1959 and was honorably discharged in 1965.

“It was my duty then,” he said of joining the military. “There was a draft, but I enlisted.”

His father was an infantryman, and Lewis followed in his footsteps. While serving during the Vietnam era, Lewis was stationed in Germany and in secret locations around the globe that he would not reveal. He served with the 2nd Infantry Division and the 24th Infantry Division.

“We went there to do a job,” he said simply.

When he returned to the States, he soon realized that some U.S. citizens “thought it was an ugly war,” he said. “You didn’t get anything like you do today, believe me.”

He remembers the looks of loathing people gave him and the way they avoided him. He arrived in his military uniform by bus in Searsport and attempted to hitchhike home to Mount Desert Island, but no one would give him a ride.

“I finally got picked up by a guy delivering mail,” he said, obviously still heavy-hearted from the experience.

David Billings, 58, of Brewer entered the military in June 1968 and will retire at the end of this year after 34 years of service.

“I was drafted in the Army and I decided to go into the Air Force in hopes I would avoid the Vietnam conflict,” he said. “I ended up in Thailand, about 50 miles from the Laos boarder, in Ubon. I spent a year there.”

While in Asia, Billings didn’t see combat, but as an aircraft mechanic he did see “a lot of damaged aircraft come back. They kept us busy fixing them.”

When he returned home, he flew in to Bangor.

“My grandfather came and picked me up,” Billings said. “I’ll never forget the day. I was just so happy to be back in the States. It was a long year.

“There wasn’t too much hoopla like there is today, unfortunately,” he said.

Billings, whose father also served in the military, spent his last 18 months of active duty at Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, then worked six years as a civilian before joining the Maine Air National Guard in 1978. As a guardsman, he also served in the Middle East during Desert Storm. He retired from his position as a civil service technician on Oct. 1 and will retire from the Guard on Dec. 31.

Desert Storm

Bill Jones, 42, of Levant joined the U.S. Marines in February 1984 and served until October 1999.

“I joined the Marine Corps for guidance,” he said. “For what the Marine Corps had to offer. I never regretted it. I wanted to serve my country, the American people and the American flag, and I did so with pride and honor.”

Jones was a machine gunner with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, in the Mediterranean and in several locations in the Middle East during Desert Storm. Soon after landing in Saudi Arabia, his unit was deployed to liberate Kuwait City. The Humvee he traveled in had a .50-caliber machine gun on one side, a .40-caliber machine gun on the other. He remembers digging holes in the sand, using his poncho and bungee cords to make a hidden shelter.

On his trip home, his unit was scheduled to arrive at Bangor International Airport, but was diverted. Even so, he was received with open arms.

“It was amazing the support that we had,” he said. “I just saw patriotism.”

Iraq

Francine Nylund, 43, of Brewer is a member of the Maine Air National Guard with the 101st Air Refueling Wing, who also served during Desert Storm, but remained stateside. She is an 18-year service member.

College is the reason she gave for signing up for the Air Guard.

“I came from a family of five and there really was no college money available, and the Guard was offering great incentives,” she said. “I thought it would be a great challenge. Could I make it through boot camp? I joined, and it was a good move.”

Nylund is “a weekend warrior” but has faced scary times in the last two decades, especially around Sept. 11, 2001.

“It was probably one of the most tense points in my career,” she said. “We all got the phone call that we were being deployed. My kids were devastated, but then they called it off.

“There is a reason they call it the Guard,” Nylund said. “You truly are on guard and they can call you at any moment.”

While she has never been deployed overseas, she has been to BIA to greet troops, an emotional and rewarding experience, she said.

“It’s them seeing their families – it’s very heartwarming,” Nylund said.

Two of her co-workers, Tech. Sgt. Robert Rooney, 43, and Bravo Flight Sgt. Scott Baillargeon, 35, both work at the 101st Air Refueling Wing, Air National Guard Base at Bangor. They both joined the military just after high school.

Rooney said he “did not have much direction at that point so I joined.” Baillargeon said his dad was in the Army during the Vietnam era. “I thought it would be good to follow in his footsteps.” Plus, he added he wanted to be a civilian police officer, and thought the Air Force was a good place to start.

Both Rooney and Baillargeon have been deployed to different locations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and when they returned to the states both were greeted with mini-celebrations from family, friends and fellow Guard members.

Nowadays, returning troops are greeted with waving flags and happy families. A month or so later a formal welcoming ceremony is held and each receives a framed flag, and medals earned overseas are awarded in front of their peers.

All troops who passed through BIA since 2003 have been welcomed by the Maine Troop Greeters, local people who no matter if it’s day or night are at the airport to show support. Many of the troop greeters, who have welcomed more than 500,000 service members who are heading overseas or returning, are veterans themselves.

“They didn’t do it when the Vietnam boys came home,” troop greeter Bill Dean, 72, of Bangor said Friday. “We have to show them all that we’re behind them and support them.”

Dean is a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Korean War.